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If he says the wrong thing, Alexei will not hesitate again to kill him.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
LUCA
If Katya were not standing so close to us, there is no way that I would have taken his demands seriously.
I don’t have to explain myself to anybody for any reason. I was not raised that way. Besides, I’ve got a stubborn streak a mile long thanks to my father. Alexei standing so close to me doesn’t help my temper either. I’ve always been a fighter, I don’t take threats like this lightly.
It’s only because of the desperate and wild look in Katya’s eyes that I speak at all.
“That man was sent here to kill you by my father, but you already knew that.” I start. I like the little glimmer of hate in Alexei’s eye. I always wondered just where his breaking point would be. Sure,going after his family like this is aiming at the easy target, but Alexei’s always been such agoodenemy that I’ve long wondered what it would take to break him personally. Do men like us really have limits when it comes to that?
I smirk at the growing irritation showing on his face, needling his frustration to see if he’s going to act. I wonder if Katya truly knows what an animal her brother is capable of being. And I don’t mean that as a bad thing.
A predator recognizes a fellow predator when he sees one.
“Give me something useful before your time runs out or my finger just might slip.” Alexei warns darkly.
I can’t help myself. “Have that problem a lot, do ya, Levine?”
I hiss in discomfort as he knocks the butt of the gun against my forehead just hard enough to shut me up. Just hard enough to bruise. Bastard.
But I didn’t expect to see Katya wince when I got hit.
“Alexei!” Katya practically puts her body in front of mine. Dangerous move. She certainly has no reason to think that I don’t also want to kill her.
Just because we spent last night together doesn’t change that our families are at war.
She’s standing close enough that I can smell the jasmine scent of her shampoo and what I presume is the white tea and ginger of her body wash. She smells just like the teas that my grandmother used to make on Sundays mixed with something very uniquely her.
Just a few inches and I could run my lips over the curve of her neck. I wonder if she would shudder all over again. Can she feel me, even now, in the way that I can feel her?
“Don’t you think that if I wanted her dead, Levine, she would be?”
“You expect me to believe that you’ve turned on your family to… what? Switch sides?” Alexei demands and I can’t help but scoff.
“Hardly. I was given the exact same bounty as she was. You know that the penalty for treason against one’s clan is death.” I retort as if it should have been obvious. Not a quick death either. More the medieval public torture sort of death. A clan is for life. There is no backing out and there’s no quitting. Even more so for my clan.
“And yet, here you are… taking out one of your own men.” Alexei says.
“Yeah, you’re welcome for it too.” I spit right back.
“Oh my God, just whip it out and measure already!” Katya’s voice is filled with venom as she chastises us both. “I have brains in my fucking hair! I have blood all over me! Can you stop!”
Alexei finally takes a single step back and I can breathe.
“Three minutes.” He says.
I exhale now that his bulk is no longer holding me to the wall. It would be so easy to pull Katya toward me, to hold her against my chest or - in another situation - let my fingers dip down the front of those yoga pants.
“I was assigned to kill Katya, that is true. My father has every intention of taking extreme measures to eliminate your bloodline once and for all. He is growing older and while he delights in war, he’s ready to be crowned victor.” I explain flatly.
The dejected, accusatory glance over Katya’s shoulder hurts more than I expected.
I continue speaking, choosing to just rip off the bandage as quickly as possible.
“Not everybody agrees with my father’s methods.” I speak directly to Alexei. He knows that just those words alone are enough to have me killed. “I was trying to buy time… your sister is not the price to pay for this war.”
