Maxim found me in the warehouse, standing over Veronika’s body. I never liked her, but that didn’t mean I wanted to see her dead. That was the last thing I wanted. She may have been a bad person, but she was a victim in her own right.All her life, people—men had used her to further their agenda, and she agreed. She was so greedy for the male attention that she didn’t realize she compromised more than just her dignity.“What happened?” Maxim asked as he rushed towards me to check if I was okay. I didn’t even look at him. I kept looking at Veronika.She had been right. Maxim would never see me the same way when he found out I wasn’t the person I pretended to be. I was a hypocrite, and it didn’t take a genius to see it. I pretended I was a good person when I was anything but that.I was a liar.“Are you okay? What happened to her?” Maxim asked, but I couldn’t get a word out of my mouth.Mikhail checked Veronika’s pulse even though he knew deep in his heart that she was dead. He looked u
I woke up tied to a chair in a warehouse. There was immense pain shooting through my skull. My vision was hazy as I processed that I had been kidnapped by Kira again. I tried to wiggle my way out of the ropes, and I wasn’t able to break free.“Stop trying. I have been wanting to do this for a long time. Do you remember the time you had me kidnapped so you would get married in peace?” Veronika asked as she stepped into my line of sight and slapped me.When I tried to lift my face, she slapped me again.“You ruined everything. I could have been the queen of the Bratva and stayed by Maxim’s side, but you came along and everything changed. You deserve everything that will happen.”She was about to hit me again when Kira grabbed her arm to stop her.“Fabio will kill us for this. We were never supposed to take her. I hate you for convincing me this was a good idea. You fuck up, and it's dangerous for the two of us.”Veronika scoffed and pushed Kira away.“Why are you such a pussy? This woma
Just as my feet hit the ground from the ladder, there was a huge explosion that threatened to knock me off my feet. It shook the tunnel, and specks of dust fell on the ground. Before I could process what was going on, there was a second explosion that caused the three of us to fall to the ground.“What the fuck is going on?” I asked. “If something happens to Maxim…”“Relax, nothing is going to happen to your dear husband. Don’t think I noticed that he went outside to speak to Mikhail. I’m not stupid. You think you’re sleek, but you’re not.” Kira answered as she got off the ground and dusted herself off.She was smart, I’d give her that. She pretended she didn’t see anything, but she had eyes everywhere. She was a conniving snake, and that was who she was always going to be. Assuming Maxim was okay, it was a plus that the explosion had happened.Kira knew the brothers had made up, and it just blew up our whole plan. I was glad I knew about it.“What is happening?” I asked as I also dus
We were still at the party and I was avoiding Maxim. I should have known Darko would stir the pot and let it slip that we knew one another. He knew I was keeping my identity a secret. How was I supposed to explain how I knew?I successfully avoided him for a while until I saw Mikhail pull him to speak. I scanned the room to make sure Kira wasn’t looking at him. I spotted her across the room with Veronika speaking with a client and I walked towards them to make sure they didn’t realize Maxim and Mikhail had gone out to talk. As I approached, I heard how Kira was speaking to her business associate, I realized that she was talented in that area. She could have built a business and ignored all other things but she was harboring ill feelings for the Bratva. That would be the end of her. If you coupled that with her working with Fabio, she had signed her death certificate. If I knew anything about him, it was that he never left loose ends. He killed any outsider he worked with. That was
Mika and I followed the secret path below the building. The place was dark, and it was old, but it had a strong foundation, seeing as it hadn’t caved after the explosion. The walls of the secret pathway were made of metal.“What do you think we’ll find on the other side?” Mika asked.“I have no idea. We’ll have to find out.” I answered curtly. I needed his help, which was why I was even speaking to him. I hadn’t forgotten the many times he had stabbed me in the back.“I feel like this is all my fault. If I hadn’t—”“You weren’t the one who invited her into our lives; you just entertained her. She would have found another way to infiltrate us had you rejected her. She has other motives, and it has nothing to do with you.” I answered.I wasn’t interested in reassuring him to make him feel better, but I also wouldn’t let him feel bad for being interested in a woman. I had also overlooked so many suspicious things about Livia and who she really was that lingered in the back of my mind.“I
My ears were ringing and my head was buzzing. My vison was blurry as I looked around trying to remember what the fuck had happened. Then, it all came crashing back like an ugly wave of unwanted water.One moment, I was speaking to my brother, and the next, there was an explosion in the building she was in. When Mikhail and I neared the building, there was another explosion that sent us flying.I saw the yellow flames licking the building my wife was supposed to be in and I swear that I almost lost my fucking mind. I tried to rush in, but Mikhail grabbed me to stop me from going anywhere. I wanted to kill him for pulling such a stunt.“Let me go! I said, let me go, you idiot!” I yelled.He didn’t let me go in. Other men helped him hold me back while I watched the building burn. I heard sirens before firefighters rushed in and started putting out the fire. Only then did they let me go.I watched them pull body after body from the fire, and I was fighting back tears. I rarely cried, but