Page 23 of Marko

Melissa really was beautiful. The moment I saw this woman’s photo, I’d liked her, but that was physical, of course. Now that I had spent time with her, I was even more enamoured. I just hoped my intuition about her was not wrong. If she turned out to be an enemy to my family after all, I was not sure how I was going to cope. Well, I guessed it was time to find out. I was just about to open my mouth and tell her it was time to talk when she spoke.

“Marko, I like you. I really do, but I have some questions I need answered before I can open up to you any more than I have already,” she said.

“I will answer whatever I can,” I told her with a smile.

My insides did a happy dance while I fought to keep my outer-self calm. She liked me. I wanted to pick her up and swing her around, then lay her down and ravish the hell out of her. But I reminded myself yet again that now was not the time.

I really couldn’t help feeling elated, though. Earlier, when she had acted standoffish after we’d had the best sex of my life, I had been devastated. I’d tried not to take it personally because she’d been through so much and I figured that she was simply tired and feeling the effects of the day she’d had. But deep down, I had worried she’d regretted what we’d done. Her words now had bolstered my ego and relief filled me.

“What were you doing at my house last night just when someone was breaking in?” she asked.

“Straight to the point. Good,” I replied, glad. The quicker we got things out in the open, the better. I wasn’t exactly sure what to tell her, but quickly decided the full truth was best if I wanted us to have any kind of relationship, and I most definitely did.

So, I told her, and she simply listened.

Well, I told her everything except that Mathieson was not just missing but had been killed by us. I hoped Miki wouldn’t be annoyed with me revealing so much so soon, and I sure as hell hoped I was making the right call, but it felt like the best thing to do.

Melissa’s eyes widened at certain points, and she looked genuinely upset when I mentioned Krissa. Despite her visible distress, she remained silent, which I was grateful for. Her quietness made it easier for me to stay calm and matter-of-fact. If she had bombarded me with questions or offered too much sympathy, I might have lost my composure. The thought of how Krissa had died still ignited a deep anger in me, and I didn’t want to scare Melissa off. It was already going to be challenging enough for her to accept me being Bratva, so I didn’t want her to see me angry. If she did, she might be even more frightened, and that would jeopardise my plans to keep her close.

When I finished speaking, she still just stared at me. I let her take her time, waiting for her to process everything I’d shared, all the while praying she wouldn’t want to run from me once she had.

CHAPTER 13

MELISSA

SATURDAY AFTERNOON – ALLYING WITH THE BRATVA

When I’d asked Marko what he was doing at my house, I had watched as he pursed his lips, narrowing his eyes while he obviously decided how best to answer. I’d wondered at that moment if he would tell me the truth or make up some story, but then he started talking.

As I sat quietly listening, I couldn’t hide my reaction, especially when he talked about what had happened to his sister, Krissa. That was so awful.

After he had told me what I assumed was everything he planned to, I just looked at him in stunned silence, trying to process it all. Was this for real?

I felt like I had woken up two days ago and walked into my very own crime novel, and I seemed to be one of the main protagonists. I shouldn’t have been so shocked considering I hadn’t led the most law-abiding life myself; however, “What the hell?” and “Oh shit!” were really all I could think in response to what I’d just been told.

Pulling air into my lungs, I took a deep, steadying breath as I desperately tried to get my thoughts in order.

“Okay, let me get this right. You’re from a Russian Bratva family, and your brother is the pakhan?” I said, trying to make sense of everything.

He nodded.

“A corrupt lawyer called Aiden Mathieson blamed your family for his father’s imprisonment and subsequent suicide and his family’s struggles afterwards.”

Another nod.

I didn’t mention that the same bloody lawyer was none other than my biological father. Not yet, I was keeping that little nugget for later.

“And he was secretly using your enemies to attack you in various ways over the last few years as some sort of retaliation?”

Marko still said nothing, just making sounds of agreement as I continued to relay my understanding.

“And although you managed to thwart his attempts to take your family down, you are not sure that he was working alone, so you traced one of his bank accounts and it led you to me and you want to know what I have to do with him?”

“That’s about right,” he said.

Woah! Geez, I knew my biological father said he was an evil man, but I didn’t think it meant he’d been trying to take down a Russian mafia family, like his father before him, apparently.

“That’s why you were around when I was robbed and when someone blew up my home? You’ve been following me?” I asked for final clarity.

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