Page 90 of Capuleto

"You make it very hard for me, Russian."

"You do too," he commented, brushing a sweat-soaked hair from my face. He kissed me again. "You know this isn’t what I wanted, right?"

"Sometimes you don't get what you want, but what you deserve."

"And you're what I deserve?"

"Without a doubt," I agreed, biting his lower lip.

"I like you too much for my own sanity," he replied, filling me with satisfaction.

"You're in luck, because so do you. By the way, what did you call me earlier? It sounded very nice."

"Radnoy?" I nodded.

"It means a pus-filled pimple in the ass," he said very seriously. I almost believed him, if it weren't for something resembling a smile flickering across his face.

"Bullshit! What did you really say?"

"Darling, I called you darling."

I rewarded him with another kiss, much more intense than the previous ones. I'm sure that if my phone hadn't rung, another round would have followed after our necessary recovery.

Andrey went to take a shower and I took the opportunity to speak to Piero, whom I had asked via a message to follow Koroleva because I didn't trust her.

"Tell me."

"I followed her to a hotel."

"A hotel?"

"Yes, R left on his motorcycle half an hour before she did. At first, I thought she was going to use one of the services or grab a coffee, but she went up to one of the rooms." I had a feeling, and from what I was hearing, I was on the right track.

For a married woman to go alone to a hotel room could only mean one thing. In Koroleva’s case, two: she had a lover, an accomplice, or perhaps both.

"Okay, don't lose sight of her and send me the location. If you can, take pictures of the person who goes to visit 'the boss,'" I said pointedly. "Because I'm sure someone will show up."

"I’ll do what I can."

"Don’t put yourself in danger, Piero."

"Don't worry."

I grabbed some clothes and went to the bathroom on the lower floor, ignoring the surprised looks of my men as I ran naked, with what seemed like the remnants of a romp on my abdomen.

What mattered to me now was not my image, or what they might deduce. The important thing was to catch that treacherous bitch before she got us all killed.

35

Who was it?

Icalled Yuri as soon as Romeo left.

One thing was clear: I needed explanations, and a simple phone call wouldn't suffice. I wanted to look him in the eye and see if he was lying or telling the truth. I wanted him to tell me what the hell was going on.

As soon as I was in the room, I opened the minibar and downed a couple of bottles to steady my nerves.

R offering me a divorce had been completely unexpected. Of course, I didn’t sign; I wasn’t even sure if that was what I wanted to do. I was well aware that if I put my signature on those papers, I would sever ties, both with him and with my brother.

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