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“Has she recovered her father’s money yet?” asks Dmitri.
“The account has been frozen, but most of the money is still there. She’s not sure if she wants to keep her father’s house and fix it up. The neighborhood is on the fringe of being desirable. Developers are already getting their eyes on it.”
Dmitri sips from his glass, but he’s not savoring the taste. He’s stalling. I can tell by his gaze that he’s searching for something to say.
“Maybe this friendship with Zhanna is not a bad thing,” Dmitri replies. “There is an advantage to your wife learning how to be a proper Bratva wife. Which means you can start treating her like one. You’ve allowed her too much freedom.”
I chuckle as I pour another. “I kept her locked in a bedroom.”
“A bedroom for a queen with endless luxuries and wealth,” replies Dmitri. “You’ve spoiled her. And she knows she can use sex to manipulate you. There’s a part of you that is holding onto her too tight. If you hold onto a butterfly’s wing, it will tear when it tries to fly away. Only when you let go will it want to return.” Dmitri continues with a smirk on his lips. “Make Paige think she’s crazy for wanting to leave you. You must be like Vasily—”
“Never.”
“You have little choice, Andrei Vasilyevich.” Dmitri looks at his glass before taking a sip. “You need to turn Paige into a Bratva wife. Eva hated your father, but she wanted for nothing.”
“Except love,” I reply flatly.
“Youloved your mother, Andrei. Your children will love Paige, and she will love them. You can give her those, and that will be enough.”
I finish the vodka, wishing it was the cheap shit that burns as it goes down. Pain makes me think clearly. I need something to fight against. Love is leaving me confused. “I want my Bratva, my child, and my wife. Yet I’m constantly being told to sacrifice one for the others. And what makes you think Paige won’t leave with my child?”
“Because you’ve put enough blood on her hands already, Andrei Vasilyevich.” Dmitri’s smirk turns into a devilish smile.
His words silence me as my mind tallies up the score. I don’t like the implication, but I know Dmitri is right. She requested the hits on her mother’s rapists, and I’m certain we also eliminated her mother’s killer in the process as well.
Little Ms. Lucky isn’t Little Ms. Innocent.
Dmitri watches as I frown at the empty bottle. I don’t recall going through it so fast. He takes the empty glass out of my hand and places it, clinking, with the rest under the counter.
“You should lock the cabinet until next time,” he says with a forced smile. “When we have a celebration.”
Chapter 24
Andrei
When I go upstairs, Paige isn’t in our bedroom. I check my watch, and Emma is already on her way to school. The ballroom is empty, and the chef tells me that she hasn’t had her breakfast yet.
I head outside to the garage, and her car is missing, but Viktor is standing by the small gate by the woods, looking at his phone.
On purpose, I kick a pebble, and he immediately looks up.
“Where is my wife?”
Viktor frowns and slips his phone into his pocket. He stands up straight but stays where he is. “She had Vanya drive her somewhere.”
“Where?” I ask.
He forces his gaze to stay on me. Looking away would give himself away. “I didn’t ask.”
“Idi suda.”I motion toward him. “We’re going for a drive.”
He feels the same as I do. The goodwill between us has faded since Emma started school, and once again, he sees me as an unhinged threat. But a threat he’s willing to deal with to be a part of the Bratva. Viktor hangs his head as he follows me to the garage and towards a Rover.
“No,” I say. “We’ll take the Lamborghini. And you’re driving.”
Viktor can’t hide the wide grin that reveals his excitement. I touch the keypad, and he slips into the driver’s seat, holding the steering wheel of the Lamborghini as the engine hums so softly you can barely hear it.
“The cars are named after bulls,” I tell him. “Named for the speed and muscle of the car.”
