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“It’s the way things are done. Sometimes, good men must do bad things.”
Dario gestures to me. He has his second cell phone held close to his chest. “We’ve spotted rifles in the nearby buildings. I need to order our guys to back off. Could be a bloodbath.”
I nod.
“Think about what I’ve said.” Fyodor sounds almost sad as if he regrets this, but he is also somehow capable and ready to do what he must. It’s a strange combination. “Or bad things will happen.”
He ends the call. I give Dario his cell phone, then turn back to Matvei.
“Have you ever hurt a woman or a child?” I ask him coldly.
“I would be foolish if I had, and I told you,” he replies.
“Dario, take him somewhere he won’t be found. Question him. We must know if he knows anything about the Bratva’s inner workings.”
“Easy work,” Dario says fiercely, grabbing Matvei. “Did you hear that, Matty, old buddy, old pal? You’re coming with me. Know who I am? I’m the man with anuncle of the fucking yearmug sitting proudly on his desk.”
Matvei yelps when Dario punches him in the face.
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
Emma
It feels so, so weird sitting in the living room with Rosa and Leo. Before, he was just the handsome dad, somebody I had a fleeting crush on, but I never thought he’d want to kiss, touch, and be with me. Now, I’m self-conscious about everything I do, every breath, every movement.
It’s been almost three days since I last saw him, but it feels much longer. The passage of time has let me trick myself into believing I can be cold again and close off these feelings. However, I melt when I see him, huge in the armchair, shirtsleeves rolled up so that his forearms bulge, his contrasting eyes filled with so much meaning. I weaken. I want to kiss him and touch him so badly. That’s a problem, considering the circumstances.
He’s holding one of Rosa’s hands, talking to her gently. He hasn’t looked at me once. I’m only here because Rosa wanted me to stay.
“We’ve got him,” Leo says.
“Gothim?” Rosa responds with a shudder.
“We’ve questioned him. He didn’t know much—a few locations that are vaguely useful to us. I wouldn’t normally tell you about this, but I have to now.”
“Why, Dad?” she whispers.
“Because of what he did to you. You deserve to have a say in what happens to him next.”
I wonder if Leo is making this offer because of what happened between us. Maybe guilt is driving him to include her in this when he never normally would, his guilt pushing him to the edge of reason.
“Oh, God, Dad, I don’t know. He didn’tdoanything to me.”
“He was going to. When he got you into that car, he was rough. He bloodied your lip, remember?”
“He did?” I say in shock.
Rosa looks at me, and Leo doesn’t. He’s making a pointnot to, just like I did at breakfast last week. Lastweek… This has been the longest weekend ever. It feels like time has just dragged and dragged, each second consumed with thoughts of Leo.
Rosa finally nods. “He shoved me into the car and got pretty physical. I was so shocked that I hardly felt it. I just kept thinking,It has to be a joke.Then when he forgot to lock the back door, I just jumped out on the road.”
“Scraping up your arm and your leg,” Leo says, his voice trembling. “You were lucky you didn’t hit your head.”
“What do you think, Emma?”
Thiscauses Leo to look at me. He’s not hiding his mood very well, the way his lips flatten into a straight line. It’s the look he’s given me after our sexual encounters, as if it’s all my fault, causing it just by being here. That should offend me, maybe, but I kind of like it. The attention. The hunger. He can’t fight it, or he can, but only by physically staying away.
“What exactly did he say he would do to her?” I ask.
