We’re here to discuss the appearance of my father’s hitman. A year from now is practically a lifetime.
“What did you want to know about Sver?” I ask my brother, tucking my feelings away as we deal with the present problems.
He starts asking me questions. What was the relationship between my father and Sver? The other men? How did the man treat me?
“He treated all of us the same. Without a flicker of emotion.” Perhaps I’m not being generous enough. He did protect me that one time. He was gone for nearly a month after it happened. When he got back, I hardly saw him.
And I don’t think he’s spoken a single word to me since that day.
“Do you know of the sort of jobs otets had him perform?”
“Only rumors,” I shake my head. “And you know those.”
Dimitri nods. “I do. But it doesn’t help me decide if he’s here for recovery or…”
I look down the hall, toward Anna’s room. “Dimitri.”
“Yes?”
“I need you to promise me something,” I say, drawing in a ragged breath. There are so many relationships that I don’t understand, that are complicated, that I question the motives of. But there is one that is crystal clear for me.
“What’s that?”
The words clog my throat, but I say them anyway. “Promise me that you’ll sacrifice me, let me die, if it comes down to me or you. Anna needs her father.”
“What the fuck, Sasha?” he asks, sounding really pissed. Which confuses me.
If all of this has been a play to gain real estate, I’ve given him permission to sacrifice me like the insignificant piece on the chess board I’ve always known that I am. “Her needs are first. Promise.”
He scrubs his face and then runs a hand through his hair. “Sasha, I thought you understood. You married a Smith so they could help keep both you and Anna safe. I didn’t have the manpower to do it alone.”
For the first time, the words don’t sound hollow. They sound real. I look at my husband, who’s been standing silently by my side, and he returns my gaze, his features soft. “He’s right and so are you. He keeps Anna and Ava from harm. And my job is to protect you.”
“Your job is to run a casino.” I shake my head, not sure I understand how they’re confusing what I know to be true.
“I sold two casinos and kept one, Sasha. Granted, it’s the best earning, but I could have both the casinos be successful earners without otet’s interferences. I gave up the revenue for you and for Katarina.”
The words ring with a truth that steals my breath and clogs my throat with emotion. How did I not hear it sooner?
And the idea that my brother has been acting out of love, that Ryker cares about me beyond just a business deal, they are my deepest hope.
The dream I hardly dared to dream, and I feel the tears spring to my eyes.
Crap. I hate how much I cry.
Ryker wraps his other arm around me, pulling me against his chest. “Don’t cry, baby. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
I can’t answer as I wrap my arms around his neck, burying my face in the crook.
He holds me, stroking his hand down the curve of my back.
Dimitri clears his throat. “I don’t think there is much to do but sit tight and see what his next move is. Unless Killian wants to take a crack at locating him.”
Ryker shakes his head. “I don’t think he wants to leave Chloe to search, and I can’t blame him.”
I marvel again at how wrong my first opinion of Killian was. That man is a devoted and loving husband.
“So we sit tight. We all stay in the building.”
