My brow cocks. She’s never been curious about me, so this is an interesting but welcome development. “Why?”
“I just realized we’ve been married for three months now and I know very little about you besides your name, your sister’s name, and what you do for work.” She pauses for a moment and watches me tentatively. “I don’t know how old you are. What you love to do when you’re not busy terrorizing me or Miami as a whole. And I know nothing about your family besides your two scary cousins and that Tatiana is your little sister.”
Her curiosity should excite me. It does. But it also pulls on a deeply wounded part of me I thought I buried years ago.
Elena rolls her lip between her teeth and gives me an apologetic look. “I’m sorry I asked. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I was only curious.”
I’d have lost my shit if it were someone else asking, but something about Elena makes me feel safe enough to open up to her about my past.
She’s my wife. My soulmate. Even though she doesn’t feel it yet, we belong together, so we should share everything with each other.
“I’m forty-two.”
“Forty-two,” she echoes thoughtfully. “Older than I imagined, but you clearly have good genes.”
A smile plays on my lips, my curiosity piqued. “How old did you think I was?”
“Forty,” she says sarcastically.
I chuckle, swirling my drink. “Well, sorry to disappoint you, baby.”
“I’m hardly disappointed,” she says with a causal shrug. “Why haven’t I met any family members other than your sister and cousins? How about your parents? Are they still alive, or—”
“They’re both dead,” I cut in. “Just like me, my father worked for the bratva. He was killed while failing a mission after I turned twenty-two, only a month after Tatiana was born.”
She lets out a show, quiet breath, her head shaking ever so slightly, like she’s feeling the suffocating gravity of the world I grew up in. “I’m so sorry.” There’s no cheap pity in her voice, and thank God for that, but I can feel the empathy in her tone. “And your mother…how did she die?”
My grip on the glass tightens and my throat clenches in a way that makes swallowing painful. Even after all these years, the pain of losing my parents hasn’t faded. I’ve only learned to live with it, to bury it deeply in a part of my memories where I don’t have to revisit it.
But Elena has managed to pry that box open for the first time in over two decades, and for the very first time, I feel the burden of it lessen.
“She couldn’t accept my father’s death, and being freshly postpartum, she sank into a depression that ended up claiming her life. I took over my father’s estate and got it running as soonas he died, but I watched helplessly as my mother slowly gave up on herself, and there was nothing I could do to save her.”
The words feel like shards of glass scraping their way up my throat. Twenty-two years later, and that wound still hasn’t healed.
For a long moment, neither of us speaks.
Elena’s eyes stay on me, soft and aching, as if she can feel my pain. Then she slowly rises to her feet and makes her way to me. Surprisingly, she sits on my legs and reaches for my hand, simply holding on to me.
“Leo, there’s nothing you could have done.”
I know, but that doesn’t make the guilt and pain I feel any lighter. Instead, it makes me feel more helpless. It drives me crazy when I can’t keep my loved ones safe. I swallow hard, taking her hand in mine.
For the first time in years, I don’t feel alone with the pain. That realization cracks something open inside my chest. “You’re right. There’s nothing I could’ve done to save her.”
She watches me as if trying to piece together everything I’m not saying. “Is that why you were so upset when you couldn’t find me? Because you were worried you wouldn’t be able to protect me if something happened when I wasn’t with you?”
“Yes.”
She bites down on her lip, her expression softening even more. “I’m sorry I misunderstood you.”
“It is fine, ptichka.” I cup her cheeks, caressing the soft skin with my thumb. “I’ll keep you safe. No matter what it takes.”
The corners of her lips lift with a faint smile. She tilts her head and kisses the palm of my hand. “I know you will. And I won’t ever give you any reason to worry about my safety. Ever again.” Something clicks behind her eyes. “Did you ever find out who was behind your father’s death?”
“Yes.” Anger coils around the grief already lodged in my chest. “Turned out someone he trusted like a brother sabotaged the mission. I got my revenge, but even if I killed that asshole a thousand times, it wouldn’t make up for the weight of his betrayal. He cost my family everything. It’s why there are only a few people I trust.”
I think back to Artem and his possible betrayal. Something hot and bitter unfurls in my chest. I’ve been watching him quietly the last couple of days. Last night, I saw him sneak out of the mansion while he thought everyone was asleep, so I had one of my men follow him.
