Page 92 of Merciless Queen

With the gun loose by my side, I turn toward Zeno, ready to end this once and for all. No more warring. No more hatred between our organizations because it ends today.

Zeno doesn’t wait for me to react before pushing to his feet, positioning himself in front of me. Movement comes from my soldiers behind me as they all angle their guns toward him, but a quick gesture of my hand lowers them. The last thing I need is for one of them to accidentally shoot.

He angles himself in front of Serafina, exactly as I’d expect him to, with a pleading expression. But she’s in no danger from me or anyone else in this room.

Despite everything Zeno did, everything I promised I’d do when my Elite arrived…I can’t. Not after hearing his reasoning, not after meeting Serafina. There’s one enemy here, and it’s neither Zeno nor me.

It’s Papa. And he’s long dead and gone, which means, this war needs to be as well.

“Vanessa. Please.”

It’s packed in that single word I know what he’s actually asking.Please leave Serafina alone.

I turn my head slightly, catching Dimitri in my peripheral vision to murmur, “We’re done here. Move out.”

His jaw drops slack, glancing meaningfully at our captives. “You sure?”

“Da.”

There’s nothing more to do here. Nothing Iwantto do. The fighting must stop, and one side has to be the first to concede.

Dimitri orders everyone out and they exit the villa in formation. Lev trails behind them, and then Dimitri. Anastasia’s the only person who doesn’t listen, lingering as she watches me.

“Shut the door behind you when you go please.” My command is meant to say what I haven’t:Please leave.

“Vanessa—”

“I’ll only be a minute.”

“Fine.” She twirls her gun in her hand and slides it into the holster on her hip, her gaze passing over the line of three. She pauses on Nero for a moment before twisting with her ballerina-like grace and flouncing out the door.

Once I’m alone with Zeno and his family, I follow the constant barking to the closet. Venus darts out when I open thedoor and pushes her head into my waiting hand before rejoining her mistress, rubbing against Serafina.

Zeno commands something in Italian, and the dog slugs away to the corner, her guarded, beady eyes studying the room while her nose lifts high, scenting the intruders.

“How’d they find us?” he asks, attention coming back to me. His stance has relaxed slightly, his arms returning to his side, but he remains in front of Serafina.

“We’re all equipped with trackers.”

His mouth twists into a sick, amused grin. “Which is why you never fought back. This entire time, you knew they’d be coming.”

“Not my fault you underestimated me. Learn from that error.” With that parting statement, I tuck the gun in my waistband beside the marriage certificate and turn toward the exit.

“I’ve never underestimated you, Vanessa,” he calls out, stopping me in my tracks. “You have no reason to trust or believe me, but what I told you in my room was true. I changed my plans for youbecauseof you.”

Lies.More fucking lies because that’s all this man does. I’ll never believe another word from his mouth. It was the ultimate lesson in all this. A lesson Papa’s treatment taught me early on, and Ivan reinforced.

To trust means being vulnerable.

I manage another step before he speaks again, this time with a question I’m compelled to answer. “Still, you don’t kill me?”

When I turn, it’s not to focus on him but rather Serafina. “There’s been enough pain and bloodshed between our organizations. From the beginning, I’ve vowed not to be the kind of person my papa was, and this is me keeping that promise. So, Zeno,” I blink, gaze returning to him, “this ends now. You’ve made your point, and I made mine. We’re even. Cross me again and I won’t be so kind.”

He takes another step, reaching a hand out as though to stop me. “We’re married, and like it or not, it’s a binding contract both the Cosa Nostra and the Bratva will expect us to uphold.”

Iam the Bratva and the farce of a document in my back pocket is anything but legally binding.

It’s painful. Not even because it represents one of the things I want least in life, but because of how Zeno acquired it, and the means he took to lull me into a false sense of security. I knew from the second he brought me outside, he was messing with me, but as the time passed, I hoped he was genuine. But no. He dropped the metaphorical hammer and was a disappointment, just like so many in my past have been. People only ever have one goal, and it’s to put themselves ahead. Zeno is no different.

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