Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56572 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56572 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
“He asked me to pass along a message,” Yuri says, “but also to give him some time … in the other house.”
“Okay.”
“He asked you to keep your phone on so he can talk with you when he’s done in case he can’t find you.”
When he’s done … It’s not like I have to use much imagination to figure out what they’re doing over there.
“Thanks, Yuri,” I say.
After checking on Mila again, still sleeping peacefully, I go to the gym and put in one hell of a workout. I lift the weights, trying not to think about the man currently in our underground prison or the fact that, soon, if this goes wrong, we’ll be in a full-fledged war. With each rep, with each animal grunt, it’s like I can see Nikolai hitting his daughter, my woman, and see him torturing his own family.
I roar on the last rep of the hour-long session, straining. Behind me, I hear footsteps.
“Leave it,” I grunt when Dimitri leans over me, clearly meaning to spot the weight.
My vision blurs as I push, my veins bulging as I grind my teeth and let out a trembling, groaning noise. Finally, I sit up, my chest feeling like it might explode.
“Five-fifty?” Dimitri says, studying the plates. “How many reps was that?”
“I don’t know. I stopped counting after ten.”
Standing up, I rotate my arms and jab the air a few times, loosening my joints.
“What got into you?” Dimitri asks.
I shake my head and try to smirk, but it’s difficult when I’m so hyped up, so ready for a fight. “Don’t be jealous just because a nerd can lift more than you.”
Dimitri laughs, but he’s looking at me strangely. “I’m sorry you had to handle that bastard. I didn’t want you to get back into the life.”
I almost tell him the truth. Not only did I want to handle the prick, but I needed to. Nobody gets to make my girl afraid ever.
“I need to tell you something as second-in-command. However, before I do, I need you to swear you’ll never repeat it.”
“Swear … how?”
“The Bratva way,” he says. “With blood. I need to know you won’t tell anybody else. I don’t want you caught off guard.”
“Tell me then.”
Dimitri sighs, shaking his head. “I need you to swear first.” When I don’t reply, he goes on, “I know this is a dick move, but we’re talking about the future of our family here.”
“Fine, fuck it.”
Leaving the room, I rush down the hallway, stopping at one study with its tall bookshelves, ornate desk, and sharp letter opener on the side. Before Dimitri can say anything, I make a small cut across my forearm, holding his gaze.
“I swear, brother, I won’t repeat a word. Now get on with it.”
He nods, dropping into an armchair. “I want to make Nikolai angry at the meal, so he’s not thinking straight, and … there’s something else. I want to make a statement. I’m going to walk into the party with Lia on my arm. Then I’ll tell Nikolai that Mila will be my wife, but Lia is my woman. I need to humiliate him, push him, and make it so he doesn’t see the revenge coming.”
I grind my teeth, my arm pulsing.
“Why did you make me swear before telling me this?”
“Lia thinks something might be going on with you and Mila.”
“Oh yeah?” I say, keeping my tone neutral. “What do you think about that?”
Dimitri tilts his head. “I don’t see it. You’ve seen how I am around Lia, right? I can’t contain it. You couldn’t hide it if you felt the same about Mila as I do about Lia.”
But my brother’s wrong. I’ve spent years hiding the deepest, darkest parts of myself, the Bratva berserker lurking beneath the coder façade.
“I know you’ve been working together, though,” Dimitri continues. “I’m sure most of what you talk about is programming stuff, but I had to make you swear, just in case.”
I nod, saying nothing, giving nothing away. He’s just put me in one messed-up spot. Now, I have to hold something back from my woman, dammit.
“Where are you going?” Dimitri asks when I turn for the door.
“To finish my workout.”
“That wasn’t the last set?”
It was the last set, but after this, I need more. I need to burn. Maybe I should just tell Dimitri that Mila belongs to me. Yet what if this falls through, and he still has to marry her for the good of the city, knowing she belongs to me? Would we survive that?
“No,” I grunt and keep walking.
CHAPTER 19
MILA
When I wake up, I see I’ve got two missed video calls from Drake. My head feels groggy, and my mouth is dry. The room is dark, and the sun is setting, making me feel disoriented as I swipe up on my phone and call Drake back. As the call rings, I reach for the bedside table, where a glass of water awaits me. There’s a note, too.