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As it is, I don’t even know if I did something during the night. If I had a night terror and simply don’t remember it.

Now I’m sitting across from Katerina’s father in a business meeting, trying to focus on the merger details in front of me. His voice cuts through my thoughts.

“Pakhan. Did you hear what I said?”

“I did,” I answer, forcing my attention back to the meeting.

The conference room falls quiet again as Yuri Petrov continues outlining the final terms of the agreement. On paper, it’s a logistics partnership between my organization and his political network. But it's actually a means for us to clean dirty money.

The negotiations have been in the works for months now. They got stalled because I left for Rome to get married.

Now that I’m back in Chicago, everything is moving again. Yuri slides another folder across the table.

“If we finalize this before the end of the month,” he says, “both sides will be positioned well before the next fiscal quarter.”

I nod. “Good.”

His weathered face breaks into a satisfied smile. “I knew we’d reach an understanding.”

I know what he doesn’t say. Months ago, when these meetings first began, Yuri made sure Katerina attended every single one. At first, I assumed she was there because she was managing the project on behalf of the family.

Then the hints started. Comments about how well we worked together. How compatible we’d be. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what he wanted.

Unfortunately for him, I was never interested in Katerina. After I married Aurora, he must have finally accepted that becoming my father-in-law was no longer a possibility. Since then, he has stuck strictly to the terms of the deal.

Katerina, however, has not been as accepting. I’ve already made it clear to her that nothing will ever happen between us.

Before Aurora, I’d always believed that if I ever married, it would be for business. Nothing more.

Aurora may have come with an alliance, but that isn’t why I married her. Even if Lorenzo had torn up the agreement and walked away, I still would’ve chosen her. I still would’ve gone to war for her.

Every woman before her existed only on the surface, sex, nothing more. And they all understood the arrangement.

Aurora is different. I think about her constantly. I wonder if she’s eating enough. I wonder whether she’s painting again. I wonder if she’s smiling or still angry with me. Every spare moment my mind finds, it fills with her.

Last night in my private quarters, we crossed another line I had drawn. I no longer even know where the boundary is supposed to be.

A part of me doesn’t want there to be a boundary at all. A part of me wants to go home to my wife, to spend time with her, to live like a normal couple.

But I can't, because one peaceful night proves nothing. Tomorrow could be different. One episode is all it would take for me to hurt the one person I’ve sworn to protect. I have to protect her from the demons that live inside me. If I ever lose control, if I ever hurt her because of them, I’m not sure I would be able to live with myself.

Yuri and I spend another thirty minutes going over timelines, budgets, and the legal framework for the partnership. By the time we shake hands, every major detail has been settled. Our legal teams will draft the final contracts over the next few weeks, and if everything stays on schedule, we’ll officially merge our interests before the end of the quarter.

“It’s been a pleasure, Roman.”

“The feeling is mutual.”

I leave his office with my security detail falling into step behind me. My mind is already moving to the next item on today’s schedule when my phone vibrates in my pocket.

The name flashing across the screen belongs to one of the men leading the investigation into the attack at the gala.

I answer immediately. “Talk to me.”

“We found the shooter.”

Every muscle in my body goes taut. “Bring me the bastard.”

There’s a brief pause. “We can’t.”