His expression cracks, just a bit. “That wasn’t part of the plan.”
“Wasn’t it? Seems like you didn’t waste any time on that front.”
“No, it wasn’t.” He leans forward, framing my face with his hands. “Watching you, wanting you… that was never supposed to happen. You were supposed to be a debt paid, a promise kept. But then I saw you after all those years,reallysaw you, and I couldn’t look away.”
I glance down at the pattern of the Oriental rug under my feet.
“You are beautiful, Thea,” he says. “But I thought I could keep my desire for you in check. I was wrong.”
“You should’ve told me.”
“I know.”
I pull away from his touch, wrapping my arms around myself.
“What happens now?” I ask quietly.
“Now, I finish what I started. The Bratva council meets in three weeks. If I can present a case for what he did, if I can prove that he orchestrated the Fetisov massacre, I can have him expelled and stripped of power. And I can use your existence as evidence that he’s been lying to the Bratva for decades.”
“And if not?”
He takes a slow breath. “Kolya is sick. He has no children, so his successor will be hand-picked. And once the handover is complete, the new line of legitimacy will be created.”
“And I won’t be a part of it.”
He nods.
“So we present the case and kick Kolya out. Then what?”
“Then we see what the council wants to do other than remove him. He could be executed, depending on the council’s judgment.”
“Even if this works, I still wouldn’t be safe. There would be others, right? Other people who want to use my name, my bloodline. I’ll never be free, will I?”
He’s quiet for a long moment.
“No,” he finally says. “You won’t be, not completely. But I can protect you. Iwillprotect you for the rest of your life, if that’s what it takes.”
“Why?”
“Because I owe your father. Because you deserve to live. And because—” He stops, swallows. “Because I can’t lose you.”
The words hang between us. I should be angry and rage at him for the lies and the manipulation.
But I don’t. I’m too tired and too terrified.
“Okay,” I whisper.
“Okay?”
“I’ll stay. I’ll help with whatever you need for the council. I’ll be Teodora Fetisov, or Thea, or whoever you need me to be. But I need you to promise me one thing.”
“Anything.”
“No more lies.” I meet his gaze. “No more secrets. If I’m going to do this—if I’m going to trust you with my life—I need the truth, all of it—even when it’s ugly, even when it hurts.”
He hesitates.
“Gabriel.”
