“Gavriil would have your head,” I remind him. My brother is enjoying torturing me too much for him to let someone kill me.
That’s why he came down here tonight. He warned me not to trust Alina, not to fall for her. And I foolishly didn’t listen to him.
“Traitors shouldn’t be in cells. They should be dumped in a ditch where no one will find them,” Simeon spits out. “Or have their throats slit like thePakhandid to that bastard earlier.”
He’s got some nerve. I’ll give him that.
And to hear about Gavriil killing someone with his own hands is…surprising. He usually lets me and others do all the dirty work.
“Do what you think needs to be done then,” I tell him as I take a step back from the door, motioning for him to come through and act on his words. I’ll gladly take some of my anger out on him.
Simeon glances behind him at the staircase before huffing. “You’re not worth the trouble.”
“Coward,” I mutter. “Just like my brother.”
His expression darkens. “Gavriil is nothing close to a coward.”
A cold laugh breaks from me as I shake my head. He’s a fucking fool. “He’s not man enough to even have a conversation with me without these bars keeping him safe.”
“He has better things to do than deal with you,” Simeon replies as he crosses his arms.
All that he seems to be doing lately is losing this conflict for the Bratva and fucking around withmygirl. He’s slowly wrapping Alina around his finger.
“Getting his men killed and tormenting an innocent woman? Sure.”
“You’re just jealous,” Simeon says, amusement glinting in his eyes. “She’s become quite…friendly with Gavriil.”
I don’t even want to know what exactly he means by that. My ego has already taken enough of a hit today and imagining Gavriil and Alina together makes me damn near nauseous.
“She’s just trying to keep him happy so that he doesn’t do anything fucked up to her,” I mutter, trying to convince myself that there was some other motive for why Alina did this and then kept it from me.
Simeon shrugs. “If that’s what helps you sleep at night. They spend a lot of time together now. Just ask Petrov.”
I want to strangle the bastard, but his words still slam into me like a train. If Petrov is back down here, he hasn’t said a word about seeing Alina, which is worrisome.
My stomach sinks at the thought of her turning her back on me for Gavriil. I’ve risked my life for her. Bled for her. Jeopardized my reputation and relationships for her.
And I would gladly do it all again for her and more but…what if none of that is still enough? What if Gavriil lures her away from me, and I’m left with nothing?
“Fuck!”
“Stop pitching a fit like a child and be quiet,” Simeon growls at me before stalking back to where he was standing.
I don’t answer. The weight in my chest steals the words from me.
Gavriil thinks he can take Alina from me and toss her aside once he’s proven his point.
But I bet she’s already getting under his skin too.
The bastard with a life-sized canvas of her on his wall is already just as obsessed with her as I am.
One day soon, I’m going to make him fucking regret trying to take what’s mine.
25
Alina
I can’t sleep tonight.
