Silence drops between us. I look back at the screen, at Dmitri’s phone, at the messages. And for a moment, I want it to be wrong. I want it to be anything but this. But it isn’t.
I drag a hand through my hair, tugging hard at the strands, not caring about the sting. “What the fuck…”
In this world, you really can’t trust anyone. Even the ones closest to you can stab you in the back. The realization hits like a gut punch.
I’m pulled out of my thoughts when I feel Calina’s small, warm hands on my shoulders. I turn around slowly. She’s standing right beside me, eyes full of worry and love.
“What are you going to do?” she asks softly.
I let out a heavy breath and sit on the edge of the bed. She sits beside me, her hand resting on my thigh. My mind is spinning, Dmitri has to pay. There’s no question about that.
But why? Why would he do this? I treated him like a brother. Better than blood in some ways. I gave him and Viktor everything, money, power, a place at my side. If he needed more, all he had to do was ask. I made sure they had more than they could ever spend. So what the hell was his problem?
And Adrian… that smug bastard must have been laughing in my face the entire time, knowing my own man was feeding him information.
I look at Calina, my voice rough with barely contained rage. “They will all pay for putting your life in danger. Every single one of them.”
She watches me. “Maxim, I know you’re hurt, but you can’t react rashly.
“I won’t,” I say, exhaling slowly, “I’m not going to act like I know anything yet.”
“Okay…”
“When I let them know I’m aware of what they’ve been up to, I want both of them in the same room.”
Her gaze sharpens. “I might have an idea.”
I lean against the headboard intrigued. “Let’s hear it then.”
I listen as Calina lays out her plan, her voice steady despite the nerves I can see in her eyes. She suggests inviting Adrian to a larger, more public event.
She suggests we host a grand reception under the excuse that our intimate wedding was too small and we want to properly introduce her as my wife to our circle.
It would be the perfect trap. Adrian would come willingly, thinking he’s safe among the elite. And Dmitri… Dmitri would have no qualms about attending.
A slow, dangerous smile spreads across my lips as she finishes.
“You’re so fucking smart,malyshka,” I murmur, pulling her on to my lap. “My wife is brilliant.”
For the first time since I saw those messages, the crushing weight in my chest eases just a fraction. I bend my head and kiss her deeply, tasting the sweetness of her mouth, letting herwarmth chase away some of the ice in my veins. She melts into me, her hands gripping my shirt like she’s trying to keep me anchored.
“That’s exactly what we’re going to do,” I say against her lips. “We’ll make them think we’re oblivious and then make them pay for their sins. Every last one of them.”
When Calina later falls asleep in my arms, I slip out of bed. I can’t rest. Not with this poison festering inside me.
I take Dmitri’s phone and head downstairs, moving silently through the dark house. The outdoor gym by the pool is quiet, the only light coming from the security lamps.
I place the phone carefully among a stack of dumbbells, cracking the screen slightly with the edge of one weight to make it look as if it had been dropped and forgotten. It’s hidden just enough that it wouldn’t be immediately obvious, but not so well that it can’t be “found.”
I stand there for a moment, staring at it, my hands clenched into fists. The betrayal burns like acid in my veins. They are so going to pay.
By the time I return to our bedroom, sleep is impossible. I pace the floor like a caged animal, replaying every conversation, every mission, every secret I shared with Dmitri. The man I called brother. The man I saved. The man who tried to have my wife killed on our wedding day.
I think back to all the times Dmitri had pretended to hate Adrian. Fucking liar! It takes every ounce of self-control I possess not to storm into his room and put a bullet between his eyes.
By morning, I have a full-blown migraine. My eyes are bloodshot, my head feels like it’s splitting open, and exhaustion weighs on me like lead. But I force myself through breakfast with Calina, Dmitri, and Viktor, pretending everything is normal while she watches me with quiet concern.
After she leaves for her day, I call Dmitri and Viktor into my office. I sit behind my desk in the office, every muscle in my body coiled tight as I fight the overwhelming urge to reach across the wood and wrap my hands around Dmitri’s throat.
