Page 102 of The Mafia's Fake Wife

Casey shifts uncomfortably. “A while.”

“Before or after you stole my inheritance?”

He looks away. “Before. Years before.”

The revelation hits me like a physical blow. “So it wasn’t just gambling debts. You were working for Nikolai the whole time we were together.”

“Yeah. I’ve owed him for a long time. For a while, he was content to have me just tag along as muscle to encourage people to pay. It didn’t escalate until you married Antonova.”

Our relationship had been a lie. I think back to all the times he’d disappeared for hours, claiming to be studying or meeting with classmates. All the unexplained cash he sometimes had, despite his supposed financial troubles.

“Did you ever care about me at all?” I ask, hating how vulnerable the question makes me sound.

Casey looks up in surprise. “Of course I did. That part wasn’t fake.”

“Just everything else.” I snort. “And the other women you seduced and defrauded too? I suppose you cared about them as well?”

He flinches but doesn’t confirm or deny it.

I stand up and walk to the window, looking out at the water. The sun is starting to set. Somewhere out there, Damir is looking for me. I touch the emerald necklace at my throat, the one he gave me as a symbol of his protection. I wonder if he knows where I am yet.

“What does Nikolai have on you?” I ask without turning around. “Anything besides the gambling debts?”

Casey is quiet for so long I think he might not answer. Then he says, “He knows where my estranged sister lives, and he’s madeit clear what will happen if I don’t cooperate. It’s not just my life on the line.”

I turn to face him. “And what about my family? What about my baby?”

Casey scowls at me. “I’m trying to help you. Why do you think Nikolai hasn’t moved you to a more secure location? I convinced him this place was safe.”

“Is it safe for him?”

“No. Damir will find it eventually. That’s what I’m counting on.”

I’m about to express my skepticism of that when the door to the guest suite swings open without warning. Casey jumps to his feet, his nervous energy filling the room as Nikolai Sokolov strides in.

Nikolai is tall and impeccably dressed in a tailored charcoal suit that probably costs more than a year of my medical school textbooks. His blond hair is perfectly styled without a strand out of place. Unlike Casey’s disheveled appearance, everything about Nikolai speaks of control and precision.

His cold blue eyes assess me with clinical detachment, like I’m a specimen under a microscope rather than a person. The temperature in the room seems to drop several degrees. “Ms. Clarke,” he says, his English flawless with just the hint of a Russian accent. “I hope you find your accommodations satisfactory. I apologize for the unfortunate circumstances, but I assure you this is temporary.”

He speaks as if I’m an inconvenient house guest who arrived a day early rather than a pregnant woman he’s kidnapped.

“You call zip-tying a pregnant woman and dragging her across state lines ‘unfortunate circumstances?’” I hold up my bound wrists. “I’d hate to see what you consider actual hostility. And it’sMrs. Antonova.”

Nikolai’s lips curve into something approximating a smile, though it never reaches his eyes. “Spirited. I see why Damir is so... attached.” He walks toward the window, looking out at the darkening bay. “You should know your husband is quite desperate to find you.”

“Then you’ve made a serious miscalculation. Damir will tear this place apart.”

“That is precisely what I’m counting on.” Nikolai turns back to me, then shifts his attention to Casey, who stands rigid with anxiety. “Your former lover has been quite useful, though his usefulness is coming to an end.”

Casey swallows hard. “I did everything you asked.”

“Indeed. One final task remains.” Nikolai reaches inside his jacket and pulls out a handgun. With casual disregard, he tosses it to Casey, who fumbles but manages to catch it. “Kill her.”

Casey’s face drains of color so rapidly I worry he might faint. “What? No—that wasn’t—I never agreed to?—”

“Your agreement is irrelevant.” Nikolai straightens his cuffs. “You wanted revenge on Damir. What better way than to take what he values most? Do it now, or I’ll have Yuri kill you both.”

Casey’s hands shake violently as he grips the gun. His gaze darts between me and Nikolai.

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