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I tilt my head, my hands coming up and cracking my knuckles. It does nothing to stop the frustration rising inside me.
“Her name is Capree Charlotte Rossi.”
I never thought a small act like naming a child without me would affect me so deeply. And refusing to give her my last name…? Let’s not even speak about her middle name. I breathe in deep through my nose, and I can’t stop the growl that exits my lips.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she scolds, her body shaking. “I gave her that middle name to unite the girls. To give them a sister thing to bond over.”
That’s actually pretty sweet. I can feel my features softening, and I harden them again not wanting to be distracted out of this argument. “Her last name is Sokolov. I will not budge on that,” I command in one breath. She opens her mouth to argue, but I cut her off. “I swear to God, Katrina.” She glares back at me. “Do I need to remind you that you demanded me to marry you?You yourselfare now a Sokolov. Maybe I should walk through that door and have a chat with your brother.”
“Don’t you dare. We do this onmytimeline.”
Another demand of me. Each nerve vibrates, and my hands shake. She takes notice and steps back.
“No,” I say through gritted teeth. Her face falls when my expression stays hard. “Your rightful place is with me. I am your family now. You have thirty seconds to pack what you need.” She has already made me bend on too many issues. I’ve had men weeping at my feet because they’re scared of me. She glares like she hates me.
I open her bedroom door, ready to walk out of here through the front door—the same place I should have entered. I try not to take the shocked and horrified expression on her face to heart.
“It’s going to take more than thirty seconds. Please, let me come to you and not make a scene in my family’s home. I’ve done so much to them already. I can’t bear to disappoint them again.”
“They’re idiots for not seeing what I see.”
“Please,” she begs of me. I wish I was a stronger man when it comes to her. I can already feel myself weakening at her sad face.
“You have until nightfall. If I have to search for you….” I allow my threat to linger, for her imagination to conjure the consequences.
I give her a quick kiss on her forehead, then my daughter’s, leaving her standing while I exit the same way I entered.
“Yousureyouwantto bring her home?” Mikhail dares to ask me. “She’s known for being crazy, and I don’t mean she’s a little obsessive. Like people die in her presence, and she steps over them without blinking.”
I slam him up against the wall of my club’s basement. “You realize you are talking about my wife? I should cut out your tongue, dear cousin.”
“Hear me out,” he tries to continue, but I squeeze his neck, my anger consuming me.
“What did he do now?” Eva’s voice has my fingers uncurling from his fragile throat, and I drop him. His legs crumble under him before he stands.
“Eva,” we both say, his coming out more as a hacking cough.
“You’re not allowed down here,” I try to tell her calmly.
“I knew it was just the two of you. I’ll be out of your hair in one second. I have the feed from the Rossis’ I thought you would be interested in.”
“I’m not interested in that anymore.” I dismiss the idea.
She nods, her hands lacing together. I stand there waiting for what else is on her mind. “I hear I’m to move out,” she says, her eyes glistening. “I thought we were family.”
“You’ve always been like a sister to me. I have set you up in a nice house next to Mikhail.”
“You talk about building your own family, that loyalty is thicker than blood. What you don’t realize is that you don’t throw family away when something shiny comes around and you want to play with it.”
“Silence!” I yell. “I will not tolerate anyone disrespecting my wife. The next time someone does, I will cut out their tongue to make an example of them. Are you two clear?”
They nod, still not looking happy.
“Spread the word if you have to. Now, get out of my sight.”
They both scramble up the stairs, leaving me to myself. I sit on our torture chair, remembering a time when I had ropes on my own wrists and fought for my life. That seems like a lifetime ago.
I expected a little push-back from Eva, but from Mikhail…?
