Page 46 of Devil's Bride

Pulling me even closer, he juts his jaw, and I think I see a flicker of pain in his eyes. “A girl died and I couldn’t save her.”

He lets me go and I cannot figure out what startles me more. The lack of contact or the information. “What…” I blink. “What girl?”

“Doesn’t matter now. She’s gone. And to make it even worse, I’m being blackmailed with a video of me killing some fucking bastard who tried to rape a young girl.”

What is happening? Why does he look so pained? It doesn’t matter that he tries to hide it. I see right through the tough façade. I rub my temple. “Explain this to me, because I don’t… I don’t understand. I thought you…” I trail off.

Alexei Vadim is a smart man; he catches the insinuation clearly.

“Let me guess, you thought I killed her? You thought I’m into the business of selling off women and not giving a fuck about what happens to them later?” He scoffs. “Typical.”

I blink again. What do I have to say to that? Absolutely nothing, because it is true. I thought the worst of him. I thought he trafficked women, used them, tossed them out like rubbish. But now, this man in front of me is hurting because he couldn’t protect one.

Emotion swells in my heart, and before I can stop myself, I throw my arms around him and hug him. I feel his body tense, but I don’t let him go. I am too overwhelmed to speak, but I know a hug can never go wrong. It is my way of apologizing for assuming the worst about him.

And when he relaxes and hugs me back, I know the brave stunt was all worth it.

Maybe Nina is right.

Maybe if I look beyond that gruff and angry exterior, I’ll see a man on the inside who is worth loving.

Chapter Fifteen

Alexei

“My daughter is the only reason I’m here.”

Car tires whine and crunch the tiny stones on the littered driveway as the rest of the shiny black fleet parks up behind me. Car doors open, heavy footsteps sound.

More of my men hop out and surround me to protect my back. I flip a coin and, with a scoff, nod towards the men who look armed for a suicide mission.

“What is this, Mission Impossible?” I ask Matteo.

He chuckles, a dark glimmer in his eyes like he predicts his death will happen at any minute. “A meeting, sure...” he rocks on his heels and nods his head. “In the middle of fucking nowhere. You think I’m fucking stupid, Vadim?”

“Uh, yes? And this squad of yours proves it.”

I know better. I should have ignored the drama and driven straight ahead to the meeting point. But... come on, pulling up with a fucking fleet for a private meeting? What the hell was that?

Matteo glances over his shoulder and the deep scowl etched on his face grows even deeper. “When it involves you, no precautionary measure is unimportant.”

The hatred in the man’s eyes burns with an interesting intensity, and I’m sure mine aren’t any different. I hate him just as much as he loathes me. And deep down, beneath all the hatred and blood thirst to have my head, the fear is evident.

This man, despite how strong he pretends to be, and the influence he wields, is so fucking scared, I’m sure just a wave of my finger would have all the guns up behind him.

I shake my head; it’s almost laughable.

But he’s right; there’s only one reason I’m going to be civil to him.

I flash a smile and flip the coin again. “Impressive. I guess it’s nice to know how much I make you tremble in your boots.” I shudder to add the effect, but it only makes him redder.

“You think this is funny?” He motions to the army behind him. “You think I’m scared of you? Guess again, bastard. This is just a sign, Vadim, to tell you that you don’t know what’s coming. If you dare hurt my daughter, my sweet precious Irina, I swear, I’ll fucking kill you. You might not know what it means to incur a father’s wrath because you have no fucking daughters. If you’re finding any of this funny, I’ll look forward to seeing the smile on your fucking face when you’re six feet under.”

The smile drops from my mouth. Is that what this is? To tell me what will happen if I hurt his daughter?

Hurt Irina?

The thought leaves a bitter taste in my mouth and a terrible sinking feeling in my chest, like some fucker punched a hole right through it and tossed a full bottle of searing acid right into the hole. Whatever it is, I’m smart enough to know it has everything to do with not hurting her, directly or indirectly. I couldn’t, even if I tried.

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