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“Does it bother you?” He asks, in that same dark tone. “That I’ve killed people?”

I turn away from him. He tries to touch my face to guide my gaze back to him, but I move away.

“This was never supposed to be… anything,” I murmur.

Now, he’s making it everything. Can I love a killer? Do I have any business thinking about love at all?

He stands. “I need to make some calls. At the very least, I need to see if it would be possible to hit this motherfucker.”

He offers me his hand. I want to take it, let him haul me to my feet and pull me against him. I’ll kiss him and feel my resolve trying to break, maybe give in, as Pico stares at us and Zoe plays just two rooms over.

I keep my arms firmly wrapped around Pico.

“I’ll see you soon, Serena,” he says. “Well done today. We wouldn’t know about this without you. And you saved your friend.”

“I think you helped more than I did,” I say when he’s at the door.

Without turning, he chuckles. From the hallway, I hear Zoe saying, “Are you going to do big boss things now, Nikky?”

I smile, stroking Pico under the chin.

“Something like that,” Nikolai replies. “How’s the play going?”

“Almost ready.”

“When it’s done, I hope you’ll let me watch.”

“Duh.”

Nikolai chuckles, then leaves.

I carry Pico through the house, cradling him to my chest. Zoe smiles over at me from her place on the floor. Michaela grins beside her. Sasha has kept all of this away from her daughter. The sweet girl has no clue about the demons her mother has been fighting.

I just hope it’s the same for me and Zoe.

CHAPTER 22

NIKOLAI

Istand behind the one-way glass, watching as Anton and Celeste flirt downstairs. He’s a different man when he interacts with her, smiling easily, laughing, breaking the mask he’s worn for as long as I can remember. And, crucially, they don’t seem to be struggling, to be fighting.

Going to my desk, I wait for Anton to walk up the stairs and join me. I can’t stop thinking about how I left Serena, sitting with her arms wrapped around Pico as though to shield herself from me. This distance makes me ache, just like the horror in her eyes when I told her this could end in blood.

Anton walks in, his mask firmly back in place.

“I want details on how we can cut the head off the snake,” I say.

Anton narrows his eyes. “Kill the kingpin?” He strokes his chin. “I don’t know, boss. It will be tough. He’s got security on him all the time. I doubt he goes anywhere without at least four or five men. He’s got people watching for tails at all times.”

“He needs to go,” I growl. “We need to fucking end him.”

“That’s… an escalation,” Anton says.

“You’re going to tell me that?” I ask in disbelief. “You’re always the one who’s ready to fight, to die, to be like the old Bratva when it comes to it. To be fucking beasts. You said that to me once, remember, back on one of those rare nights you actually had a drink.”

He smiles for a brief moment, shaking his head. “It all comes from this club,” he says. “It all started here. Rafael. The Marlins. This is where he tried to prove he is better than the Volkovs. Where he tried to learn if your brother had truly abandoned you. Where he ascertained if killing you was an intelligent proposition.”

I wait, watching, stunned by this new version of Anton. I nod.