Page 69 of Dark Truths

“What couldn’t wait until the morning?”

“My daughter came home crying tonight.” Sergei turns to face me. “Why?”

I'm not one to sugarcoat things, especially when it comes to matters I’ve disagreed with from the start. “Could be because she doesn’t want to marry me.”

“I don’t give a shit what that girl wants. She needs to marry someone in the Bratva, and who better than the man set to be in charge?”

“There’s also Alexei,” I offer as another option…again.

“I don’t trust the little fucker,” Sergei reminds me…again. “The only reason he’s still around is because you like and trust him.”

And he trusts me. A decision that will ultimately be his downfall.

“If you marry him to Sophia, you will gain his loyalty for life.”

Sergei snorts. “I tried that once already when she married that Italian fool. It didn’t work out very well.”

I frown at the inebriated man, my mind working overtime trying to figure out where he’s going with this. “Because they got divorced, Sergei. When Michael was told he was sterile.”

“I know that,” Sergei snaps. “But when they were married, I never got an inch of loyalty from the entitled bastard to begin with.”

Can’t argue with him there. Their marriage, from what I saw, was never violent or abusive, but not loving either. A political marriage through and through. So much so that Michael apparently never really felt the need to impress his father-in-law.?

“Did you really want his loyalty, though?”

“Of course I did,” Sergei answers while he pours himself another drink. “But in the end, it didn’t matter. When Patrick approached me with the proposition to marry his youngest daughter to Igor, I didn’t need the Italian marriage anymore.”

There’s something in his tone that sends warning bells off in my mind and makes the hair on my arms stand up.?

“What did you do?”

“I found the doctor they were using for IVF treatments and bribed him to lie about Michael’s fertility,” Sergei reveals, speaking the truth of his crime so nonchalantly it’s like he’s discussing dinner options.

Son of a bitch.

I turn away and rake a hand through my hair, seeking a moment of privacy to regain control over my rising anger. Squeezing my eyes shut, I take a few deep breaths, feeling my temper gradually cool before I finally turn back around.

“You lied to Dante DiAngelo?”

“And? It wouldn’t be the first time.” The dark gaze Sergei sends me matches the grim mood of the room, and I don’t care for how it suddenly feels like he’s directing his anger at me now. “What does it matter that I did, Volkov? Are you feeling a little loyal to the Italians now?”

I draw back, straightening my spine as I face down the real face of Miami’s Russian Bratva leader, breaking through his drunk haze. The look in his eye is deadly, but instead of feeling threatened, I feel challenged. He’s arguably one of the most deadly and powerful men in the city, but I’m better. And I’m itching to prove it one day soon.

“Of course not, boss. You know my loyalty is to the Bratva.”

“So the fact that the DiAngelo girl was seen at thePlaygroundtonight running out of your office has nothing to do with your sympathies?”

My resolve falters a little, but not enough to show. Right now, I’m staring at a Russian bear ready to charge and I need to stay tall to appear larger than him and also need to choose my next words carefully. Because it feels like I’m standing on the edge ofa high cliff with my back to the wind and one wrong word will send me falling to my death.

“The girl has a silly little crush on me.” If word ever gets back to Gabriella about what I’m saying here, she’ll kill me before Sergei gets the chance. “She came to see me last night and practically threw herself at me. When I turned her away, she left crying. It's no big deal.”

Sergei huffs beneath his breath and I’m not sure if he believes me or not. “She got into a car accident after leaving. Did you know that?”

I struggle hard to keep the truth that I already know from showing on my face while also fighting to keep up the charade. “I had no idea. Is she alright?”

“She’ll live.”

I nod, emotionless. “Be sure to pass along my well wishes then.”

---