Page 44 of Cruel Longing

Twenty-One

LUKA

The coffee was poured. There were croissants piled high on a tray along with bacon and egg-white omelets delivered by Bella. Ciro spoke to Amara by phone. It didn’t sound like he was happy about it, but she stood her ground, insisting an in-person meeting wasn’t necessary. She had lost part of the fence at the rear of the property. He was worried about the security sensors. I didn’t see why he had to bother her with small details. He should just do his fucking job and keep her safe.

Amara peeled off the end of her croissant and nibbled on it.

“Who goes first?” she asked.

I refilled our coffee cups to the top. “I’m sure you want to know about Enzo.”

She nodded. “I do. You owe me the entire story. You can’t leave anything out.”

“Okay. Okay. I know how it works.”

She blushed. “Sorry. I’m feeling uneasy about what this could be about. I don’t like it.”

“Which part? That you don’t have all the information?”

She pressed her pretty lips together. “Of course, that part. Enzo is someone I trusted until now. It feels like he’s been keeping something from me. How can I trust him after that?”

“You can still trust him,” I stated.

Her eyes widened. “You seem confident when you say that.”

“I am. Our meeting was personal. It wasn’t business.”

She shook her head. “That doesn’t make any sense. He works for me. He is my assistant. The person closest to me at work. How could it be personal? Nothing about this makes sense.”

“No, it didn’t make sense to me either at first. I needed time to accept it. To process what he and Katya told me.”

“Your sister? I can’t imagine what she would have to do with this.”

I nodded. “Our meeting was about them. It’s not what you think. I doubt you’d be able to predict what I’m about to say.” I couldn’t believe I was going to tell her about Enzo and Katya, but it was going to take Amara’s backing to make this work for everyone involved. Without her, Enzo wouldn’t survive.

I hesitated. If this backfired, I was putting my sister and Enzo in more danger.

“Luka, aren’t you going to tell me?” She searched my eyes for an answer.

I was going to place my sister’s life in her hands.

“I trust you.” Our gazes locked. “Nothing proves that more than what I’m about to say.” If I couldn’t trust Amara now, who could I trust? I didn’t have time to assess exactly where her head was. I had to believe that she would protect my sister the same way I would.

She blinked, the greens in her eyes softening with concern. “You can tell me.”

“Katya and Enzo need our help. I have to get my little sister out of New Orleans. She wants to go to France and take over the vineyards. Run the champagne caves. But I’m not sure that’s the safest place for them.” I couldn’t let her be a part of Bratva trainings, but there were a lot of pieces that had to be carefully planned and orchestrated first.

“I must have missed the part where you told me why.” She stared at me.

I rubbed the back of my head. I knew there was going to be fallout over this. “She and Enzo are together. They have been for a while.”

The woman I loved tilted her head. “Together? But she’s a part of the Petrov family. And she’s pregnant. How can they be together?”

I cleared my throat. “I know. I was as surprised as you are. She doesn’t love her husband. She never has. If he finds out…if any of them find out that the baby is Enzo’s and not Andrey’s Enzo isn’t going to be there for that kid’s first birthday. We both know that. The Petrovs will have him removed.”

Amara sat back on her heels, tossing the remainder of her croissant on the plate. “This is crazy.”

I nodded. “It is.”

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