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He’s never told me he loves me, but I know he feels the same way I do. Despite my betrayal, feelings can’t be wiped out in a day, which makes this all so much worse.
“I fucked up.” I let out a choked sob and bury my head in my hands. “And I don’t think I can fix it.”
The tears flow, and there is nothing I can do to stop them. I’m an idiot, breaking down beside a woman whose family hates me, might even kill me, but instead, Kira pulls me into her arms and lets me cry for as long as I need. Which turns out to be a very long time. Eris tries to get in on the action, licking my face, and swallowing my tears. It makes both of us laugh.
When I’ve calmed down enough, I tell her, “Thank you. I don’t know how I got so lucky to have you on my side, but it means everything.”
She squeezes my hand, then leans back and gazes out the window towards the endless sea. “Before I found my brothers, the only person in the world who loved me was my aunt Masha, and she was taken from me. Killed by my father.” She smiles sadly. “I wish things had turned out differently, but I understand why you would need to avenge your family. How it can make you blind to everything else.”
“I’m sorry about your aunt. And …” I swallow hard. “I’m just really sorry about everything.”
Kira stands and regards me thoughtfully. “I don’t want to see you killed, but Andrei has left it in Daniil’s hands.” She shrugs helplessly, like there’s nothing more he can offer me. “Georgia took her dad to Greece to visit family, but when she’s back, she’ll give Andrei hell. She’ll be on your side, too, I know it.”
With that, she takes her exit, and I’m left to wonder how I can fix this. If I can fix it. Can betrayal this deep be forgiven? There’s also the matter of bratva pride. Daniil may act the gentleman, but underneath the ten thousand-dollar suits and bespoke leather shoes, he’s as vicious as any other man raised in the brotherhood.
Pulling Eris into my lap, I drop back onto the pillows. The most loving thing I can do now is to take the decision away from Daniil. Sending me to my death or keeping me around to… well, to do what? Either way, the choice will eat him up inside. If there’s one kindness I can pay him, it’s to direct my fate.
Curled up on the covers, I let sleep pull me from this nightmare I’m living, into a place of numbness where nothing hurts, there are no feelings, no terror, no mistakes. Just numb.
* * *
A warm handbrushes over my face, rousing me from sleep. I keep my eyes shut tight for a moment, basking in his smell, in the heat of his hand. For one moment I pretend everything is okay, that it’s a normal morning and he’s waking me up to make love.
But the illusion is ruined the moment I open my eyes and see his stony stare boring into me.
“Get up,” he barks, voice flat, devoid of emotion. I’ll no longer get sweet whispered words pressed against my skin.
I sit up slowly, taking a minute to get my bearings. The sun has migrated west, meaning it’s sometime in the late afternoon. Eris is still snoring at the end of the bed.
Throwing the covers off, Daniil’s eyes sweep over me. For just one moment, his gaze warms my body, and I’m consumed by the heat in his stare watching the rise and fall of my breasts through my flimsy camisole. He reaches out and, for a brief second, runs a finger between them. My nipples tighten in anticipation of his touch, and feverish need flares between my thighs.
Just as quickly as the heat sparked, he lets it die with a mumbled curse and eyes that turn to cold steel.
“What’s going on?” I ask, mildly.
“Get up and get dressed.” His back is to me now, and he’s staring out the big bay window. “I’ll explain on the way.”
An hour later, we’re stepping off the Kozlovs’ helicopter at a private heliport just south of FDR Drive in Manhattan. Daniil ushers me into a waiting car, settling in beside me in the back seat.
It was too loud to talk in the helicopter, or at least that’s what I assume, but now that we are alone together, the silence is near deafening, I wonder if this is how he’ll kill me. Bring me to an abandoned warehouse on the docks and end it all. My body will be found floating in the Hudson days or weeks later.
“Where are we going?” I ask, sounding as unsteady as I feel. It’s then that I notice he looks feral. Unshaven, hair mussed, tension pulling the corners of his mouth tight.
“To see your FBI handler, prin—” He grunts, his eyes finding mine. He nearly called meprintsessabut stopped himself. The hard frown that settles on his lips is proof enough that I’ll never be printsessa again.
“What!? How did you—?” And then I recall he has my cell phone, and I showed him exactly how I communicate with Deidre. He set up a meeting pretending to be me. “I left things on bad terms with her when I refused to give up any more information about you. She’ll think something is up.”
He snorts in derision. “How very honorable of you,” he spits. “But you’ve seen the error of your ways, and you’re willing to give up information about the Kozlovs to further your cause. Shouldn’t require much acting from you.”
“I don’t understand.” He presses a piece of paper into my hand. “Why would you want me to tattle on you? To expose your family like this?”
“You didn’t give me much choice,” he growls. “Read this script. Memorize it. Tell her exactly this and nothing more.”
I stare at the words in my hands, trying to make sense of why he’d want me to reveal any of this. “I don’t get it,” I say, pushing a thumb into my temple.
“Because, my sweet Bianca, you need to become valuable to her again. You need to gain her trust, and that won’t happen until you give her something solid.”
He glances at the watch on his wrist, then back out the tinted window. “We’re going to be there in ten minutes, I suggest you study up.”
