Page 92 of Caught By the Bratva Boss

“Are you asking if I set it or if I ordered it?”

“Yes.”

His lips twitched. “Yes.”

I rolled my eyes. “That doesn’t answer the question,” I grumbled as I shut the door and went to the seat opposite him.

“Yes, it does, Lily.” Steepling his hands under his chin, he gave me a grin that reminded me of the old him, the Mr. Popov who had been my boss and a suspected Bratva. I no longer suspected he was involved in organized crime, but he was no longer my boss.

“I told you that they would never hurt you again. I wasn’t lying. I made sure they would never hurt you or anyone else ever again.”

He said it softly, but there was conviction in his voice. It forced me to close my eyes. “Were they already dead?” I swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “Were they already dead when you set the fire?”

He paused, and I suddenly realized I didn’t really want to know the answer.

“Some of them. A few were executed by my men, trying to escape. But the men who laid hands on you? The ones who wanted to hurt you or Timothy.” His voice cracked.

I’d forgotten that his son had almost been sold and that he’d almost lost us and the pain it must have caused him. Could I really blame him for wanting revenge on the people who would have destroyed his child?

No, I really couldn’t.

“I didn’t show them any mercy. They burned. Locked in like rats in cages. They deserved a more painful death. But I was busy with the twins.”

My head snapped up. And a single tear dripped from my nose, but I wasn’t crying because I felt sorry for the people he had killed. I was crying for him because he should never have had to do it.

I knew what kind of man he was, but this was brutal mass murder.

“Are those tears for people who don’t deserve them?” He asked softly.

I shook my head. “No, not really. I’m glad they are dead. Does that make me a bad person?”

The fact that I wasn’t feeling guilt over their deaths made me feel like the worst human in the world. Daniil leaned forward and took my hands, entwining our fingers on the desk. His palm was warm and dry. Mine felt a little sweaty.

The corners of his mouth curved upwards, and his thumbs brushed against the back of my hand. “You are not a bad person, Lily. You could never be a bad person. Some people deserve death, and some people—” his eyes swept over me. “Some people like you deserve to live long and happy lives, surrounded by love and the people who adore them.”

I turned my hands over in his. “Thank you for being honest with me, Daniil.”

His eyes smouldered. “I will always tell you the truth unless it’s dangerous for you to know. I promise you that.”

Taking a deep breath, I asked the question that was most on my mind.

“You mentioned the twins,” I whispered. “Dominik and Piotre.” I almost gagged even saying their names made me want to vomit. My skin prickled with unease as the memories of what they had done to me flowed to the front of my brain.

Daniil’s grip on my hand tightened. “I killed them.”

“I know that, how? Did they suffer?” I stuttered. I couldn’t believe I was asking that question. It felt wrong, but deep down I hoped they had.

Daniil met my eyes without blinking. “Yes, they suffered. But do you really want to know the details?”

I took a deep, shaky breath. “Yes,” I whispered. Straightening my shoulders I nodded more forcefully. “Yes, I want to know, tell me.”

“I tortured them. I tied them to chairs and cut off the parts of their bodies that dared touch you.” His eyes had turned into fire. “And then I set Dominik alight and made his brother watch him burn. Slowly,” he gritted out, “a few minutes here and there. Going from one to another. Lighting them up until their skin blistered and dousing them the next. They watched each other burn.” He blinked finally.

I ripped my hands away from him and covered my mouth as vomit rushed up and sprayed between my fingers. I had asked, and he had told me the truth. But I never expected it to be like that.

He rushed around, holding a wastebasket under my face. I threw up until there was nothing left in my stomach but white bile.

The entire time, he rubbed a gentle circle on my back.