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“I see the truth in your eyes. You feel good being married to me.”
“Now who’s lying.” She rolls her eyes. “God, I must be a fucking idiot. Tell me something. If I do this, are your problems solved?”
“Yours too.”
“Then I have conditions.”
“Name them.”
“I get freedom after this. If I want to go shopping or on a vacation somewhere, you don’t get to stop me.”
“As long as it’s safe and you take some guards with you, I have no problem with that.”
“Alone.”
“No. Too risky.”
“I’m not spending the rest of my life with your goons breathing down my neck. You want Diego, you have to compromise. You ever heard that word before?”
“I heard it. I just ignore it.”
“Then good luck dealing with Diego on your own.” She shakes her head. “You don’t give a shit about me, do you? Want me to walk up to a man you’ve already said has tried to kidnap me. What is this, get him to kill me to save you the trouble? Bored of me already, are you?”
I walk over to her, grabbing her by the throat. “You are not in a position of strength in this negotiation. If I do not deal with Diego Garcia, we both die. It is that simple. I will not let you die.
“You will bring him to me, then you can have whatever you want. Divorce, freedom, vacations in the Arctic fucking circle. Just do not think that I do all this for my own ends.”
I lean down and kiss her. “I could break your neck in an instant if you were my enemy but you are not. You are my wife. You are stronger than a fucking tiger. You are the only person who has ever dared fight me and lived to tell the tale. I like that about youbut be warned. You can take it too far. Do I look bored of you?”
I loosen my grip and kiss her again. She glares up at me, her hand swinging to slap me. I could catch it but I let it strike. The sting is mild compared to the fights I’ve had in my life but the feeling behind it hurts much more.
“You’re a fucking animal,” she says. “All you know how to do is threaten people.”
“And make them come. Make them moan my name. You agree to this and I set everything up. There is a risk, you’re right. This whole thing is a gamble but so is life. You want your freedom? This is the price. Bring me Diego Garcia.”
5
Mila
Ido my best to remain calm as the car pulls up outside the diner. I’ve been sitting here for twenty minutes, waiting to be collected.
My coffee sits undrunk in front of me. I’ve been staring out the window the whole time, knowing that this is madness.
What I should do is get up and walk out, disappear, change my name. Never look back. Let all this insanity fade into distant memory. There was a time when I told myself I was better off alone. What happened?
What about the baby?
The question keeps intruding. Even if I run, I’ll still be bringing up Alexsei’s child. That’s if he doesn’t track me down and kill me for going back on our deal.
He made it clear what my life is worth to him. Whatever he can get out of it. He doesn’t give a shit about me as a person, just cares about using me to get what he wants.
Two things. An heir and his rival dead. He’s using me to get both. Sure, he says I can walk away with my art gallery when this is done, live my dream. But can I trust him?
I tried trusting Terry when we first got together, when he told me he’d never rush me into sex. Look what happened there. The bruises on my neck have only just faded away. He’s dead. Gone like he never existed. If only I could do the same with my memories of him.
I don’t know whether to be scared or grateful. Right now all I feel is fear. If this goes wrong, and it’s almost certain to, then I’m dead. Alexsei too.
And our child, no more than the size of a peppercorn right now. Maybe not even that, maybe a full stop. Long way to go to become a baby.
