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“Tell me how to fix it.” Tears flow down my face, desperate and silent. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to make things right with you, Daniil. I love you. Ido.Please… tell me,” I plead, needing him to take me in his arms and make everything better. Because without Daniil, I have nothing to live for.
He releases a low groan, and I don’t like the way it coats my skin. He won’t look at me, instead he pinches the bridge of his nose, a hiss slipping between his teeth. Like being caught out in an electrical storm, the air feels fraught, like all hell is about to break loose and I should run for cover.
“Do you know what we’ve been through, my family? A man raised alongside my father betrayed us in the worst possible way. My mother took her own life because of him. He stole our sister from us, and had our father killed. Trust doesn’t come easy to me, but I trusted you, I really fucking did, and you shit all over it.”
I sigh, closing my eyes and leaning back into my seat. I can’t convince Daniil that I fell in love with him when I never thought it was possible to let anyone in. Somehow, he’s changed me. Changed everything.
The car comes to a stop, I open my eyes to find we’ve pulled up in front of our Brooklyn penthouse. “What’s going on?” I ask.
“You’ll stay here until I figure out what comes next.”
I want to ask what the fuck he means by that, but before I can respond, my door is yanked open. Mikhail stands there, looking as somber as I've ever seen him. I turn to Daniil one final time, sadness biting at my edges. He won't look at me, but I look at him, memorizing every hard line and stubborn set of his jaw.
Because if this is the last time I see the man I love, I want to make it count.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR
DANIIL
Andrei is a hell of a boxer.I don’t know why I insisted he spar with me other than the fact I need to rid myself of this manic energy before I self-destruct. Maybe he knows that, because without hesitation, he comes for me, light on his feet, throwing a series of lightning-fast jabs followed by a mean right hook. But I know how he fights, and I anticipate his moves, blocking the jabs and ducking the right hook, which makes him bare his teeth. A feral smile.
“Look at you,brat. It’s as if you’ve learned to actually fight.”
“Better believe it,” I snarl, which makes him laugh until I come back at him with a vicious uppercut that catches Andrei right under the ribs. He lets out a low hiss, but it doesn’t stop him from advancing on me, his chin tucked low and eyes dancing with challenge. I want nothing more than to pound him into the ground, simply because all this pent-up energy is going to be the death of me.
It’s been two days since I dropped Bianca off at the penthouse, leaving her locked up high in the tower like Rapunzel, but not for one minute have I forgotten about her. Night and day, she’s the only thing on my mind. Eris and I are like two lovesick fools wandering the halls of the Kozlov estate at all hours, pining for a five-foot-nothing bombshell that crashed into my life and changed me forever.
The only thing that’s helped is planning Emilio’s downfall. We haven’t made a move yet, but we’re putting our assets in play, gathering intelligence, waiting for the right moment to strike. For now, we’ve continued on with the Zegas as if all is normal. We don’t want them to see us coming.
I haven’t told Bianca our plans to destroy her uncle. Not yet, anyhow. I can’t face her, because I know if I do, I’ll crumble at her feet, forgive her every sin. My will to punish her is waning; more and more, staying away from her feels like I’m punishing myself.
I’m a goddamn mess.
The momentary distraction costs me. Andrei’s fist connects with my jaw, snapping my head back before I right myself, anger boiling to the surface. Faster than I can retaliate, he advances on me again with a cross punch that I bob in time to avoid.
“Fuck this,” I announce, ripping the boxing gloves off my hands and throwing them to the floor. “I can’t do it.”
Andrei holds up his hands in surrender, slowly unlacing his gloves. “If you don’t feel like boxing, just say so.”
“I can’t kill her.” I don’t know why I ever thought I could. Days earlier it seemed like the only way forward. Her betrayal cut me like a knife, and I was under the false impression that feelings can be controlled, like water from a tap. But with Bianca, I can’t turn it off.
“I know.” He leans against the ropes, looking a bit too pleased with himself. “I never thought you would.”
I rake my hands through my hair, looking around the boxing gym as if I can find my salvation within these four walls. “I’m fucked.” I sit down heavily on the side of the ring, and long for a cigarette I haven’t smoked since my teen years. Just something to release the pressure.
A moment later, Andrei sits beside me, releasing a heavy sigh. “Welcome to the club. It doesn’t get better. You’re a ruined man now.”
I don’t know whether to laugh or sob at his admission. Andrei, the toughest motherfucker I know, is admitting that Georgia has him wrapped around her finger, baby toe, thigh… all of it, really. And I’m no better.
“What am I going to fucking do?” I ask, throwing my empty water bottle in defeat. “She’s a liability, you said so yourself.”
A caustic smile graces his lips, and he reaches for a towel to mop up the sweat on his brow. “Maybe we see things too cut-and-dried. Kira has argued her case, and Georgia gave me a fucking earful about it when I spoke to her last night.” He frowns, as if he doesn’t like what he’s about to admit. “The pakhan in me wouldn’t hesitate to slit her throat, but as a family man, I understand why she did what she did. I would have done the same, and you would have, too.”
“She could have come to me. She knew how I felt… that I would have done anything for her.”
“She did come to you, Daniil. Maybe not on your timeline, but she did.” Andrei rises, slinging his towel around his neck just as Yulian comes careening into the room. The intensity in his eyes sets off waves of anxiety.
“What is it?” I demand.
