Page 132 of Bratva Butcher

“See! Itoldyou they weren’t trying to kill each other!” He raised his palm between them, moving his fingers back and forth quickly. “Pay up.”

I frowned.Did they bet on whether Dimitri and I were having sex or trying to kill each other?The moment Aleksandr slapped a $100 bill into his brother’s hand, I had my answer.

Lukyan did an excited little happy dance. “Yes! I never win-hey!” he whined when Aleksandr snatched it back.

“You still owe me from the last one,” he grunted, pocketing the cash.

“Damn, you’re right,” Lukyan blew out. He placed his hands on his hips. “What about an IOU?”

“Uh.” I cleared my throat awkwardly. “I think I’m gonna go now.”

Aleksandr narrowed his eyes. He looked so much like Dimitri when he did that, it actually freaked me the fuck out.

They were both blocking the entry to the staircase, so there was no way I could get off the third floor unless they moved out of the way. I didn’t look away from him, keeping my gaze locked with his. You never showed fear or discomfort to a predator, and Aleksandr was his father’s son to a tee. After a few seconds, he stepped back, and Lukyan followed.

“Use the front door next time,” he stated as I walked past.

“Come back again soon!” Lukyan said cheerfully. Aleksandr thumped him on the back of the head and he winced.

I raced down the stairs and out the front door without looking back.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Dimitri Volkov

Istared at myphone sitting on my desk, lips pursed, fingers tapping idly along the surface.

The night before, the unexpected had happened…in the best way possible. Autumn had somehow managed to get onto the property without detection and into my room.

I should have beenlivid.Should have had the soldiers on patrol lashed for allowing something like that to happen. For allowing someone to get through our defences and into our house.

What if that had been one of our enemies?

Of course, I wasn’t livid, and I did nothing of the sort. The only thing I was mad about was the fact that Autumn had slipped away when I fell asleep. That she wasn’t there when I woke up.

For the first time in years, I’d managed to fall asleep without effortandsleep through until morning. I wasn’t that far down the denial rabbit hole that I couldn’t see the reason for that.

It was Autumn. It had to be.

Having her next to me, feeling her soft, smooth skin on mine, her legs intertwined with mine had felt so good, relaxed me so much that I’d drifted off into a peaceful sleep for the first time since Yekaterina died.

Once I realised what had happened, and what I was feeling, I waited for the eventual guilt to arise. For that all-consuming, gut-wrenching pain to cut through my happiness like it always did…

Only, it never came.

The guilt was still there, sure, but it wasn’t as crippling. It wasn’t as devastating as it had been the last time.

Did that mean I could enjoy this moment, and possibly others, without feeling like I was a cheater? Like I was betraying Yekaterina?

I wasn’t sure.

My heart had literally skipped a beat when I’d gotten to my feet and seen she’d cleaned me up, not only wiping the blood away but applying antiseptic cream to my wounds. It was then that I’d discovered a note taped to my stomach. It had no words. Just ten digits and a kiss that looked like it had been done in blood.

Mine or hers?

Either one excited me.

Honestly, a blood kink? I thought I had her all figured out, but I never would have guessed she had something like that. I should have. Her moniker was literallyThe Crimson Death. And she was fucking crazy.

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