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“There is no ‘wide open’ with a snake like Belov,” Daniil says through clenched teeth. “At least take some time to consider. You can’t decide your entire future under pressure like this.”
“Aly and I can stay here while we try to work things out with Belov,” I offer. Not that I have high hopes we’ll come to an agreement with him, but no matter her reasons, she needs time to think. “I can’t allow you to throw away your future on a whim.”
Kira smiles sadly. “This isn’t a whim. And this is not a case of altruism, although, Aly, you know I would do anything for you.” A meaningful gaze passes between the two friends. “This is for me.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Aly shakes her head gently and bites her lip. “‘Thank you’ doesn’t seem sufficient.”
“Not ‘thank you.’” Kira embraces Aly. “How about ‘good luck.’”
Fuck, that’s ominous, but my sister is an adult, she’s brilliant and tough as nails. If she has her reasons, I won’t undermine her. There’s no chance to push the issue anyhow, because Belov and his henchmen reappear.
“So?” he asks, raising his eyebrows at Alyona.
Her tone is bitter when she replies, “What do you want me to say? You’ve left us with no choice.”
Belov approaches Kira, standing so close they are breathing the same air. One of his fingers tips her chin upwards, their eyes clashing like titans.
“Is this what you want, little dove?”
“Wantis a strong word,” she fires back, eyes narrowed, “but I accept this arrangement.”
His shrewd eyes travel over her face, like she’s a code he’s trying to decipher. “I look forward to learning exactly what it is you’re really after, Kira. And make no mistake, I will find out.” His gaze sweeps the room, his smile wolfish. “It’s settled, then. Kira and I will marry. And that makes us all family.”
Coming from his mouth, it sounds more like a threat than an invitation, but the deal is done. And now I have to call the man who was prepared to kill me less than an hour ago, both brother-in-law and father-in-law.
That is, if I can convince Aly to marry me.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-NINE
ALYONA
Leaving Kira was hard.Not just for me, for all of us, judging by the tense silence on the journey back to Moscow. Belov arranged for his private helicopter to transport us. Tensions being what they were, I didn’t think it was wise for us to spend the night.
Anyhow, Kira was adamant that we leave. It was only after we said our final goodbye and the bird lifted into the air did her face fall. Doubt creeping in. But by then, it was too late. She’d made a deal with the devil.
And the devil happens to be my father.
Belov was surprisingly easygoing about swapping me out for Kira, and honestly, it makes me uneasy. Why did he go along with her plan so readily? I get that Kira has her motivations, though those are still a mystery to me, but Belov? He’s an enigma wrapped up in a mystery, wrapped up in a ten-thousand-dollar suit. I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him. But he’s my biological father who is (weirdly) going to marry my best friend, so I can’t shut him out of my life completely.
But as we left his compound tonight, I warned him he better treat Kira like the fucking queen she is. Biological father or not, I will kill him by my own hand if he hurts one hair on her head.
Behind me, Leo carefully runs a loofah along my arm, trailing it up to my neck before gliding it back down. A pleased hiss escapes me. “I can practically hear your mind working,” Leo says, releasing a small chuckle.
“I’m still shell-shocked,” I admit. “I never imagined that tonight would end with us together and Kira being tied to Belov for life.”
“It’s crazy.” He sighs. “And if I thought for a second Kira sacrificed herself for us, I wouldn’t have allowed it. But she offered herself up for a reason.”
In the end, this here is all that matters—Leo and I, moving forward without secrets and lies. It broke me to hear the truth that Leo had buried for so long, knowing how it ate him up all this time. But would it have been better if he’d told me the truth all those years ago? I honestly can’t say.
Knowing the ugliness Serge was capable of is still a bitter pill to swallow and not just for me, but Yulian too.
After we got back to the suite, we all sat around and talked well into the night. Some things can’t easily be fixed. Some pain takes him to heal. It’s the way it is. But Leo and I, we’ve agreed to leave the darkness in the past and move towards the light. Together.
Leo’s warm breath cascades over my neck, causing my eyes to flutter closed. “What are you thinking?” he whispers, dropping small kisses along the nape of my neck.
I glance out the window at the sun rising above the horizon. “I’m thinking it might be time for some sleep.” We’ve been wrapped up in each other since we got back to the suite and haven’t had time for much else.
“Sleep is for the weak,” he jokes, allowing his hands to wander over my breasts and under the water. I sigh, warmth growing in the pit of my stomach. “Before we go for another round, tell me what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours.”
