Page 131 of Relentless Sinner

“Do you?”

He blows out a ragged breath. “No.”

The knots in my stomach tighten, becoming impossible now to unravel. I was hoping he would tell me the opposite. It would be enough for me to put my mind at rest.

“Father thinks it could be Salvatore. I’m inclined to agree after last night.” When I spoke to him earlier, I told him about the attack at the beach house. That meant I had to give him the context behind it and tell him I’d blackmailed Salvatore into giving me his daughter.

“I agree it could be Salvatore. He was the first person who sprang to my mind after the meeting when I considered that Levka and Magnus could be telling the truth. If we’re right, this is not good, Jaxon. It means we underestimated him.”

“You mean me.Iunderestimated Salvatore. And I brought war on us by taking his daughter.” Gabriella has become my Helen of Troy. I cunningly took her when her father had other plans for her, and now he’s teamed up with our enemies. “You don’t come for the Bratva and powerful Creed leaders like us without your own power. Fuck knows who he has working for him if he can get to us.”

“That’s the part I’m worried about. Those guys last night were mercenaries, but they only tend to do dirty work and the bidding for someone else in charge. Someone more powerful.”

“Exactly. They’d have to be powerful enough to find a way of breaking into your uncle’s home and poison him and his son unnoticed.”

I nod slowly. Damien and Yuri were found by the maid in Damien’s study. Yuri had gone to visit his father. They ate together as usual. Hours later, they were dead. The poison that was used to kill them was a synthetic compound that ravaged their faces so they were almost unrecognizable when they were found.

A worried look washes over Eric’s face, and I know he’s about to tell me more things I may not want to hear. “Permission to speak freely, Pakhan?”

I smile without humor. “You never have to ask me that. You may always speak freely. But just for the record, I’ve officially given you my old role, so you are now the Sovientrik.”

He places a hand to his heart and bows his head. “That is an honor I never expected. And one that will honor my family. No one would have achieved such a notable role in the Berlinski family. I would be the first.”

“Then the honor is mine. It is well deserved, Eric.” I nod and give him an appreciative look thinking about all the times he’s been there for me. “What did you need to speak freely about?”

“Your wife.”

I bite the inside of my lip. I sensed he may have wanted to talk about Gabriella. “What about her?”

He sighs and sets down his drink and cigar. “Do you love her? Or is she just a contract to you?”

“I love her.” I set my drink and cigar down, too.

“Then my first task as Sovientrik is to advise you to do what’s best for her.”

A tremor runs through my hands. “I am.”

“Are you? By keeping her?”

“I’m not returning her to her father. I won’t do it. That man is a monster and would sooner see her die.”

“I know, and I am definitely not suggesting that. But there are other ways of keeping her safe. You’re Pakhan now, Jaxon. War will always come to your doorstep.Always. Even if you manage to solve one problem, another one will surface. You may be able to tackle that, but rest assured more will come. Each time that happens, your family is at risk. What happens when the day comes when you can no longer fight back or save your family? When you have kids, the risk is even greater. Your enemies start with your weaknesses. The way they did with mine.”

My heart sinks into the ground as his words ravage my mind.

“Most men in the Bratva don’t marry for love,” he continues. “They marry for business. They tend to have stronger bonds with their children, not so much their wives. That’s why they find it so easy to cheat. Your father and I are the only two I know who married for love. That’s why we’re alone now. Because there was only ever one woman for us. We both lost them to death. I lost my Louise in the worst way possible. I don’t want that to happen to you.”

I’m listening to him and am hearing the words he’s telling me. But I’m also hearing the words he hasn’t said but implied. In my head it sounds like this:if you truly love Gabriella, you have to let her go.

Let her go so she’s safe from the dangers of my world. I remember that conversation she and I had in the hot tub. It feels like a lifetime ago now.

She talked about living a normal life and being with a normal average guy. Someone ordinary and not me. She all but said it.

I saw it in her eyes that she didn’t want to be with a man like her father. Someone who could get her killed, like what happened to her mother.

I didn’t want to be that man, but I may not have any control over that.

Once again, I’m reminded I’m not invincible.

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