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I don’t like that he’s telling me the truth. “Why would I need a phone if I’m to be kept captive in my bedroom?” I ask.
“You’re not a captive. There will be a wedding,” he says. “And as my wife, you will become an active member of the Bratva.”
I fold my arms over my chest to ward off a shaking chill. “Even when everyone knows my father is a traitor?”
His voice softens as he approaches. “But you aren’t.”
Nikolai’s hand touches me gently this time and his fingers stroke my arm, leaving chills behind. I can’t let him trick me into falling in love. I can’t want him. It will hurt my father, and hurting him will undo me. I spin around quickly to face him, taking my arm out of his grasp.
“I want to know who killed my mother,” I say bluntly.
Nikolai’s shoulders tense. “Why?”
“Am I not allowed to know? Don’t you think I deserve to know?” I look away, knowing I can ask but won’t get an answer.
Nikolai whispers. “It was a long time ago, Eden.”
“So what?” I reply angrily. “You’re not the only one out for revenge! Maybe my father would end his vendetta if her killer was dead. The same way you want Matvei’s killer dead!”
His expression darkens, but I know I’ve touched a nerve.
Nikolai looks away, and I’m able to take a breath. He walks away and sits down on a couch in front of the latest acquisition. The De Kooning is gone, replaced with the chrysanthemum painting by Kaori—the same one that we looked at together before I found out what kind of monster he is.
Bitterness rises in my throat, and it comes out in sharp words. “Well?”
He glances over at me. “You don’t need to know.”
“I know your brigadiers had a hand in it,” I press on. “But I want to know which one.”
His eyebrow rises as he stares at me, assessing how I might know. I wait for him to react, but Nikolai returns his attention to the painting as if I had said nothing.
I watch him, tears burning behind my eyes. “I learned a lot about you while I was gone.”
“Then you don’t need me to find out for you,” he replies slowly. “You’re capable of doing this all by yourself.”
His callous phrasing makes bile burn my throat. I want to scream at him, but I hold it in. “They bragged about it to me,” I reply bitterly. “Told me everything except who pulled the trigger.”
“Knowing won’t help you.” Nikolai stares at the painting harder. “Let it go, Eden. You have other things to focus on.”
My hands fly to my stomach and that’s a careless mistake. I try my best to play it off, as if I only did it because I was upset. It’s only then I remember I haven’t eaten all day.
Thankfully, my stomach growls, helping me keep my secret.
Nikolai stands swiftly and crosses the room toward me. Gripping my shoulders, he guides me gently over to a couch. I choose to sit on the one not facing Kaori’s painting. He taps his phone and then speaks. “Bring a small meal to my office, not for me.” He hesitates. “For Ms. Clark.”
Ms. Clark …
He won’t dare link my name to my father’s, a traitor. Nikolai plans to scrub it all away as if my dad never existed, but we never planned this engagement to be together. He said it was to protect me when it was really to lure my father out into the open. Why should Nikolai go through with it? Why should he care what the Bratva thinks of me?
“I’m not hungry,” I lie.
He glares at me. “Of course you are. You will eat.”
I’m safe as long as I don’t leave the penthouse, and being safe allows me to worry about other things like eating and bathing. Deep down, I was relieved to see Nikolai, and I’m starting to believe he will protect me no matter the circumstances.
“You want revenge for your brother, but I’m not allowed to seek it for my mother.” I stare at the floor. “All you have to do is give a name to my father. And all of this would be over.”
His throat bobs. “Your father still has his betrayal to answer for.”
