Page 40 of Captured By the Russian Wolf

"I didn't say you did," I snapped, the anger bubbling up again. "Do you think you could have made a move as big as this without me knowing?"

She flinched at my words, the hurt flashing across her face, but I couldn't stop. I needed to get it out. All of it.

"I brought you here to isolate us, to figure out what the hell we're doing, and now I've got a fucking mess on my hands," I said, my voice rough with fury. "You made me weak."

"I didn't—" she started, but I cut her off.

"Enough," I growled. "This isn't over. Not by a long shot."

My hands clenched into fists as I glared at her, the betrayal still burning beneath the surface. I had let her in. I had fucking let her in, and now everything was unraveling.

But as I stood there, my blood still boiling, I realized something else—something I didn't want to admit.

I still wanted her.

Despite everything, despite the lies, the betrayal, the fucking chaos of it all, I still wanted her. The thought of losing her, of her being caught in the crossfire, had driven me to the edge. And that terrified me more than anything.

Before I could say anything else, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed from down the hall. My men. The cleanup crew.

I turned to Lily, my chest heaving with the weight of everything we still hadn't said.

"This isn't finished," I said, my voice low and dangerous. "We'll talk later."

Her eyes met mine, and for the briefest moment, I saw something in her gaze—something raw, something broken. But there was no time to deal with it now. We'd survived the ambush. But the real battle between us had just begun.

I could hear the footsteps of my men, their voices, but all I could focus on was Lily—standing there, covered in blood thatwasn't hers, clutching the gun like she was ready for the next fight.

I had brought her here to confront her, to get to the bottom of this betrayal, and now I had a fucking ambush on my hands. My estate, my sanctuary, had been breached. And she had almost died because of it.

"Boss," one of my men called out as they all rounded the corner, guns still drawn, scanning the room. "It's clear now."

"Clean this up," I barked, not bothering to turn around. My focus was still on Lily.

The men immediately set to work, cleaning the mansion and dragging the bodies out one by one. I didn't care who had sent them. Not now. There would be time for that later—time to hunt them down and make sure they paid for what they'd done. But right now, there was something more pressing, something that was eating away at me like a festering wound.

Lily.

I could still feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins, the raw anger that had nearly consumed me when I realized she was in danger. But she wanted to fight with me. There was something about it—something about her—that drove me fucking insane. She had betrayed me, lied to me, and yet here she was, refusing to leave, refusing to run.

I should hate her for it.

But I didn't.

Not the way I should.

"Lily," I said, my voice rough, filled with a tension I couldn't shake. "Go to your room. Now."

She blinked, her eyes wide with confusion, but she didn't argue. She knew better than to push me right now. Without a word, she turned and walked toward the staircase, her steps heavy with the weight of everything that had happened.

I watched her until she disappeared down the hall, the tight knot of anger and something else—something dark—twisting inside me. I wanted to follow her. I wanted to make her say those words again, the ones I couldn't believe. But I didn't. I couldn't.

Not when I was this close to losing control.

Once she was out of sight, I turned to Mikhail, who had just entered the room, his eyes scanning the damage. He didn't say anything, but I could see the question in his eyes.

"What happened?" he asked quietly, stepping closer, his gaze flicking to the blood on my shirt.

"An ambush," I growled, my jaw clenched. "Someone knew we were here."

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