Page 125 of Cruel Honor

“I am.” I eye her over. I wouldn’t be opposed to fucking someone tonight. Maria was returned to me. Dimitri is scared, I know it. I’ve won.

“I’m Juno, Evelyn’s mother.”

I go still.

“I hate her husband, Dimitri. I want him gone, and I’m willing to help.”

A slow smile spreads across his face.

Oh, yes. I have won.

Chapter

Eighteen

EVIE

“You came for me.”

Dimitri gives me a soft look before turning his eyes back to the road. “Of course, I did. I knew going with Juno wouldn’t be good. I wasn’t sure what she was capable of.”

“Thank you, Dimitri.” I cover his hand resting on the center console. “You’re always saving me. I wish I could do the same for you with Abram.”

He intertwines our fingers together. “I don’t need you to do that for me. All I need is for you to be safe. If you’re safe, then I’m good.”

“I can’t believe I feel for Juno’s antics. I really thought she missed me.”

“You know, if my father came back from the grave and told me he’d missed me, I’d want to believe him, too. I wouldn’t because I know my father was a complete asshole, but I’d want to believe. So, I get it.”

“You weren’t close with him?”

He snorts. “Hell no. I mean, we got along when I was making him proud. Doing Bratva shit, you know?”

I don’t really want to think about all the “Bratva shit” Dimitri had to do as a boy, but I need to know. I need to know everything there is to know about my husband.

“Tell me,” I say. “What kind of things?”

There’s a shift in him. Dimitri is normally easy-going and lighthearted, but now, there’s a darkness to his eyes I’ve never quite seen before. “I told you about when he made me kill my first man when I was thirteen. At the time, I thought that was that. I thought it was over. That I wouldn’t have to do that again. But, of course, that wasn’t the end. He made me kill again and again.” His eyes get lost as he drives. I know it’s a place I can’t follow.

“All I wanted was to flirt with girls,” he continues. “Not surprising, of course. And I did. Flirt with girls. My father hated that I would get distracted by them and not do my job.”

“So, that was a young Dimitri’s problem, too?”

Some of the darkness dissipates when he laughs. “Yes. It’s always been. I’m a sucker for women. Now, just one woman.”

I roll my eyes, but my cheeks turn red. “You don’t always need to charm me.”

“I’m not trying to charm you. I’m just speaking the truth.”

The sincerity in his voices makes me almost cry. I’ve kept some of my feelings buried due to the loss of my dad. If I’m ever going to live a full life with Dimitri, I need him to know more about me, too.

“You’re the first person to make me feel this safe since my dad,” I admit. “You’re the first person to make me feel this …”Loved. I’m not sure why I hold back on the word. I’m not fully ready to go there yet. But I know in my heart it’s true.

“Thank you, Evie.” No joke. No quip. Just Dimitri being sincere. I love this side of him. “What was your dad like?”

“He was …” I smile, blinking back the tears already forming. “So kind. So giving. We never had the most money in the world, but he would always take me to soup kitchens so we could give back. He always made room to donate, either money or his time, when he could. He knew how to light up a room. His laugh. Oh my god, his laugh. It was the best. It was warm and full and always made me laugh right along with him. My mom passed when I was a little girl, so I barely remember her. My dad raised me. He did a good job for being a single dad. I never fully felt like I missed out on anything. But when he met Juno, I remember being excited that I’d finally get the chance to have a mom in my life.”

The tears slip down my cheeks. “But Juno proved herself to be not the mom I ever wanted. She was never overtly mean. She would just … make little comments. Little criticisms here and there. They were so subtle that my dad never picked up on them. And then when he died, it was just Juno and me. I tried to make it work with her, but she started treating me like I was nothing more than the maid. So, when she came to me this morning, telling me she missed me, I so badly wanted to believe her. I wanted to have the mom I’ve never had. But the moment we got back home, she showed me her true colors.”

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