Page 57 of Scarred Hearts

Nadia rolled her eyes. “Okay.”

Giovanna nodded proudly, then glared at me.

“I’ll go over the business side of it all with the guys,” Ian continued, “but all you girls need to worry about is neither of you getting seriously hurt. I only need there to be a little blood from both of you to make this believable.”

They exchanged a mutual, satisfied glance, both appearing to be somewhat happy to hurt one another. I shot a displeased look at Luke, but he subtly shook his head.

“Ty,” Ian said from the Luxe office doorway.

I lifted my eyes but didn’t verbally respond. Sighing, he entered the office, closing the door behind him. He plopped down on the chair in front of the desk, crossing his ankle over his knee. Restlessly, he waited while I finished fanning through a contract to make sure all signatures were accounted for.

“Are you going to talk?” I asked as I stopped scanning the last page and set it aside.

“I was trying to be respectful and let you finish.”

I snorted, tossing the ink pen in the middle of the desk, then folded my arms on the surface. “Now you want to respect me?”

“I had to do what I had to do.”

“You’re going to get her killed, Ian.”

He shook his head. “You know me better than that. I know she’s tougher than you’re giving her credit for.”

“I don’t give a shit!” I spat. “Would you let Jenna fight?”

He bobbed his head back and forth with a playful frown. “No, but Jenna’s not trained like Gia is.”

“Just because Gia’s trained in whatever martial arts doesn’t mean you can just use her for your own business dealings like that.”

“Will you hear me out as to why?”

Wow. Ian never asked for permission to do anything. He just did it. And those around him accepted it. In the last couple of years, he’d become severely impatient and controlling about everything business related, even when it involved the family. Those we loved and cared about had been used as bait. Now he wanted to involve Giovanna.

In the end, he was my brother, and I’d always have his back, whether I understood his reason or not. I dipped my head. He leaned forward, taking my pack of cigarettes and the lighter off the desk and lit one then tossed the lighter toward me. I caught it then lit one of my own as he slouched back in the chair more casually than when he was in proper business mode.

He inhaled a deep drag, blowing the smooth, grey cloud toward the ceiling. “She can fight. I have faith in her.”

“Which is whyyy?”

“Which is why,” he nodded, “I plan to make a deal with Ekaterina. She can’t resist a bet. Her entire family’s obsessed with gambling. Giovanna wins,” he said, taking another puff of the cigarette, “she stays here.”

Jaw clenched, I crossed my arms. “And if she loses?”

He stood, tapping two fingers on the desk. “Let’s hope she wins.”

I knew she was tough, but I wasn’t willing to gamble on her life like that. She hated it there. They controlled her, and he was playing a dangerous game of roulette with her life. My intention was to keep things only physical with her to protect her, but there was no point now. She was in the crossfire either way. Maybe giving us a chance wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

“I know what you’re thinking,” he interjected my thoughts.

Flickering my gaze toward him, I realized I’d been staring through him. Lifting the cigarette to my lips, I breathed it in. “I doubt that.”

“You’re weighing the option of just making shit official with you guys and?—”

Three knocks at the door interrupted him. Narrowing my gaze on his, I snuffed my cigarette out in the ashtray on the desk.

“Come in!” he called back over his shoulder with a knowing grin.

The door pushed open, and Giovanna poked her head in. Ignoring me, she made eye contact with him. “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.”

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