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The knot lodged in my chest tightens with each breath I suck into my lungs, my body’s rejection of the blatant lie.
A dejected expression shadows her face. Then, she narrows her eyes, sparks of bright green fury launching at me like tiny missiles. “At least I wouldn’t have knives held to my throat whenever you get your dick in a twist about something you didn’t bother to clarify first.”
I drop the hand with the knife in it to my side. But I only loosen my grip on her hair. She’s still under my control, the only thing under my control these days. “Fine. What did you tell your brother?”
“Fuck you.”
I lift an eyebrow and raise the knife. “You wanna take another shot at answering my question?”
“What difference does it make? You won’t believe me. You think I’m plotting against you when really, I just want to make sure my family is protected. I would give my life to keep them safe.”
“Would they do the same for you?” I dip my head so she’s forced to look up at me.
“Isn’t it sad that you have to be so suspicious of everyone all the time? Do you feel that way about your own family? That they’d leave you high and dry to save their own asses?”
I bite my tongue from spewing the truth, what Dima ordered me to do, what I would have done if Arseny Siderov hadn’t beaten me to the punch.
“You have no idea what kind of betrayal I’ve suffered at the hands of my own blood.”
That motherfucker Dima is probably laughing at me from his throne in Hell right now. The bastard wanted to frame me and somehow, he got exactly what he wanted. I didn’t even have to pull the damn trigger.
Except I never found out why he screwed me over, an unanswered question that’s plagued me since the day of Val’s wedding when I was about to confront him.
But someone was quicker to get to him.
“Betrayal runs deep in the Malikov Bratva. Fuck trust.”
“Then it’ll be a very lonely life for you,” she seethes.
“That suits me just fine.” I back her against the window. “Tell me what your brother said. I won’t ask a third time.”
She rolls her eyes. “Before you cut me off? I barely got a word from Petro.”
“What was the word?” I hold the knife to the neckline of her T-shirt, losing patience and my resolve.
“They’re innocent, okay? They aren’t your targets. Someone else made that hit.”
“We’ll see.”
I hover the blade over the fabric. Her nipples pebble beneath the thin fabric. A pink flush colors her face. “I told you what you wanted to know.”
“Yeah, so?”
Her nostrils flare. “So get the hell out of my way. I want to check on Daniela.”
“I already did. She’s fine. And if you were so worried, why didn’t you check on her before you started snooping around?”
“You stole my life when you took us from that house. I didn’t have anything for a very long time and I worked my ass off to get where I am. You have no right to keep me from living. I earned everything I have, and now you want to take it all away? Screw that.” She stops long enough to take a breath, her chin lifted in contempt. “I want out.”
God, I want to fuck that defiance out of her so badly.
“You made your choice when I took you. You chose to sacrifice yourself for the rest of your family.”
Her jaw drops. “This isn’t some gilded cage and I’m not a prize peacock. You can’t keep me locked in here forever. I have a family. A job. A freaking life.”
“Not without me, you don’t.”
“So we’re back to your protection detail? Why don’t you just make up your mind? Either you want me here or you don’t. You’ve made it very clear you don’t trust me, and that you’ll feed me to the wolves the first chance you get.” She presses a hand against my chest. “Why am I still here? You could have let those guys take me yesterday, followed them, and blown them all to hell, getting your precious revenge. Instead, you saved me from them. I want to know why. Why you say one thing and then do another.”
