Page 103 of Vitaly

“You were never going to love me,” I say, choking on the words. I don’t know how much pain comes from them or from my current situation bubbling over.

I expect his cruel smile. I’m amazed when I get his rare frown.

“Mila.” My name is a heavy sigh running across his lips. “You never wanted me to… A man was never going to make you happy. Only his crown.”

I let the weight of his words sit heavily on my shoulders, feeling the truth to them. The old truth.

That used to be true. Before I knew what love felt like. Before I knew how much sweeter it was than power.

When a sound comes from down the hall, Nikita slaps a hand over my mouth and presses hard against me, not letting a sound pass as he gets close. “And unfortunately, I’m aromantic.”

His breath is hot, the words they bring echoing inside my skull as a few men come into view. Two are guards, and the third has a bag over his head, but the tattoos on his bare chest tell me immediately that he’s Vitaly. The guards are pushing him on a platform of some kind. He’s attached to a T post by—I squint at the blood oozing from his palms—nails.

I gasp through my nose, my eyes bugging as I try to thrash against Nikita’s tight hold. Tears blur my vision as they pass by us, Vitaly barely moving like he’s already dead, and no matter how hard I try, no sound passes Nikita’s hand.

I try to bite and kick and twist, but he holds me to the wall while smirking at me like the sick motherfucker he is. Theguards push Vitaly into the ballroom, leaving Nikita and I while tears spill from my eyes.

As soon as Nikita’s hand inches away, I gnash at him with my teeth, connecting with his finger for only a moment before he yanks away and moves his arm to my neck, pressing until my trachea is pinched. I suck in tiny bits of air until he cuts off my supply altogether.

He brings his finger to his lips to suck off the blood rising to the surface of the teeth marks I left on it.

“Ouch, ???a.Badkitty.”

I continue to struggle against him, my lungs screaming for air. Once he eases off my windpipe enough for me to get a breath, I suck in three long pulls before sneering at him.

I don’t know if my next words will hurt. I don’t know if he meant it when he said he was a romantic. Or if he’s truly holding out for a woman he loves, a woman who will love him back.

But he built a giant garden for a surrogate mother and kills every man who mentions his sister’s name. So I think it’s very possible that he’s delusional enough to believe in love.

“No one couldeverlove you.”

He smiles, not even slightly affected.

“There’s a reason your father didn’t,” I add, searching for a wound, something to spoil the fun he’s about to have. “You wish you could’ve killed him? I bet he wished he would’ve killed you. You’re worthless. You’re?—”

Nikita grabs my jaw and squeezes, smiling as he draws his face closer. “You’re fishing,” he singsongs. “But since we have another minute or so to kill while your boyfriend gets set up, I’ll throw you another bone. You’reright. The last thing my father said to me was that it should’ve been me who died instead of Vlad. Those were his chosen last words. How fucked up is that?”

When I open my mouth, he shoves his thumb against my lips to stop me from speaking. It’s so forceful, I can’t move my head enough to bite.

“But do you know the part that bothers me the most about it?” he asks, never taking his thumb off my lips. “I can’t get over this feeling deep down inside me that he may have been right… Vlad asked for my help the day he died, and I refused because I was a good little soldier who did everything my father told me to, and my father said to let Vitaly suffer the consequences of his actions. So I thought I did. But then my brother died, and Vitaly lived. And I became the future Pakhan who was never,evergoing to be fit.”

He rubs his nose against mine. “I’m hated,my love, I know, but make no mistake… I wasalwaysgoing to be hated. I wasalwaysgoing to be the brother who should’ve remained in the background. I should’ve helped rescue my nephew that day, ironic as that is currently.” He chuckles and gestures to where they wheeled Vitaly. “Because if I had, maybe every last person I’ve ever loved wouldn’t befuckingdead right now, and maybe my father would’ve had the legacy he desired. But it didn’t work out that way, did it? And you, unfortunate as it is, picked the wrong side of the coin. So…” He looks at his watch. “I’m afraid it’s time to die.”

30

VITALY

The ballroom is full.

I keep my eyes down, intent on looking weak, but I feel the stares of all the people—most Russian, but plenty Italian and even some Irish. None are armed, that I know of. There’s a metal detector by the door, and I can’t imagine the other families would be willing to lay down their weapons knowing Nikita’s guards are armed.

Maksim and Roman are on either side of me, both bound and gagged, their angry glares pointed at the floor. They were here before me, but the bags were ripped off their heads after mine. A man—I’m pretty sure one of the Gruco brothers—looked appalled. He even went so far as to storm to Maksim, like he was going to help or something, but a guard held him back, and then when that didn’t work, Settimo Gruco pulled him away. He’s been stewing ever since.

Nikita isn't here. I only know because the Italians have been grumbling their disapproval of it. They have no idea what this is about, apparently.

Part of me wonders if Nikita would be psychotic enough to execute the Grucos as punishment for conspiring with me, ifthey’ve even done so, but I think he’s just sending a message. He just wants them to watch me die.

Although I don’t look up, there’s something directly in front of me, in the middle of the room. It creates a hole in the crowd, but all that’s visible in my periphery is the hole. No one says anything about what’s there. Or I don’t hear it.

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