AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sophia clasped my hand and together we headed for the kitchen. She chattered the whole time, only pausing to indicate I sit on the barstool next to the island.
As I watched her move about the room, I realized a second novelty had happened—this woman had become a friend. It was a first for me. When she came over with the box of supplies—which included some very heavy-duty surgical equipment—I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a squeeze.
“What’s that for?” she stammered, returning the embrace after a moment’s hesitation.
“For helping me escape. For never treating me like a pariah.” I pulled back and was glad to see the warmth in her face. I gestured at the equipment. “So, what’s with all the medic supplies? Looks hardcore.”
Something shifted through her features. It was so fast that it was hard to believe it had even been there. “Growing up in the mob, there are no end of people to patch up.”
I instantly sobered. “Right. So, your sister-in-law, what’s she like?”
“A workaholic.” Sophia pinched her face. “She’ll be home in a few days. It’s good Viktor has something to occupy himself with, otherwise he’d pace around the house. Andthatgets old pretty quick.”
While she chatted, I closed my eyes and succumbed to the crashing waves of exhaustion. I didn’t even flinch when she applied antiseptic to the abrasions on my arm.
“There, all set.” Sophia patted my arm. “I’m going to make you an electrolyte water, and you’re going to drink it. Then—and I know they’re gross—you should eat a protein bar. They have all the macros, and I think it will help!”
I cracked my eyes open and smiled. “Whatever you say, doc.”
There was a sound at the door, and we turned as one. Constantine and Viktor were mirroring one another, looming dark and dangerous on the threshold. Both had their arms crossed, and with their swarthy complexions, they could have been siblings.
“Not done yet, zaika?” Viktor couldn’t scowl, but there was urgency in his tone as he addressed his sister.
“Yeah, yeah,” she snapped, holding up a hand.
My gaze gravitated to Constantine, as if caught in his magnetic current. How frightening I’d found him when we first met. In reality, he was as damaged a soul as I was.
Sophia set down a tray full of protein bars, bottles of water, and hydration packets. “You men should have some too. When was the last time you ate, butcher?”
“I’m not hungry,” he said, but he wasn’t looking at her. His gaze was pinned on me, and it said,I’m fucking starving.
A shiver ran over my skin. He’d been so angry, ready to kill me over the destruction my family had brought to his door. My submission was the only thing that saved me until the madness passed. This ache was going to take time to heal, but we were finally on the right path.
“Okay, let’s go,” Sophia said, and she began to walk out of the room, Claude’s cell phone in hand.
As I passed him, Constantine clutched my hand. It was as if he couldn’t stand us to be apart, and our physical connection grounded him...at least, that’s how it felt for me.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, tone low and rough.
I swallowed down the chalky energy bar. “I’ll be fine. Believe it or not, but this isn’t the worst shape I’ve been in.”
His grip on my hand tightened. “I believe it.”
There was a tense pause, then he broke it by grabbing a water bottle. Without dropping my hand, Constantine cracked it open and poured an electrolyte powder into it.
“Aren’t you afraid of poison?” I asked him now, meaning it as a tease.
Something dark crossed my husband’s face. “I have a large amount of the mob’s favorite currency. Leverage.”
“I don’t follow,” I said.
“We might be friendly, but as far as business, I have something on Viktor—as he does on me.”
“Isn’t that a terrible way to work with someone? Like having Damocles’s sword over both your heads?”
Constantine smiled at the reference, as I knew he would. “It’s the way things work in the underworld.”
“So...what do we have on him?”
