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“I know you know that he died.” She rolled her head on the cushion to peer at me. “You looked into me. When Adrik told you to kill me.”

“Hey.” I patted her knee once. “Maybe you can reword that so it doesn’t sound like a current order.”

She raised her brows, smirking at me.

“He—and I—had no clue who you are. I had a name and that was it. None of us want you dead.”

“Thanks… for confirming that. I kind of gathered as much, you know, when you killed those other men who wanted me dead too.” She cleared her throat. “But, um, I know you know about my past. More than I could ever know about your past. Kaleb was my boyfriend, and when the condom broke and he knocked me up, his parents really wanted him to ‘do the right thing’ and marry me.”

“You weren’t enthusiastic about it?”

She shook her head. “He was an all right boyfriend at the moment, but not a man I wanted to call my husband. He wasn’t a good one, anyway, always wanting to party and watch sports. He even got it in his head that he could be macho and join some dumb motorcycle club, but they didn’t really want him either.” She shrugged. “I didn’t hate him, but when he died at work, I wasn’t necessarily torn up about him.”

“Was he a good father, though?”

She shook her head. “Not really. Brady was only a baby, and he wasn’t hands on or helpful. Not like Adrik is with Luka or Maksim with Isabel.” She tucked her hair back behind her ear. “And that’s what broke my heart more, even before Kaleb died. He never would’ve been father material. But when he died, Brady lost the only father he’d ever known. I wouldn’t wish that on any child. Everyone needs a good father in their life.”

I cleared my throat, moved by her honesty. It struck close to home, too. “I agree. My father is dying as we speak.”

She gasped, taking my hand to hold it. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s been a long process.” I gave her the basics of his hiding his cancer diagnosis and the stroke, then also how we are stuck waiting for him to pass naturally, as he requested. Then how Adrik would take over. “It’s not the first time my brothers and cousins and I had to face the thought of losing him.”

“He’s been sick before?” she guessed, worry and sympathy in her eyes. And it wasn’t fake. She knew what this was like, losing both of her parents too. I twined our fingers together to give her comfort about the topic as well.

“Gregori tried to kill him. Years ago. And he almost succeeded.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You mean the same Gregori Adrik was talking about earlier?”

I nodded. “My uncle. He planted a bomb to kill my grandfather and my father to get the throne.”

She opened her eyes wide, but I didn’t let her jerk her hand away.

“So much… violence.”

I sighed, hating that it would scare her. “Yes. But also so much loyalty and love.”

“But…” She furrowed her brow. “So much danger.”

It was always there. She just hadn’t seen enough of it close up yet.

I wondered if she’d ever be able to expand her idea of belonging with us as more than a witness to protect. If she could ever see her or her son as members of the family. If she would ever be open to risking the danger to stay with us for more.

For more like sworn loyalty, which she’d already started to show us in sharing those videos.

But what about for more, like… love?

14

LOUISA

Ever since the night that Nikolai told me that Gregori was his uncle, who’d killed others in the family, my perspective of the family changed. It had to. No matter how confusing it was to be here as a protected witness among this family, I still operated on a basis of survival and looking out for my son.

Knowing that some of these powerful and dangerous Mafia men could turn on their family scared me. That kind of domestic disturbance and antagonism wasn’t selective to only the elite wealthy. It applied to everyone. I knew that. But with how badly I wanted to feel like I could not rush away from here, I was cautious.

You’re being ridiculous.

I watched Brady and Nikolai sit together in the great room, watching TV. A soccer game was on, and Nikolai was explaining more about the rules and points. Every now and then, he’d yawn, proving that he was tired.