Page 103 of Baby for the Bratva King

But eventually you have to pick yourself up and move on. Comfort is good in moderation. Too much can destroy everything.

And Saskia is much stronger than I can ever hope to be. She seeks short term pleasure and keeps it moving. But me? I cling on. I don’t want to be dropped back into the darkness.

This was always about the money. She applied for my job because she needed the cash, not because she needed a man.

I grind my jaw, conflicted. My brain tells me to stop this nonsense, but my heart tells me to keep fighting, to bang down her door and get on my knees.

“What are we going to do about Vesper Brouwer?” asks Gabriel, leaning into the staircase.

“Skin him alive and light his remains on fire.”

Gabriel arches his brow. “All because of a woman? This bastard was never any of our business.”

“But he is now, if he’s working to expose us.”

“Does he even know the truth?”

I rake a hand through my hair, remembering the casino. The man said something peculiar before I stuck my knife in him.

“I have no idea what happens when the sun goes down, but you do, Mr. Pozharsky.”

“I take my secrets to the grave.”

“What is it?” Gabriel snaps me out of my trance.

“The man I assassinated outside of the casino—who ordered his death?”

“Like I said, it was just some angry investment broker.”

“Who could have been hired by Vesper...”

“That’s a big reach.”

“Is it?” I ask, stepping forward. “Vesper has a lot to be guilty for. This man knows about me, and then suddenly we’re being hired to kill him.”

“You think Vesper and his investment friend were setting us up?”

“Perhaps. Or maybe Vesper wanted the man gone so he could deliver the groundbreaking news himself,” I say. “Clients trust us with their names, but this particular client chose to remain anonymous.”

“But Vesper doesn’t have any evidence.”

“Not yet. But he might start pulling strings when he does something to make me lash out.”

Gabriel tosses me a scornful look. “Maybe just leave father and daughter alone.”

Gabriel expects me to sit back if Vesper makes advances on his daughter?

From an outsider’s perspective, I probably look insane, and maybe I am, but if I can save my Honeysuckle from her father, I might finally find the freedom I have been searching for.

Love isn’t transactional. It’s a feeling that cannot be overridden.

28

SASKIA

My sense of smell is the first thing to come around when I wake up. I have no awareness of my surroundings, no concept of time, but the musty smell of soil grabs my attention, confusing me even more.

I wiggle my fingers, desperate to get some feeling back into them. Something dry and grainy slips between my fingers—that must be dirt. I’m still in the process of reclaiming my vision, blinking rapidly to get it back. But the more I look, the darker everything feels. Looks like my father really did suck me into the void.