I had to tell the truth. I couldn’t be everywhere at once. I had to protect my sister and who better than the Russians to protect her from the Italians? “I was attacked by about ten men outside the cinema earlier tonight,” I began, and my sister gasped, grabbing my hand.
“They were Italians. The man who tried to shoot me said Alia Rasili sent them,” I continued, turning toward Selina. “For the death of her brother and her cousin,” I added darkly, resting my hand over hers.
“I thought… I thought they’d attacked you too, and my phone was dead, I couldn’t call you,” I admitted and she shook her head quickly. “No, I got home without any trouble after we parted,” she reassured me and I nodded, trying to steady myself.
“The man who tried to shoot you…” Sasha repeated slowly, turning toward Kenji before turning his back to me and to my surprise, Kenji looked away. Anger flared so fast my headache turned into a migraine. “No!” I snapped, jumping to my feet and grabbing Sasha’s arm to force him to face me. “I forbid you fromblaming him”. He stared at me, his gaze dark, clearly furious but nothing justified how he was treating my friend, who already looked burdened with guilt.Idiot.
Sasha didn’t answer. He clenched his jaw and placed his hands on my shoulders, guiding me back into my chair and I let him. I needed to stay calm. This wasn’t the time for alpha-male power games. We had an Italian problem that needed dealing with,now. “We haven’t received any intelligence suggesting the Cosa Nostra planned retaliation for the Rasili,” Nikolai informed us, casting a dark look between his brother and me while my sister watched anxiously. “Yes, I spoke with Capo Marino just yesterday about a shipment, and he didn’t seem aware of anything,” Grigori added, nodding.
“So she acted alone, that bitch?” Elif mused, arms crossed, clearly angry. “From what I saw during my captivity, I doubt she has a high enough IQ to plan something like this,” Roman added, scratching his chin. After our arrival at the Ivanovs’, Antonio had kidnapped Roman to blackmail the family into handing over Selina and Rafael but we’d managed to get him back unharmed without giving in. Well… Rafael and Selina had.
“Roman’s right. I can’t see her acting alone,” Selina agreed, her gaze distant, “I know her better than anyone. She would never have dared do something like this on her own.”
So someone had helped her. Someone who knew our movements. Someone who hated me enough to work with the Italians. I slowly rose from my chair as my mind started racing.
The Master? No…too dangerous. If anything happened to me, he knew someone close to me would tell the Ivanovs everything. He’d never take that risk. The Mother? After all these years, had she found a final way to get rid of me? Enough to work with the Italians?
“Sienna?” Selina called softly, squeezing my hand and pulling me out of my thoughts. There wasn’t just my sister to protect.If the traitor was at the club, then the girls were in danger too. All of them, “I… I have to leave,” I said, blinking as urgency surged through me. “Leave?!” Selina exclaimed, clutching my arm. “After someone just tried to kill you?!” I placed my hand over hers, shaking my head gently. “Selina…” “She’s not going anywhere,” Sasha suddenly growled, stepping in front of me and I turned toward him sharply, frowning, “excuse me?”
He didn’t flinch. “You heard me” Nikolai sighed as Roman muttered “and here we go again.”
“Then listen to me very carefully and you’d better hear me too,” I said, pointing a finger at him. His eyes dropped briefly to my gesture before locking back onto mine. “If I had to choose between sleeping under a bridge in the middle of winter or sleeping under the same roof as you, I would choose the fucking bridge every single fucking time” I spat the words, a week’s worth of hatred pouring out. He took the blow without moving, his face unreadable, while mine must have been blazing with enough rage to fuel an army. He leaned closer, slowly, and I held my breath because every time he invaded my personal space, my brain short-circuited. “You’re not going anywhere,moyamalen’kayagadyuka,” he repeated in a low murmur, as if he had every right to dictate my life and I saw red. My fist flew on instinct, connecting with his jaw to everyone’s shock and I moved to hit him again, but arms grabbed me. “Sienna!” my sister cried as Nikolai pulled her chair back, while Roman restrained me as I struggled to get at the asshole in front of me. Sasha hadn’t moved, only his head had tilted slightly to the side, nothing more. Grigori stepped forward, but Elif stopped him, her gaze darting between Sasha and me.
“Why would I stay here, huh?!” I shouted as I struggled. “So you can shove another tracker up my ass, Sasha?!” I roared and I saw it. I saw him swallow hard at the mention of the stupidity he’d committed.
“A tracker?” Selina repeated suddenly and I froze. I slowly turned my face toward hers while Nikolai pressed his lips together behind her.Shit.
“Let her go, Roman,” Sasha growled darkly, fixing his brother over my head and Roman’s arms released me instantly, and he stepped back with his hands raised in surrender. I swallowed another insult meant for the idiot who was even managing to get jealous of his own brother and focused on Selina, who was staring at me, confused. “Yes. A tracker,” I sighed, rubbing my forehead. “He put one in my handbag. That’s how he knew I was at a friend’s wedding” I lied, pushing the guilt away. Sometimes, some things were better left hidden for everyone’s sake. “Sasha,” Elif sighed, but he didn’t even hear her. “Your friend? Really? Another one of your fucking lies!” he snapped as I clenched my jaw. “Yes. A friend,” I confirmed, lifting my chin and crossing my arms to prevent another escalation. There was no way I was letting this idiot crush me. Sasha let out a harsh laugh, crossing his hands behind his head, shaking it like he couldn’t believe it, which he clearly couldn’t. “Your friend who just happens to be the niece of the head of the Indian mafia, who considers you like his daughter” he laughed bitterly, and every gaze turned toward me. He hadn’t said it before. His family and Selina were finding out right now. He’d kept my secret. Despite myself, my stomach tightened.He’d kept my secret.
