Page 126 of Cruel Honor

“I’m sorry, Evie. That sucks never having a mom you could rely on. If it makes you feel any better, my mom popped pills so much that she was barely there. And then she died.”

“That doesn’t really make me feel any better.”

Dimitri smiles a sad smile. “Yeah, I guess not. But the good news was that my dad then met Katya’s mom, and she came into my life.”

“Katya annoys you, though.”

“Oh, she does. But she was the only family I had that I truly loved. When my dad got cancer, he told me on his deathbed to always protect her, and I’ve tried. Though god knows she doesn’t make it easy. But I tried.” He clears his throat, shaking his head subtly. “But now I also have you. I need to protect you both.”

“You’ll deal with Abram. I know you will.”

“Yeah. I just need to deal with him before he hurts someone else.”

“You will. I have complete faith in you, Dimitri.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t,” he admits.

“No. I know you come from a dark life. I know you live in that dark life. But I also know you’ve shown I can trust you. So, I trust you to deal with Abram. I trust you to keep me safe.”

When we arrive back at the hotel, Dimitri turns to me, cupping myface in his hands. “No one’s ever put their faith in me before. Not even my dad.”

“Well, I’m doing it now.”

He kisses me so deeply I feel it all the way into my toes. “I say we go back up to our hotel room and finish what we started earlier.”

My body instantly becomes alert. “Ok.” There’s nothing else for me to say.

Dimitri holds my hand as we walk into the hotel, and I’m blown away by how different our marriage has become from when we first met. I could barely look Dimitri in the eye, and now, I’m holding hands with him freely. It’s a good feeling.

We reach our hallway and pause before we enter our room.

Maxim is standing in front of our door. The moment he sees Dimitri, his eyes narrow into a glare.

“What are you doing here?” Dimitri asks. “And how did you find us?”

“Nikolai told me.”

“Of course, he did.”

“I’m here because he also told me you had a chance to go after Abram and didn’t take it. What the hell, Dimitri? I literally bled so you could go after Abram, and now, you’re just not? How can you be so selfish?”

Something rises up inside of me, and I take a step forward. “Dimitri didn’t go after Abram because he rescued me.”

Maxim looks into my eyes, without saying anything.

“I know Dimitri left you to fend for yourself,” I continue. “And that was wrong of him. But he came to save me once again. That’s not being selfish. He chose me over Abram. He chose to help me instead of getting his revenge. I don’t think that’s being selfish at all.”

When I glance back at Dimitri, I see him watching me with awe.

“You heard her,” Dimitri says to Maxim then sighs. “Listen, I know I screwed you over. And Nik told you the truth. We had another chance to go after Abram, and I didn’t take it because I wanted to make sure Evie was ok. If that makes me a bad man, then so be it. But I promise you, Maxim, I will get Abram. And you don’t have to be involved. Youdon’t have to put yourself at risk again. I will do this on my own. You can count on me to end this. To stop this war from continuing further.”

Maxim continues to glare at Dimitri. He’s unmovable, like a statue.

And then he finally uncrosses his arms and sighs. “I understand. You chose to save your wife, and I can’t blame you for that. I want to fucking hate you, Dimitri. It would be so easy, but somehow, you make me like you. I want Abram dealt with. I don’t want him coming after the Knights. I’ll offer my services once again, but if you fuck me overonce again, then we’re done for good.”

Dimitri nods once. “Understood. I won’t fuck you over. Unless you’re into that sort of thing.” He flashes his cocky smile, and Maxim shakes his head, but there’s a small smile on his lips.

“Just keep Evie safe,” Maxim mutters. “I can’t fault you for that.” He doesn’t give either of us a backward glance as he walks away.

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