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I had a feeling the dynamics of my innermost people would be frayed after tonight, but I didn’t give a shit. Andrei was and would always be loyal, and I had Ciara and Sean. Nothing else mattered beyond them, and I’d take care of whatever I needed to take care of to ensure they were safe.
I didn’t know how long I stood and paced back and forth before Andrei stormed into the room. He didn’t give me a second look as he extended a hand and showed me a paper. I read through the PO box’s ownership information and furrowed my brows.
“He used Nadia’s name?” I asked.
“It’s under her name, Boss. It’s enough to know it’s an inside job.”
I huffed out a deep breath and nodded. Damien would be on his way, and we’d settle this once and for all. We’d kept him out of the house for the past week, making sure to get this settled before inviting him back.
“I considered Nadia’s involvement, too,” Andrei admitted.
I thought about the encounter we’d just had, and my anger spiked once again. “It’s in her name. That’s possible.”
“It would have been easy for Damien to set this up—to have a PO box in his sister’s name to eliminate any trace of him in this entire encounter. He hates her enough to go through with something like this.” He sighed and looked at the paper again. “On the flip side, setting up the PO box was a precaution in itself. It’s possible that Nadia set it up rather than gathering information from the sources themselves. Having a PO box was already a precaution.”
“You’re saying that it could be either Nadia or Damien?” I clarified. I considered Nadia leaving, feeling dejected after the encounter we’d just had.
She hadn’t voiced any concerns about Ciara being here. If anything, she’d seemed happy to have her and Sean here. Only… I wasn’t sure if that had changed after tonight.
“It could be either of them,” Andrei said. “But I don’t doubt that one of them is a traitor to us. One of them set up a PO box to receive information, and it was never offered to us.”
My stomach sank as I shook my head and moved toward the door. “I’m going to have Ciara wait in my room tonight with the door locked. Neither Damien nor Nadia knows that we’re onto them, and once they figure it out, everything could change. I don’t want Ciara involved in the bloodshed if it comes to that.”
I hoped that something had been misconstrued, and I hoped that bloodshed didn’t have to come from this. Maybe it was a misunderstanding. Regardless of what this was, Ciara would be safe in my home, no matter what.
My job was to keep my wife safe, and I’d done it well up to this point. Once we figured out the inside traitor, I’d go to the Irish boss and kill him myself if it would put an end to this.
Nothing would get to her. I wouldn’t let it.
Chapter Twenty
Ciara Gilroy
I kissed Sean’s forehead and closed the door, leaving him in bed for the evening. I’d been dreading this all day, and as I pulled the positive pregnancy test out of my pocket and looked at it again, I leaned into the wall and took a deep breath. I had to tell him. I couldn’t put it off, just like I couldn’t put off asking about Nadia and their past relationship.
I told myself that it didn’t matter when they hadn’t been together for a long time. He had shown no interest in her, and I was working myself into a jealous frenzy for no reason. Viktor wanted me. He’d made it clear that he did, and I had to trust that he was being honest.
I had to trust that he’d be excited about the pregnancy.
I made my way toward his office and found the door already partially ajar. The voices from inside had me slowing. They were low enough that I couldn’t hear the words being spoken, but I peeked inside and froze.
Nadia straddled Viktor’s lap and spoke in low tones to him. When Viktor didn’t immediately push her away, my heart sank. Was it possible that all of this had been some kind of scheme? He’d married me for my protection, but what had the point of it all been? Why had he done any of this if he just wanted to be with Nadia?
Finally, he moved, flipping their positions and hovering above her.
I couldn’t see any more.
I turned and fled down the hallway, grabbing my mouth to keep from making a noise. I didn’t know what to do or how to react. Viktor had made it seem like he wanted me from the first day he’d brought me here. Sure, the marriage had been fake. It had all been a ruse to keep people away from me, but… the feelings I’d gained for him had been real. I was finally willing to stay with him because of the way he’d made me feel. He insisted that I would stay with him, even after the threat had passed.
Had he been with Nadia all along? How long has this been happening?
I didn’t know where I was going as I strode through the backdoors of the house and onto the back patio. I overlooked the spot where Viktor had set up a picnic for me—where we’d come together in a night of passion and lust. Had he done that with Nadia, too? Did he have evenings like that with her when I was busy with our child?
I felt tears streaming down my face as I considered all the things that I thought I’d have with Viktor—all the things that I had started looking forward to. A family. A home. A man to come home to in the evenings who cared deeply for both me and my son. Everything felt like it circled the drain now. I couldn’t be with someone who was still interested in someone else.
I’d been crazy to believe that we could ever be more.
I strode out into the sand, allowing my toes to sink in. I sat back, bringing my knees to my chest and allowing the rhythmic crashing to fill my ears as I closed my eyes and leaned into my knees. My heart pounded fiercely, and it felt almost impossible to feel it still thumping strongly. It felt like it shouldn’t be working properly—like it should be shattered and obliterated beyond repair.
