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“Surely, Corrado will want her back before then.”

I smirk. “I can’t believe that idiot came here to ask me for his girl.”

“I can. He thought you’d pick the niece.”

I cock my head. “That’s because he thinks this is about money. He thinks I, with my billion-dollar empire, want more.”

“Should I bother to point out that you could give the girl back, still take the niece, and keep everything?”

I laugh. “I’m not giving her back.”

“Yeah, I heard the first time. Besides, you have that look now.”

“What kind of look?”

He’s silent for a beat. “The one Father had whenever he spoke about Mother.”

That gives me pause. I always have a comeback for everything, but I know the look he’s talking about all too well. I just don’t want to read into it too much now.

“She’s growing on me,” I decide to say.

“Of course.”

“You’ll know what I mean one day.”

He laughs out loud. “Me? You must be mad.”

“Well, either you or Cassian will have to marry into one of our ally families.”

“Cassian,” Aleksandr remarks. “He can do it.”

“You are my Sovietnik and the second-born son. It should be you. Cassian is a senior enforcer. If anything happens to me, you’re next in line. You need to be established.”

He points his cigar at me and jabs the air. “Please don’t fucking piss me off right now with talk of shit. I’ll deal with the subject of marriage when the time comes.”

I hold my hands up. “Fair enough.” No one was going to force me, so I won’t do that to him. It is a matter, though, that we’ll need to think about when the dust settles with Moretti.

I’m about to say something more when a bloodcurdling scream rips through the house.

It’s Gabrielle.

I’m on my feet in an instant. Something crashes to the floor. The first thing I think is someone’s broken into the house and attacked her. Her miserable father must have sent someone to get her, to steal her back from me.

Both Aleksandr and I are out the door, guns ready to shoot anyone who shouldn’t be here. We meet the guards on the steps heading to the bedroom. I push past them and lead the way. Zoya’s at the top of the stairs in her dressing gown.

“I heard a scream,” she blurts.

“Did you see anyone up here?”

“No.”

Something else crashes to the floor, and I take off down the corridor. I burst through the bedroom door, ready to kill, but I stop mid-stride when I see Gabrielle thrashing wildly in the bed. She’s still asleep and having a nightmare.

On the floor is a vase smashed to pieces. Amongst the shards of glass is the house phone. That must have been the second thing we heard.

Gabrielle screams again, and I make a move to go to her, but Aleksandr grabs my arm.

“Don’t. She’s having night terrors. You’ll frighten her more.”