LOGINShare
81
publish date:
2026-05-24 08:49:13
Latest chapter
Two Brothers. One Ruin. 86
“Interesting topic. And I do love…” His mouth curves. “Me. So sure.” Arrogant asshole. “Great.” I smile sweetly at him. “So here’s how this works. I ask questions, you answer them.” He picks up his wine glass—white. Very on brand for him—and takes an unhurried sip. “I’ll meet you halfway. You ask.” Another sip. “And I decide which ones deserve answers.” I shrug one shoulder lightly. “I’ll take whatever I can get.” He sets the glass down and reaches for his silverware. “You’ve got until dinner’s over.” A challenge. I take another slow drink myself, refusing to let the little time limit rush me the way he clearly intended. “What was your dream when you were a kid?” He clearly wasn’t expecting that question. A short scoff leaves him, almost amused. “Seriously?” “It’s simple enough.” I set my wine glass down and lean back comfortably in my chair. “What did you want for yourself? When you pictured your future back then… was this it?” I gesture vaguely around us. “This scene
Two Brothers. One Ruin. 85
Every light downstairs is on. Voices spill from the living room. Several voices. I slow instinctively as I move toward the sound. “The Russians gaining too much ground,” a man says. I don’t recognize the voice. “If you wait any longer, you’ll lose the advantage. It’s time to change tactics.” “What, to the exact thing you wanted from the start?” another voice replies dryly. Ian. “You were the one pushing to let them wipe out the local gangs first.” “Yeah, and now that they’ve already wiped everybody else out, they need to be handled too.” The unfamiliar man’s tone sharpens. “If this keeps going, they’ll become impossible to control.” What the hell are they even talking about? “I told you from the beginning,” the man continues, “I’d keep backing you as long as you kept order in the city.” I move a little closer, finally coming fully into view of the room. A man in a dark overcoat and tailored suit sits in one of the armchairs. Ian and Caleb are off to one side together. And
Two Brothers. One Ruin. 84
By the time I make it back outside, Shaun’s gone. Julian never comes back either. The entire rest of the day, a sick sense of unease clings to me like a second skin. It follows me through every conversation, every forced smile, every second that crawls by until I finally end up back in that same fucking bedroom. The same room where I gave in to him. I lie there staring into the darkness, but my mind refuses to shut up. Is he really using me to track down the people who killed Kate? A woman who’s already dead. Does he even care what happens to me in the process? Or would part of him actually enjoy watching me get hurt if it meant finally making Julian pay? A cold knot twists tighter and tighter inside my chest. How the hell am I supposed to protect myself from something like this? How do you outrun danger when you can’t even see it coming? My thoughts spiral so violently my head actually starts aching from it. But underneath all the fear, another realization keeps pressing ha
Two Brothers. One Ruin. 83
“What the fuck was that?” he demands, anger vibrating beneath every word. I blink at him in disbelief. Seriously? I’m the one getting interrogated right now? “Which part exactly?” I shoot back coldly. “There’s kinda a lot of material to choose from these days.” “Tell me you didn’t fall for that bastard after everything he’s done to you.” His voice comes out rough, furious. “Tell me you didn’t sleep with him. Tell me all that shit out there was just you talking out of your ass.” A sharp laugh almost leaves me. “You don’t get to demand explanations from me.” I rip my arms out of his grip. “Not when you knocked Millie up. And definitely not while you’re still planning to marry her.” “I’m doing this because of you.” His fist slams against the wall hard enough to make me flinch. “I was ready to burn everything down, okay? But the second they realized exactly what my weakness was, I got warned that if I didn’t go through with marrying her, I’d be cut out of the family. And that wo
Two Brothers. One Ruin. 82
Something sick twists violently in my stomach, so sharp and sudden I almost feel nauseous enough to throw the news right back up. Oh my God. This makes everything so much more complicated… and somehow so much simpler at the exact same time. How the hell is Julian supposed to save me? Be with me? When he’s about to become a father? I don’t even realize how much time passes while I sit there staring numbly at the untouched food in front of me. Until a hand settles over mine. I flinch slightly and turn my head. Shaun. When the hell did he get here? His eyes stay fixed on my face. “You okay?” I look at him for a long second before answering. “Does it matter?” His jaw tightens almost immediately. Not obvious enough for anyone else at the table to notice. But I notice. His thumb brushes once against the back of my hand before he lets go completely. “Eat something.” The command in his voice scrapes across my nerves. Across from us, Millie’s laughing at something Chelsea s
Two Brothers. One Ruin. 81
After finishing, he gets up first and carries his plate toward the sink. A second later, I do the exact same thing. And the moment I reach him, he turns at the same time. We almost collide chest to chest. I tighten my grip on the plate before it slips from my hands. God. The tension between us feels alive. Like something burning beneath layers of ash, waiting for the smallest spark to erupt. I swallow hard and step awkwardly to the right without looking at him. At the exact same moment, he moves to his left. Straight into my path again. I try the other side. So does he. For a second we just stand there in ridiculous silence, trapped in each other’s space. Then he lets out a low, rough sound under his breath, and suddenly his hands close around my arms. My breath catches instantly. God—his eyes. Storm-gray and fixed entirely on me. There’s something dangerous in the way his jaw tightens, teeth pressed together like he’s physically restraining himself from doing something. And
You may also like
The One Night Stand Mafia Heir
Peyton Iuga123.4K viewsMafia Men: Nikolai's Inferno
Janedoewritings361.6K viewsHer Deceitful Love
Taevya95.1K viewsFlames and Roses
Babyofsun104.8K viewsStuck With The Devil’s Brothers
Destiny John-Peters 64 viewsThe Mafia Who Bought Me
Elizabeth_reads1.1K viewsSecret Affair with A Mafia Boss
Hope97 viewsBLOOD AND VOWS
M L SAMUEL 199 views
