“You do. And I would do the same for Katya. I would do the same for Nina and Susanna. But you and I have an alliance. If you kill Dimitri, that hurts Katya, which hurts me. And what we’ll we have an alliance for then? It will be broken. You and I will be at odds. This doesn’t help anybody. So just walk away.”
“I can’t just walk away. I need to kill Dimitri.”
He crosses his arms, looking me over with an expression I don’t like. Too observant. Too studious. Like he knows something I don’t. “You’ve never been the kind of man who acts on emotion. You’ve always been logical. It’s why you suggested you marry one of my daughters when they became of age. You weren’t worried about love or passion. You just wanted to make a deal. So why are you acting on passion now?”
Nina’s face flashes in my mind. The way she shuddered in my arms when I touched her between her legs. The innocence in her eyes fading away. How beautiful she looked. My wife has the power to become the woman I’ve always dreamed of being with so the thought of losing her before I’ve really gotten the chance to be with her… it pisses me off.
“I am doing this for my wife.”
Alek huffs. “If I had known marrying off one of my daughters to you would make you this way, I would have reconsidered.”
“I care for my wife. I will not stand back and let someone hurt her.”
“Luca, I get it. I would go to the ends of the earth to save Katya’s life. But killing Dimitri is only going to make things worse. So I am telling you to leave.”
“And if I don’t?”
Alek looks like he doesn’t want to answer but he eventually does with a sigh. “I would have to stop you. And I don’t want to ruin our alliance. So please, just leave, Luca. Be smart about this. Be logical. That’s the kind of man I am used to.”
He is right. I’m never one to storm into a situation without thinking but Nina has my mind scrambled in a way I’ve never experienced before. At the end of the day, I know Alek is correct. I cannot just kill Dimitri without any sort of consequences.
“Fine,” I huff. “I’ll go. But I’m not happy about this. You better find a way to keep Dimitri in line so he never does something like this again.” I leave the hospital before Alek can say more.
My head isn’t on straight as I head to my car. I’ve always been the kind of man who’s known exactly who he is and now with Nina in my life, I’m starting to change. I’m not sure if I like it or not.
I reach my car but before I can open the door, I sense something behind me. Turning around, I see another car rushing towards me. The driver isn’t someone I recognize. But that’s not important. What’s important is that the car is not stopping. I dive out of the way before it can hit me and it runs straight into my car, totaling it.
The back door opens. That’s when I see a man in the back seat – a gun pointed right at me. I throw my body behind the other side of my car right as he fires. People start running towards the commotion.
The driver of the car manages to back up and take off, taking the gunman with him. I pant as I sit up, wondering what the hell that was. It was targeted at me, which tells me only one thing: Gabriel. He thought he could try to kill me and take my power.
Well, fuck him.
A pure hot rage is coursing through me and I have no one to direct it at. That makes me dangerous.
Leaving my car behind – because it’s a fucking wreck – I take off towards the subway so I can get home. To Nina.
If Gabriel is coming for me, she could be in danger.
Though, it dawns on me as I head home: I might be a danger to her.
Chapter Thirteen:
Nina
I’m in the master bedroom, trying to read a book since I don’t really have anything else to do the pass the time – normally me and Susanna would be out doing something together but with things going crazy from Dimitri’s actions and Luca shooting him, I don’t want to take the risk of going anywhere – when Luca storms inside.
He’s breathing heavy and his head is glistening with sweat.
“Luca?” I can’t forget the way he touched me between my legs. How intense and powerful it was. And I especially cannot forget it when he keeps looking at me the way he’s currently looking at me. Like he wants to eat me. “Are you ok?”
“No, I’m not ok,” he growls, coming over to me.
“What’s going on?”
“That asshole, Gabriel, just tried to kill me. I didn’t see him but I know he was behind it. He wants what I have. My money and power.” His eyes sweep over me. “You.”
“He doesn’t want me,” I say on instinct to protect myself.
