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“Understood.” Sean turns away, heading out to speak with the men.
I drift back toward where we parked the cars on the far side of the farm, hidden behind the outbuildings. If Tess and the other farmers hadn’t turned, there’s no way I would’ve been able to lure Rustik into a trap like this. But that’s the beautiful thing about leverage: find a little and amazing things can happen.
I survey the carnage. All the bodies, all the lost lives. The war is over—at least, more or less. The Aslan Bratva likely won’t crumble, but their new leader won’t be stupid enough to keep going down Rustik’s doomed path. They’ll come to the table, and I’ll work out a truce that heavily favors me and my family. Perhaps I’ll even make them vassals.
But most of all, Alisa is now safe.
In years past, winning a stunning and brutal victory like this would’ve fed my ego and soothed my anxiety for months to come. I would’ve reveled in defeating my foes and viciously taking what I sought to control.
Instead, all I can think of is my wife.
Keeping her home.
Giving her what she wants.
It’s obscene, this sudden need I have for that girl.
But it’s real, and despite my best efforts, I can’t seem to make it stop.
And so, instead of drinking in the sweet scent of my enemy’s blood on the ground, I walk back to my car and drive home.
Chapter 38
Alisa
“You smell like smoke again.” I gaze at him across the bed, blinking sleep away.
“I really did shower twice.”
“I believe you.” I sit up, rubbing my face, then lean closer to him. I’m exhausted from staying up all night, sick with worry. He made the mistake of telling me what he planned on doing last night, and while it sort of comforted me knowing that Rustik was about to die, it also freaked me out. “I was pretty terrified, you know.”
“Of what?”
“Losing you.” I laugh at the absurdity of the words. “Which doesn’t make sense, since I’ve thought about strangling you myself maybe a hundred times since we met.”
“Ah, my sweet wife, you’re fond of me, aren’t you?”
“I would say that I’ve grown very tolerant.”
“And yet here I am, sick with want for you.” He comes closer, that beautiful man with his intense, lovely eyes, and those lips. Those amazing lips. He kisses me gently. “Does that bother you?”
“No,” I say. “Not really.”
“Not really?” His smirk is like a velvet whip. “Come now, princess. Tell me you like when I tease you.”
“And let you win? Absolutely not.” He laughs as he pins me back down on the bed. “What happened last night?”
“Rustik is no longer a problem.”
I stare up into his eyes then push against his grip so I can kiss him. He returns that kiss greedily, happily. Anxiety and fear slowly melts away as Liam’s lips move back to my neck.
“Does this mean I can stay?” I whisper, shivering with ecstasy.
“Yes, it does.”
“And you’ll let me help you build this business?”
“Yes, I will. I suspect I’ll need you. The easy part is over.”
I laugh, dizzy with excitement. Suddenly, my world is shifting again. I thought he was going to keep me locked away in a strange city surrounded by strange people, but instead I get to stay in my home and work, finally work.
“How was that easy?”
“Killing men is simple. Building alliances, balancing politics, this is going to be the complicated part. And we’ll have to do it while the police breathe down our necks for a while. They won’t like it when a dozen Aslan Bratva members disappear so suddenly.”
“You’d think the police would be happy that a bunch of criminals are gone.”
“Only to be replaced with new ones.” He kisses me softly, biting my bottom lip. “But we can talk business later. I feel like I haven’t properly had my wife in too long.”
“You had me yesterday.”
“Like I said, too long.”
I laugh as he pulls me on top of him, and I submit to his desires.
Three weeks later, the first delivery shows up. “If you can put the desks in each of the offices, that’d be great,” I tell the furniture guys. “And that desk in the corner is for my husband.”
The guys get to work. I stand back, watching as the space begins to fill, turning what was once a murder-scene-movie-set into a proper work area. Now, when business associates come in for a meeting, they’ll be less likely to wonder if we’re about to duct tape them to the ceiling and torture them to death.
Though there hasn’t been any killing since the night Rustik died.
“Okay, wife, you convinced me.” Liam leans into my office, a sly smile on his face.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I say, batting my eyelashes at him.
“I saw your gift.”
“Gift?”
“The desk.” He drifts closer, arms crossed. “It’s a nice desk.”
