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“Then who did?” I reach out to graze his arm when he doesn’t answer. “Luka?” My heart clenches at his pained expression.
“It was Dima, not your father. And they weren’t after you.”
He picks up a framed photo from the coffee table and stares at it, his shoulders slumping. I peek over his shoulder and swallow hard when I see all of the Malikov siblings smiling from ear to ear…except Dima. “They were after me on his order.”
“He ordered them to kill you?”
Luka puts the photo facedown on the table. “That’s Malikov family loyalty for you.”
“I…I can’t believe it. Your own brother?”
“Yeah. Classic Dima. No fucks given for anything or anyone but himself.”
He stands up and paces in front of the large bay window overlooking the crystal blue pool in the backyard. “He wanted to clear the way for himself without having to worry about anyone challenging his authority. Blood or not. And my mother is still neck-deep in her grief fog over the loss of her precious son.”
Sarcasm drips from his words, and I cringe at the memory of Irina’s Xanax-laced reaction to Luka when she saw him a little while ago.
“My God, I’m so sorry.”
I can’t imagine having those feelings for my sisters. And I definitely can’t imagine them doing anything to warrant those feelings.
What else can I even say to him? I don’t think I’d ever be able to come up with words that could come close to healing that raw, gaping wound.
The animalistic tendencies, the vicious anger, the constant struggle for control. Jesus, it makes so much sense to me now. The more I find out about the Malikov family dysfunction, the more I understand why Luka was so close to bolting out of Miami.
And that’s not me throwing stones about the dysfunctional shit, since my own house is constructed with the same kind of crystal-clear glass.
The difference is, I only just found out about mine. Luka’s been living in his for his entire life.
He levels me with a stare, his ice blue eyes flickering with pent-up betrayal. “It wouldn’t be the first time he tried to shove me aside.”
The vein in his neck throbs with each word he hisses. “But it was the last.”
And I thought knowing that my own parents haven’t reached out to me was a jagged pill. Someone really always does have it worse.
Then a shield suddenly slams down, blocking the emotions that swirl in the depths of his turbulent irises.
“Enough about Dima. The important thing now is to figure out exactly what your father wants. There’s a reason why your father allowed the kidnapping to happen, and why he didn’t try to get you back after the wedding attack.”
“You think he actually wants us to get married? How could he know you’d carry on with the plan?”
“There’s no other reason why he’d let you be here with me.” Luka steeples his fingers and presses them against his forehead. “He wants this marriage to happen.”
“But why? I mean, if he hates you and your family so much?”
“He suffered the humiliation of me taking you from his home. He watched Dima show you off at the wedding. And most important, he’s in the process of expanding his arms business, which he knows is our biggest one.” Luka pauses and his words finally seep in, much as I hate what they represent. “He has a lot to gain from a union, however short it may be.”
“Holy shit. He wants us to get married so he can…so he can kill you?” My final thought trails off into a disbelieving whisper.
“It’s the only thing that makes sense. Think about it. I marry you, he kills me, then gets you back, along with a stake in the ownership of the Malikov empire. Not half, but enough to give him the leverage that he needs to take over. With my dad and Dima gone, that business will struggle. Killing me puts the final nail in the coffin and clears the path for him to take over.”
I shoot up from the couch, storming over to where Luka stands. My foot catches on a corner of a large Persian area rug and I stumble right into Luka’s waiting arms. “So I’m a pawn in all of this.”
“You and Val, too. Your father and Dmitri are in on this together. There’s a bigger plan at play here.” His voice is steady, but his fingertips dig deep into my arms, indicating the inner conflict that’s clearly eating away at him.
“I could have been raped when those guys broke into your house. My dad may not have sent them, but he sent me into your world where he knew I’d be targeted by association. His perfect plan to take over the world…did he think something like that would happen? That I’d be in danger because of who your family is? Did he fucking care?” I scream.
“Natasha, this wedding is going to happen. And you need to tell your family. Do you understand what I’m saying? Your father hated my family for everything that they did to him, everything he believes they stole, and he’s been plotting his revenge on us for a long time. He won’t let the opportunity pass to destroy us. Me.”
