AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Tori comes back in quickly with a first aid kit and some anti-septic. I shift and pull my shirt up and off, lying back down. “Don’t mind my hairy ass.”
“It’s a chest, not an ass,” she smiles, looking at the wound. She pours some antiseptic onto some gauze and holds it to my injury.
I focus on Ivan as he hangs up the phone. “It was the Golubev family,” I say.
“Why would they attack us?” Ivan asks. “What proof have you got?”
“I pissed Mikhail off last night when I interrupted his dinner with Shirley. He’s clearly making moves on her to get information, and he’s pissed I messed it up for him.” I tilt my head and glance at the blood leaking down my arm that Tori is trying to stem.
She switches gauze as Ivan sits near my head. “Evgenii, I’m only going to say this once. Get your emotions in check. You are acting like a jealous husband. You’re distracted, and it’s dangerous. I want to know who really attacked us, and don’t just say Golubevs. Give me proof. If it is them, they will pay for it dearly. But I’m not declaring war because a girl whose heart you broke doing family business is seeing someone else.”
The words sting and I fall quiet. I look at the ground, considering what he said. He’s always been a leader since we were kids, and I trust his advice wholeheartedly.
“Don’t be such an asshole.”
Tori’s declaration shocks both of us, and I glance at her. She’s glaring at Ivan. “You know for damn sure that you would start a war if the roles were reversed, and it was me instead of Shirley. This is no different.”
Ivan’s eyes softened because Tori was defending me. He leans forward. “My love, I would burn the world for you, but you’re my wife. Not my ex-girlfriend that I can’t get over.”
I put my free hand over Tori’s. “He’s right.”
Ivan looks at me sadly and continues, “Even if Evgenii loves her now, after what he’s done, Shirley will not forgive him, so there’s no point. He should let it go.”
“You forgave me,” Tori said, looking deeply into Ivan’s eyes.
A deep silence hangs about the room when there’s a sudden knock at the door, and we all jump slightly.
“It’s the doctor,” Aleks says, leading the older gentlemen in. Ivan and Tori leave the room as the doctor patches me up before giving me an antibiotic injection in the arm.
I get up, get dressed once he’s done, and go into the hallway where Ivan is. I don’t see Tori, she must have gone back to Roman.
“I’m going to see if the Sorvinos know anything of the attack or if they’ve also been targeted. I’ll report back as soon as I have something,” I say, standing straight and emotionless.
Ivan looks into my eyes. “Don’t go near Shirley. Ask one of the other brothers like Dominic.”
“Of course,” I say, giving him a small smile. “Be safe, Pakhan.”
“Also, take Aleks and Gregori,” Ivan demands. “I don’t want anyone getting to you once you’re off the property.”
I nod and leave. I groan as I see the bullet-ridden body of my car but turn to the left to where Aleks is waiting for me with one of Ivan’s bulletproof sedans.
The trip to Dominic takes a while, and I think about what Ivan said about me having to let go of Shirley because she won’t forgive me.
But Ivan forgave Tori.
Maybe there is a chance…
I shake my head. I can’t be distracted now that I have a job to do. We lost young guards today, men who just wanted to provide for their families as we provide for ours.
Once we’re let onto Dominic’s property, I’m escorted with my guards to the back of the house, where Dominic is assembling a table.
“Evgenii, I’m surprised you’ve come here.” He glances up at me and sees my bloody shirt. “What’s happened?”
“An attack at Ivan’s home. I have some questions. Firstly if you or your family were attacked?”
“Not that I’ve been informed.” Dominic sets down the screwdriver he’s holding. “Do you have any leads?’
“What do you know of the Golubev family? How are they toward your men?” I ask, sitting nearby Dominic.
