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Leo will take the bratva oath soon, and that is our end date. I have to decide what’s next for me, even with my mother being ill. Pakhan has hired the best care for her. She’ll be looked after no matter what.
As if he can hear my thoughts, Leo turns to face me. His dark eyes lock onto mine, as a bead of sweat rolls down his temple. I don’t know what he sees in my expression, but he drops his gloves and wordlessly crosses the room, gathering me into his naked chest. He’s sweaty and hot, but like everything else about him, it just turns me on.
“How was it?” he asks, lips pressing against my temple.
“Not good,” I say sadly. “She’s slipping. Started talking about my father, getting all confused. It’s so hard.”
Leo lifts me into his arms, setting me down on the edge of the boxing ring. He spreads my legs and stands in between them. His thumb softly brushes down my cheek, over my lips. “Hey,” he murmurs, his deep voice soothing, “it’s going to be okay. Yulian will be home soon. It won’t all fall on your shoulders.”
“Maybe not,” I murmur, “but it won’t be easy for us to be together anymore. With my brother around, you and I…” The words stick in my throat. We haven’t talked about our looming expiration date for weeks, not since the last time his father, Andrei, and Yulian were home and Leo went a little crazy. But now the summer is coming to an end, and everything will change between us.
“Finish that thought, butterfly.” He presses his lips together, nostrils flaring. Did I misunderstand something?
“You’re taking the oath in a few weeks, and you know where I stand on that.” I take a fortifying breath, gathering courage for what needs to be said. “I think we should end things now. Before Yulian finds out. It’ll just make it all the more complicated when we…” The words catch in my throat and pain radiates through me like a physical sensation.
“You think I want to end things with you?” he asks, incredulously.
“I don’t know, it’s complicated…” I start to say, but then he’s in front of me, one big hand wrapped around my jaw, his forehead pressed against mine.
“I’m not ending things with you, butterfly. Not even close.” His breath is hot against my mouth, tension radiating from him. “You think I could ever let you go? I can’t. I’ve thought about it long and hard, questioning my sanity, because this decision, being with you, changes everything.”
“What are you saying?” I ask, heart in my throat.
His hand buries my hair, tugging my head back so I’m forced to look into his eyes. “You belong to me. You’ve always been mine, even if you didn’t know it, I knew it. Deep inside. And now everyone else will know it, too. Tomorrow, I’ll tell my father. He deserves to be the first to know that I won’t take the oath. Then we will sit down with Yulian and tell him together.” He plants a sweet kiss on my lips. “I love you, Aly. I fucking do. And the only thing that matters is being with you. I don’t care about all the other shit. I just want you. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”
Happiness surges through me like a tidal wave. Ending things with Leo was the last thing I wanted to do. It would have shattered me to walk away from him, even if it was necessary. But he’s made his choice, and he chose me.
We’re not taking the easy way out, that’s for sure. Yulian is going to freak, and the pakhan—lordy, I can’t even think of that right now. But Leo has, and together, we’ll deal with the consequences.
“I love you, too,” I say, claiming his mouth with my own. “So damn much.”
From now on, it’s him and me against the world.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-ONE
LEO
The drive is tense.Both of us are silent, grappling with the news we’ve just received and the weight of its consequences. I keep my eyes on the road and my hands on the wheel, racing through the outskirts of Dubrovnik. It’s supposed to be beautiful here, but this coastal city is ruined for me. Forever tainted with the ghosts of betrayal.
I glance over at my oldest friend, his Sig poised and ready for action, held taut between his knees. Like me, his eyes are constantly scanning the mirrors and windows for possible tails. Just as we approach the house, his ravaged voice breaks the silence. “What’s really going on with you and Alyona?”
My jaw clenches, and I grind my back molars together. “I think you know. I think you’ve always known.”
“Fuck,” he bites out under his breath, and the click of the safety catches on his gun before a 9mm is pointed at my head. “Did you hurt her?”
My eyes flick to his, but other than that I don’t move a muscle. “Yes.”
“Khuy.” He calls me a dick and presses the cold metal against my temple. “When? Tell me. What did you do to her?”
If I tell him the truth, maybe he’ll pull the trigger and put me out of my misery. Because the look on Aly’s face when I admitted to playing puppet master with her life, that look was nearly my undoing. “Just do it,” I goad Yulian. “Pull the trigger, because you won’t like what I have to say.”
“Are you fucking serious?” With a thud, his gun crashes down on the dashboard in front of him. “A bullet to your head isn’t good enough. You deserve my hands around your neck!”
I’m not going to argue that; when Yulian finds out the truth – how long it’s been going on for, everything I’ve done to her – he’ll want to extract every ounce of my misery.
“Let’s get her to safety, and then you can pummel my face in or kill me.” My ragged breaths fill up the space between us. “Whatever you see as a fitting punishment.”
“I can’t fucking believe you. I knew something happened between you. Aly always told me to mind my own business. I figured it was a childhood crush that went sour, because I stupidly believed my best friend would never get involved with my sister behind my back. And now this…”
