Page 123 of Bleed with Me

I looked at the boss behind the desk, raising a challenging brow.

“So, Mr. Zhumagulov? What is it?”

Zyon tapped his fingers against the polished surface and exchanged a glance with Malin, who nodded almost imperceptibly.

“After Giovanni’s tragic demise,” Zyon started, unlocking the top drawer of his deck with a golden key. My heart clenched, but I pushed the feeling away. “I planned to eliminate Lorenzo, too.”

That didn’t surprise me.

“But.” Zyon opened a thick black file. “Your father visited me with a proposal. Your family’s survival in exchange for Ramzan’s freedom.”

“What?” I whispered, looking at the paper Zyon moved before me, and found the embassy seal stamped across the top page.

Request for Transfer of Incarcerated American Citizen.

Ramzan Zhumagulov’s name stared back at me from the first line. My blood turned cold. The date on the document was six months old.

Fucking six months!

Long before my father forced me to accept Sonny.

Long before our first argument.

What the hell?

“Lorenzo brought it to back up his offer.” Zyon tapped the document. “Three weeks later, Ramzan’s case was moved up.” Deafening silence swallowed the room again. “When he said you’ll marry Sonny Carlile to tie the deal, that’s when I started listening.”

“Jesus.” I collapsed against the armchair. My eyes darted around the room without really seeing anything, while my brain worked overtime to connect the dots.

“It’s not all,” Malin said, and Dorian exhaled exasperatedly.

“What else?” he grumbled, tenderly enclosing his fingers around mine. “Her father already sold her out!”

“Oh, don’t whine about it,” Zyon snapped, glaring at him. “You wanted to deport the entire Valentino family to Antarctica in swimsuits!”

“I still do!” Dorian snarled, squeezing my hand tighter when I tried to pull it free. He abruptly turned to me. “Just not her.”

Despite the anger, frustration, and confusion, I snorted a laugh. It was weirdly adorable that he openly admitted to despising my entire family, but chose to keep me by his side.

“How romantic,” Malin ground out. “Kiss her so we can move on.”

“Just continue,” I sighed, entwining my fingers with Dorian’s. “I need to know everything to see the whole picture.”

“Okay.” Zyon stood up and walked to the alcohol cabinet. “Malin, please, enlighten the situation for the happy couple.”

“It’s not much.” Malin grimaced, sitting in Zyon’s place. “But I went through Giovanni’s bank accounts and found some irregularities.” He spread four papers with money movements before me. “Your grandfather was broke, and from what we know, he borrowed money from some dangerous people.”

“Broke?” I echoed, frowning at the statements. “I inherited sixty million.”

I hadn’t meant to reveal that, but I was shocked and tired. The information just slipped.

“Interesting.” Zyon placed a glass of scotch before me. “That’s exactly how much your family owes to the Carliles. And according to unconfirmed sources, he owed more to other people.”

“What sources?”

I felt like a complete idiot. What the hell did Giovanni do?

“That doesn’t matter, Nina,” Dorian mumbled, and I turned to him, seeing the horrified expression. “You’re not just a guarantee. You’re a payment.”