Page 59 of Devil's Bride

He chuckles. Licking the blood off his knife, he tucks it away in the pocket of his leather jacket. “What will you do with Matteo Volkov when all of this is over?”

I massage my temple. “I haven’t thought that far yet. Let’s focus on bringing the Phoenix down first.”

“He is part of the Phoenix.”

“He is my wife’s father!” I say sternly. I wouldn’t mind killing Matteo. In fact, I would have fun doing it, but that would hurt Irina. I can’t stand to see her hurt, and I’d lose my mind if I did something she’ll hate me for.

My brother narrows his eyes on me as if I’d just let a secret slip. His brow lifts, and the glare he gives me is accusatory. “Your wife. I thought this was just a contract marriage.”

“You told me to give her flowers, fool. Now why would I give flowers to a woman I don’t care about?”

“To buy her loyalty. She can help you bring Matteo down.”

“Matteo is not the problem. Even if he was, I wouldn’t get her involved in this mess.” Fierce as Irina may be, she’s naïve and innocent. She does not belong in this dark world, she belongs somewhere she can shine. I’m never letting her go, not putting her at risk is the most I can do for her.

He shakes his head. “She was almost killed three days ago. I’d say she’s already pretty much involved.”

My fingers curl into a fist. I feel my veins bulge as anger flares to life inside me. “I’ll find every one of those bastards and kill them myself.”

The driver pulls the car to the car to a stop. A bodyguard opens my door. Just as I slide out, I see Dimitri and Mikhail getting out of another vehicle.

Nikolai walks to my side, staring at Mikhail and Dimitri as they approach us with the same long strides. “They look like they’re out for blood,” he whispers. His voice is loud enough for them to hear.

“Maybe we are.” Dimitri stops in front of me. “Can we trust him?”

“I trust Dominic,” I reply. We pass a good number of security guards before we reach the elevator that whisks us up to Dominic’s office. My brothers and Dimitri wait outside while I enter the office.

Dominic looks up from his computer and his lips contort into a smug smile. “Finally, we meet again.”

I grab the chair across from his and sit on it. “It’s not been that long since we last saw each other.”

“It’s been longer than usual.” He scrutinizes me. “Married life looks good on you.”

I nod. “It’s actually way better than I expected.”

“Women, they do that to you.” He grins.

I don’t have time to discuss married life or women. I’m desperate and anxious right now. It’s a struggle to be at peace knowing the Phoenix can get to Irina at any time and hurt her without me being there. “What do you have for me?”

He opens his file and pulls out a folder, which he shoves toward me.

“What is this?” I ask, reaching for the folder.

“Well, take a look.” He swivels his chair from side to side, watching me as I flip the first page of the folder open.

The first picture I see is a shot of Paulo, the man I killed. “This is Paulo Ruiz.”

Dominic nods. “It is.”

“What does his picture have to do with this?” I wonder if the other members of the organization are hunting me and everyone I love as revenge for his death.

Dominic rests his forearms on the table. “You killed him.”

“I did.”

“Well, it looks like we have wandering ghosts in the city of New York.”

I look at the picture again, and then the ones after it. The dates these pictures were taken is boldly written at the bottom of the picture.

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