“The… the Indian mafia?” Selina repeated and I closed my eyes,shit. I shouldn’t have pushed this asshole so far. Maybe he would’ve kept his mouth shut.
When I opened my eyes, my gaze met Sasha’s and I caught something there.Regret?
A flicker that vanished as quickly as it appeared when he raised an eyebrow and leaned back against the table, clearly waiting for an explanation, like everyone else. He was slipping back intolawyer mode, waiting for the truth. Too bad. My version wasn’t changing.
“Yes. My friend is Ganesh Rajawat’s niece, the head of the Indian mafia, and that’s where it ends,” I said, turning to my sister and deliberately ignoring Sasha. I was angry enough at him already. “And I’m nobody’s daughter. I don’t need to be adopted to be someone”. I crossed my arms. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sasha straighten like a snapped wire. “That’s not what I meant,” he shot back. I knew that perfectly well but I ignored him, focusing instead on Selina, who looked completely lost.
“And how did you meet his niece?” Nikolai asked, his hawk-like gaze locking onto me. That’s when I was really in danger, my brother-in-law was one of the most intelligent men I’d ever met. All the Ivanov men were but Nikolai was a true strategist. One drop of blood, and he’d latch onto it like a shark and never let go, “I met her at a party a few years ago,” I replied simply, shrugging. “Where?” Nikolai pressed, tilting his head slightly, he wasn’t letting go.
“Leave her alone, all of you,” Elif suddenly intervened, placing her hand on my shoulder. “She’s had a rough night. We can talk about this later” I looked at her suspiciously.
I’d known many women too in my life, and Elif remained the most complex of them all. I’d never seen anyone think and act like she did, she adapted to every situation with unsettling ease. I didn’t mistake her kindness toward me for the same softness she showed my sister. Selina and I were nothing alike. “Sena, bring covers for Sienna and Kenji, please,” Elif asked but I was already shaking my head. “No, I need to…” “Sienna, please,” Selina pleaded, her look nailed me to the spot, especially pregnant as she was. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sasha inhale sharply, crossing his arms, determined, I closed my eyes.
“Enna,” Kenji suddenly called from the doorway and my gaze snapped to my Shadow. “Stay. I’ll handle it,” he said, shovinghis hands into his pockets and I frowned at him. “You’ll be safer here,” he added, looking away and my jaw tightened as I stormed toward him, furious. “I forbid you to doubt yourself!” I snapped, striking his chest, he didn’t move but I saw it in his eyes. I was right. He was blaming himself for tonight, for not being there.
“You protected me for eight fucking years in a hell no one could’ve survived the way we did,” I breathed, gripping his jacket as my throat tightened and he pressed his lips together. “He’s right, you’ll be safer here,” Sasha’s voice echoed behind me and I closed my eyes. I didn’t give a damn about my own safety. “Think about your sister, Sienna. We’ll protect you,” Nikolai added and that was the last straw.
I turned to the Ivanovs, who were all staring at me, and my gaze locked onto Sasha’s as I yanked Kenji’s jacket, forcing him to lean forward. “Look at this face, Sasha,” I spat, rage pouring out of every pore. “Look at this scar!” I pointed at my Shadow’s face. “He has it because of me. For protecting me”. I turned to Nikolai behind my sister. “He has it for protecting your wife”. I continued, directing it at my brother-in-law, who blinked, caught completely off guard.
My gaze returned to Sasha, who froze, his eyes flicking between Kenji and me as my sister covered her mouth, her eyes shining. “What?” she whispered. But I was too angry to explain. Too exhausted. I pulled harder on Kenji’s jacket, trying to turn him. “You want to see his back?! The scars he carries because of me there too?!” tears of rage blurred my vision. “Enna, stop,” Kenji murmured, grabbing my hand but I ignored him. “You want to see them?!”
“Sienna!” my Shadow thundered, gripping my shoulders and turning me to face him. “Stop,” he said calmly, shaking his head gently. A heavy silence fell over the room. “No,” I spat in a trembling voice as a tear slipped free. “No one will ever belittle you while I’m alive” I sniffed.
“I would’ve been dead hundreds of times by now without you,” I sobbed, the pressure of the night finally collapsing in on me.
No…this was more than that. All those years crying against his shoulder. All those years clinging to each other. The growing danger. The terror of losing him like so many Shadows before him. I couldn’t live without Kenji. “I would die for you, Sienna. I would carry hundreds of scars for you, but it still wouldn’t be enough to protect you,” Kenji breathed, his hands gripping my shoulders. “We have to face reality. I’m just one man, alone. Here, you’re surrounded. Safer than anywhere else, and you know it.”
He was trying to reason with me and he was right. Of course I knew it. “But that truth doesn’t change the fact that you protected me all those years. It doesn’t change the fact that you suffered for me. It doesn’t change the fact that I’d entrust my life to you again and again,” I shot back. “And I have no place in a house where you’re disrespected, even if it kills me.”
