Page 34 of Dangerous Devotion

Isabella jumped in, her voice smooth and confident. “Exactly. We’re all trying to wrap our heads around what’s happening. It’s not every day you’re involved in a helicopter chase and end up in a safe house.”

I nodded, grateful for her quick thinking. “Right. It’s just…surreal.”

Mirabella looked skeptical, but before she could press further, a commotion from the other room caught our attention.

“What are you doing here, Zotov?” Vince said, and I could hear the anger in his voice.

I stopped short. Zotov?

Zotov was here?

I got up, drawn by Vince’s raised voice, and moved across the room toward the open door.

I stopped short right after stepping through the door and stared at Ivan Zotov.

He was sitting next to my father and across from Vince as if he’d been invited to afternoon tea.

My father’s face was a mix of concern and calculation.

“He’s convinced you all are plotting against him. The second team he’s hired…they’re not just after you. They’re targeting everyone close to you—your brothers, your sisters…Jemma.”

My heart stopped for a moment, then started racing. Who were they talking about? I watched Vince’s face, searched for any reaction, but he remained stoic, his jaw clenched tight.

His brothers, however, couldn’t hide their shock and anger nearly as good as him.

“How do you know all this?” Vince asked.

Zotov continued, his voice calm despite the bomb he’d just dropped. “I have my sources. Let’s just say your father isn’t as discreet as he thinks he is. And I kept an eye on him after he approached me to hire me for his little coup. He thought I’d jump at the chance to cause some chaos.”

His father? Were they talking about Vince’s father? I felt a hand on my arm, turned, and met Fee’s gaze; her face was pale but determined. I looked over and focused on Isabella. She looked as shocked and angry as I was feeling.

Birdie, behind her, gave me a small nod, a silent promise of support. At least we weren’t alone.

“And you didn’t?” Vince asked, and I focused back on the men.

The room fell silent, the weight of those words hanging heavy in the air.

Zotov grinned. “Contrary to what you might think of me, I do have some principles. Betraying family isn’t my style.Besides,” he added, his tone turning serious, “your father’s plan is shortsighted and dangerous. It would destabilize the entire East Coast underworld. That’s not beneficial for anyone.”

Vince looked like he didn’t believe a word out of Zotov’s mouth.

Hawk moved out of the room, Peaches and Goofy hot on his heels.

I moved closer to Vince, drawn by an inexplicable need to be by his side, to hold his hand.

The room felt too small, too crowded with tension and unspoken fears. As I approached, Vince’s eyes met mine, a flicker of concern breaking through his stoic expression, but then he went back to the cold, distanced man he was when we first met.

For a moment, I hovered, unsure if I should put some distance between us or stay. I wanted him to reach out, to pull me to his side, to wrap his arm around my waist, strong and secure.

He did none of these things, and yet, I settled next to him and stayed by his side.

This was just not the moment for him to show any weakness, not in front of Zotov.

Zotov. I focused on him, my mind racing with the implications of his words. Vince’s father, the man I’d met once—and felt repulsed by—was targeting, not just Vince but everyone close to him, including me. The thought should have terrified me, should have sent me running for the hills.

But as I sat there, longing to feel the warmth of Vince’s bodynext to mine, I realized something that shocked me to my core.

I wasn’t going anywhere.

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