"Every day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner." I hold her gaze. "Would you be there with me?"
The smile fades from her face. Something else takes its place. Something I can't name but desperately want to understand.
"Dmitri..."
"Because if you would be there." I bring her hand to my lips. Kiss her knuckles. Each one. Slowly. "I could eat sushi every day for the rest of my life."
She doesn't pull away.
"You don't mean that," she says softly.
"I mean everything I say to you, Vittoria." I turn her hand over. Press a kiss to her palm. "Every word. Every promise. Every threat."
"You're going to break my heart," she whispers.
The words hit me like a bullet to the chest.
"No." I cup her face in my hands. Force her to look at me. "I'm going to worship it. Guard it. Kill anyone who tries to touch it." My thumb traces her lower lip. "Your heart is the safest thing in Chicago, solnyshko. Because it belongs to me now."
She doesn't say anything.
But when she leans forward and presses her lips to mine, I have my answer.
My phone vibrates in my pocket.
I pull back from Vittoria's kiss, irritation flashing through me.Not now.Whatever this is can wait.
But the screen shows Karolina's name. My sister never calls unless it's important.
I swipe to answer. "What?"
Sobbing. Ragged, broken sounds that make my blood freeze.
"Dmitri." Karolina's voice cracks on my name. "You need to come. Now. As fast as you can."
My chest tightens. The words don't register at first. Or maybe they do, and my brain refuses to process them.
"Karolina—"
"Please." She's crying so hard I can barely understand her. "Just come. He's... Dmitri,please."
The line goes dead.
I stare at the phone.
He's...
She didn't finish the sentence.
She didn't need to.
"Dmitri?" Vittoria's hand touches my arm. Her voice sounds far away. Muffled. Like I'm underwater. "What happened?"
I can't look at her. If I look at her, something inside me will crack. And I can't crack. Not yet. Not until I know for certain.
"My father."
Two words. That's all I can manage.
