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“She came clean,” I grumble. “I didn’t say she redeemed herself.”
Bianca wrecked me in ways I can’t yet fathom. There’s no coming back from that.
When I raise my head, Andrei is looking at me funny, like he can read my thoughts. My brother and I have had our fair share of differences over the years, but he and Yulian are perhaps the only two people in the room that can understand how vulnerable a woman can make you.
“She’s your wife,” Andrei intones, “you get to decide how we deal with her.”
I flash my brother a fuck-you scowl, but he simply raises an eyebrow in response. “I can’t think about that right now. But…” I pause, reach for my glass of Macallan, and down a shot even though it’s far too early to drink. “I am going to kill Emilio. He deserves to suffer.”
Yulian’s lips twist in distaste. “Killing the head of a cartel isn’t child's play. There will be repercussions,” he says, always the cautious one. “And with the feds up our ass, seems like a bad time to start a war.”
“It’s not a war if we wipe them from the face of the earth,” I bark. Bianca may have gutted me, but what her uncle did to her family is unforgivable.
Once upon a time, my family was also betrayed by a monster in the worst possible way—I understand how the need for revenge hums under your skin until it’s sated. And I have plenty of reasons to gut Emilio and Jorge myself beside the fact that they are traitorous pigs. “Emilio hasn’t set foot in the US since the wedding. We could go after him in Colombia where the feds don’t have any jurisdiction.”
Andrei’s jaw ticks in thought; a moment later he clamps a hand on my tense shoulder. “If you want to go after Emilio, then we will. We’ll burn the Zegas to the ground when the time is right,” he adds. “Right now, we need to wait until the heat settles.”
I nod, sitting back in my seat. I’m not sure if the time will ever be right, but it’s the one mercy I can offer Bianca before she must meet her fate, whatever that fate may be.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE
BIANCA
When I wake up,the space beside me is empty. Again. I roll over and bury my face in the pillow beside me and inhale. It still smells like Daniil, but just barely.
It’s been two days since Daniil discovered I was an FBI informant. Two long days locked in the basement and most recently our bedroom, while Daniil figures out what to do with me. I’d like to say I get it, but I’m mad as hell. He knows why I did what I did. He saw my mother’s letters to the NGO where she talked about the increasing danger to herself and her family. She told them she believed her brother was onto her and the repercussion would be severe.
When my family was killed, they were on the way to pick up our updated passports before we left for what I thought would be a family vacation. I was supposed to be with them, but I had a cold and decided to stay home. That’s the only reason I’m alive today. Turns out, our flights were booked for the very next day, and the trip I thought we were taking was actually going to be permanent. We were relocating to Canada to escape danger—one day too late.
My uncle’s men got to us first.
I am curled on the ledge of the bay window with Eris in my lap, overlooking the ocean in the distance, when the click of a lock fills the room. I expect it to be a member of staff with a meal for me, but I turn my head to find Kira standing in the doorway.
“Hey,” she says softly.
“Hey,” I echo, standing to meet her.
I brace myself for her wrath, because I didn’t just betray Daniil, I betrayed his whole family. But that doesn’t happen. She strides into the room, bends to pat Eris going berserk at her feet, and then motions to the bed.
“Can we talk?” I nod, sinking onto the bed beside her. “Daniil told us.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “I’m sorry. I know that’s not enough. If there were another way, I wouldn’t have involved you or your family. If things had been different—”
“I get it,” she interrupts, dragging a hand down her face. “I’m not going to pretend that everything is going to be alright—my brothers are livid—but nothing is more important to them than family. Maybe in time, they’ll understand why you made the choice you did.”
I give a small shake of my head, throat thick with emotion. “I don’t think Daniil will ever understand.”
She lets out a soft laugh, tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. “He’s hurt. He’s hurt because you didn’t go to him to get revenge. He would have done anything for you.”
My heart sinks deeper in my chest. The only good thing in my life, and it’s lost forever. I couldn’t believe that Daniil loved me enough to go to war with my uncle. So many years spent fighting my own battles with no one on my side, I forgot how to share my burdens and lean on the comfort and stability of someone who loves you.
Loves.
I do love him, even if I realized it much too late.
I started falling the moment he let me keep Eris even though he is allergic to this ridiculous fluff ball of destruction. When I planted the final bug in his casino office, my devastation was so heavy, I didn’t realize the dark tunnel I was plummeting down was more than guilt.
So much more.
