His life expectancy just halved. The chances of reaching middle-age in this industry are already slim; now Dimitri’s are even slimmer than that.
His next words reduce my violent temper. “Words that should have been spoken years ago never were, resulting in an outcome that will haunt me the rest of my life.” His shoulders stiffen as he looks up at me. “I decided to try a different route today. Don’t have me regretting my decision, Nikolai. We may have the same blood pumping through our veins, but we will never be family.” His eyes return to the stairwell. “If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have allowed you within an inch of Hopeton.”
When my warning snarl fails to gain his attention, I shift my eyes in the direction he is peering. My heart kicks out a new tune when I spot Justine standing at the foot of the stairs. Her eyes are as wide and frightened as they were the last time she stood across from the man responsible for her scars, but thankfully, this time around, her throat is void of the noose that bit her skin.
Although my intuition is telling me I have nothing to fear, I creep up on Dimitri in less than a second. My movements are so meek, not even Justine registers my approach. If she so much as blinks in fear, I’ll take down Dimitri as unrepentantly as I did Alexei.
A snake never stops shedding its skin, but at the end of the day, he’s still a snake. Dimitri is two seconds from learning how lethal my bite is.
Justine’s eyes lift to mine when Dimitri says, “Non ha nulla da temere. Forse non hai pagato il debito che voleva Col, ma hai pagato più di quanto volevo che pagassi.Per quanto mi riguarda, non mi devi niente.”
She stares at me for several long heartbeats, aware I’m seconds from requesting she close her eyes, but unsure if she wants Dimitri to suffer the same fate as Alexei. There are rules I must follow when it comes to men in similar positions as mine, but they’re null and void the instant Justine’s safety is compromised.
Besides, I don’t speak a word of Italian, so the skate of my knife across Dimitri’s jugular could be easily excused. How am I to know if his words are threatening or not? I have to rely solely on my gut, which is not something I often do. The only time I’ve let my instincts take over was during my quest to bed Justine. Although I came out of that game a winner, my life has never been more complicated.
Before I can work through half the commotion twisting my gut, Justine shakes her head, wordlessly requesting for me to stand down. If her eyes weren’t locked on mine, I’d assume her demand was for Dimitri. Unfortunately, words aren’t needed to see the white flag she’s waving my way.
Don’t misconstrue the strength of my queen. She’s not surrendering. She’s forgiving.
What the fuck?
The demand in Justine’s eyes switches to a plea when I’m reluctant to house my blade. My desire to kill has always been rampant. It’s not something I can switch off in an instant. But for this woman, my slice of heaven in a hot and temperamental place, I’m open to change.
A bead of sweat rolls down Dimitri’s nape when thesnickof my blade announces its return to my knife’s handle. He shouldn’t be so quick to suck in a relieved breath. I recorded my first kill at the age of eight, which means I’ve learned many ways to take down a man without a weapon. He’s not out of the woods just yet.
After a quick swallow, Dimitri says, “Digli che non sono il suo nemico.”
“Tell him yourself.” My admiration for Justine grows when she skirts past Dimitri without the slightest wobble in her stride. She is so strong and powerful, even more so when she takes her rightful spot at my side. “He’s right here, willing to listen. You just need to speak to him in a language he understands.”
Dimitri spins around to face us. His focus isn’t on me. His attention remains fixated on Justine. It is both a smart and stupid move on his behalf. He knows she’s the only one capable of bringing me out of the darkness my life is filled with, but bringing her into a fight she doesn’t belong in displeases me greatly. Neither ploy will gain him my merits.
“Questo non è il modo in cui le cose funzionano nel nostro settore.L'unica volta che si diventa amici con il nemico è quando si prevede di portarli giù.”Dimitri locks his eyes with mine. They’re missing the pompous gleam I expected them to have. “Egli può essere il Spawn del diavolo, ma è anche mio fratello. Non gli auguro nulla di male.”
With a dip of his chin—more a bid of farewell than bowing out of our fight as a coward—Dimitri leaves Justine’s family home under the shadowed watch of three of my men. My first thought is to go after him. Instead, I circle Justine like a shark. The wish to kill is still dense in my veins, but something about Justine is off, and I can’t help but devote all my attention to her. She smells different. Whole. As if she’s no longer fractured.
“What did he say to you?”
“Who?” Heat springs to the back of Justine’s knees. She’s not ramping up for a fight. She’s turned on by my arrogance.
The good girls always want to tame the bad boy. . . except myAhren.
My nostrils flare when I suck in her scent like an addict hitting three lines. “The person responsible for the change in your scent. You smell different.”
Justine’s quick exhale fans my cheeks. “I smell different?” Her words quiver as the tension between us turns rampant.
The last time we played this game, she smelled of another man. This scent isn’t that. It’s a feminine scent, both arousing and unique.
“Yeah. I can’t tell what it’s closest to. How you smelled when you stood across from me with the heart of a warrior, but no knowledge of its existence, or the scent that leeched from your pores the first time I fucked you without a condom.” My long, purposeful strides come to a stop in front of her. “It might be a combination of them both.”
Justine smiles a grin capable of buckling my knees. Maybe Dimitri was right. Perhaps I have let this woman soften me. I have enough adrenaline coursing through my veins to take down a thousand men, yet there’s only one person I plan to conquer tonight.
8
Nikolai’s arroganceis at an all-time high, but not all of its boost is compliments of the lust raging in his eyes. I only arrived in the den because an odd sensation was twisting my stomach. I tried to push it aside as excited butterflies, but the longer I denied my feelings, the greater they became. Ignoring my instincts was the catalyst of my family’s downfall five years ago, so I have no intention of ignoring them again.
The further I traveled down the spiral staircase, the tighter the knot in my stomach grew. I couldn’t see the man Nikolai was speaking to in a hushed tone, but something deep inside me knew their conversation wasn’t good. I didn’t mean to startle when my eyes locked on Dimitri, but old habits die hard.
His family took more from me than you could possibly imagine, and although he helped in my rescue, I doubt that would have been the case if it wasn’t at Nikolai’s request. The Popovs are a highly ranked entity in their industry, and Nikolai’s reputation is unsurpassed. If you can’t play with them, you play beside them with the hope you’ll be picked for their team during their next selection process.
