Page 115 of Beautiful Enemy

“Nadia, I just don’t understand. He kidnapped you. How can you have…feelingsfor him?”

“How can you have feelings for Erik? He was known as the Boogeyman when you married him. And yet, now you love him.”

“Because Erik showed me I can trust him. Has Dante done the same?”

“He let me go, Anya.”

She blinks. “What?”

“Right before our father and Viktor found us. He let me go. I was going to come back home so I could see you. He didn’t want me to be his prisoner any longer. He was willing to give up the one advantage he had over Erik just because he didn’t want to hurt me. That has to mean something.”

“But he didn’t let you go. Our father found you first.”

“That doesn’t matter. Dante was letting me go. You have to believe me.”

She crosses her arms and stands there unmovable. I love my sister but she can be so stubborn sometimes. “I believe action. Dante hasn’t done anything to show me he’s a changed man.”

“Then trust me. Don’t you want to see me happy and safe? That’s all you’ve ever wanted for me.”

“It is,” she admits.

“So trust me then. Dante makes me happy.”

The pain in her eyes feels like it’s going to punch me in the gut. “But are you safe with him? That’s the thing that I worry about the most. You may want to be with him. Fine. Do I think it’s weird? Yes. But you make a good point: he’s not that much different than Erik. So if you want to be with him, fine. But can he keep you safe? Because I can tell you this: our father will not be happy if you decide to run off with Dante. He will hunt you and Dante down and there’s a good chance you could get hurt in the process. And what about Viktor? This will upset him too.”

“Viktor barely knows me.”

“That’s not the point. The point is you were promised to him. Most Bratva men do not take it lightly when their pride is scorned. And Viktor’s pride has been seriously scorned.”

I grab Anya’s hand. “Then help me. Help me see that saving Dante can benefit all of us. That we can all work together. I can’t do this on my own.”

“Erik wouldn’t want me to.”

“Have you always done what Erik wanted you to do?”

A little smirk crosses her face. “No.”

“Exactly. You’ve always marched to the beat of your own drum. Now I am too. Help me save Dante and help us find peace. Viktor might not be happy but if he sees that I want to be with Dante, he might back down.”

“And Father? You know he’ll never stop.”

“Dante will protect me from him. I know it with everything inside of me.”

Anya’s eyes search my face for a long moment before she sighs. “You believe that. You’ve changed so much. You’re not as shy as you used to be.”

“I’m still shy. But now I’m not afraid to use my voice. Dante helped me with that. We can achieve peace without bloodshed. I believe it. Help me do that.”

“I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?”

“Not if we stick together.”

She sighs. “You’re lucky I love you and I’m willing to do anything to make you happy. Ok. Let’s go save Dante. I can’t believe I just said that.”

“First, we need to find Matteo. He’s Dante’s second in command. He’ll help.”

Anya and I first start with going back to the cottage where Dante was hiding me. The front door is swinging wide open and inside, we find Matteo.

“Nadia?” He takes a step towards me then stops when he sees Anya. “What’s going? What happened?”

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