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“What am I to you?” he asked. His eyes scanned me carefully, as if he were scared of my answer. He knew what my feelings were for him, but right now, it seemed he needed validation.
Couldn’t he see the cracks in my soul, the same cracks that he now filled with every part of him?
“What am I to you?” Viktor asked me again. There was something in his dark eyes, something that wasn’t there before. A vulnerability that it seemed only I was allowed to see. There was tenderness in his gaze. Tenderness and a weakness for me.
At his words, a burst of colors filled me. “Viktor.” His name was a whispered prayer. I was a worshipper, on my knees, praying for this beautiful man to see his worth in my eyes.
I leaned down and kissed his forehead, like he would always do to me. My lips lingered there for a second longer, and I breathed him in, his warm scent. He smelled like mine.
“Viktor, you are every hope that I’ve ever had. My demons are silent in your presence, and you make my angels dance in harmony.”
I watched his lips and he said my name. “Valerie…”
That was all he said. I imagined it was a whisper. I imagined his voice cracking with emotions because right now, Viktor looked both in pain and at peace. How was that possible?
I gave him a soft smile, and then I told him the truth. It was all in the open for him to see. “You are the earth. And I am the sky that meets you halfway, where the sun is meeting the horizon. It is as simple as that.”
His eyes roamed over my face for a moment before his gaze settled on mine again. “Why are you silent? Do you not believe me?” I asked.
Viktor shook his head. “I believe you. I am just thinking…” He paused, his jaw clenching. I saw the maddening ticks in his cheeks as he grinded his teeth.
“Thinking?”
“I am just thinking how I can steal you away from here without either of us getting killed. I tried, Valerie. For weeks, I have been thinking, planning, plotting. Valentin is not an easy man to fool. I can’t steal you away from here without Valentin coming after us and declaring war. He is merciless. He is a man who likes his pretty dolls broken, and he is not someone to let them go easily. And baby, he believes he owns you. You are his favorite puppet.”
My heart ached, and the burning in my eyes intensified as I fought the tears. Viktor’s words were a reminder of what our situation really was. He fell silent for a moment, and I couldn’t bring myself to speak. The pain was overwhelming and almost too much. Viktor was right.
I was Valentin’s wife and his favorite doll. His pretty broken doll to play with. For us to get out of here alive…there was only one option.
“I need to kill him first. But death is playing a game with us all. I can’t risk you, myshka. I refuse to do that. I refuse to put your life in more danger than it already is.”
“I am scared too, Viktor. But I know the time will come. You did say that you were waiting for Valentin to slip. You needed some information on the operations he ran. Did you figure it out yet?”
Curiosity made me ask the question. I liked to stay away from these conversations. I’d rather be in the dark, live in my little bubble for as long as I could, without being tainted by the darkness surrounding me.
But Viktor, as much as he was my savior, he also brought the darkness with him. It was raw, bloodied, and tainted. There was nothing beautiful about it.
“Yes. I know what he is doing now. But he has the loyalty of many men. That includes Carlos.”
“Carlos?” The name sounded a bit familiar, but I couldn’t place it.
Viktor nodded. His eyes darkened. There was beautiful harshness in his expression now. “The King of the Mexican cartel. He is powerful. Actually, that’s an understatement. The fact that Carlos and Valentin are practically best friends, this makes me weak against them. One wrong step I take, it could cause damage that would hurt Alessio. I can’t put my family at risk.”
I understood him. Better than he believed. I sacrificed my freedom for my family, my sister. I never though of escaping, never thought of ways to end this because I couldn’t jeopardize my family. Just like Viktor. Our loyalty was quite the same. We came from the same thread.
“I can’t risk getting on his bad side by taking out Valentin. Not now. I need a better plan, and I need to make it look like an accident. But that fucking asshole is always surrounded with people. I can’t kill him while he’s here in the estate. I would be an easy suspect the moment I take you out of here. I might be the heir, but Valentin’s men would want retribution. Carlos would think of me as the enemy. As much as I hate to admit this, Valentin is an important man in the underworld of business.” Viktor sounded frustrated, and I knew he was angry. At this situation and at himself.
