Page 45 of Cruel Redemption

“I’m saying you don’t have any leverage. You’re in no position to make threats. What do you have Katya? Where will you go? How are you going to raise a baby alone?” His eyes filled with regret when he realized what he had said. “With Enzo,” he corrected.

“You said you’d help me. You promised we could run the vineyards in France.”

“We will help,” I interrupted. I had to get them to stop arguing. “We are going to get you out of New Orleans, but that takes planning and an exit strategy. By walking out of the Petrovs’ compound, I think Luka’s trying to say you’ve backed him in a corner.”

He nodded. “Yes. But you said it much nicer than I would have.” He smirked and I felt the tension in the room begin to ease.

“Why don’t I show you the guestrooms instead of Bella?” I offered.

She stood from the sofa. “All right. I think that’s a good idea. And someone can bring my bags?”

“Yes. Of course.”

Luka mouthed a thank you as I walked with Katya into the foyer. I winked before taking his sister upstairs.

Twenty-Four

Luka

I waited for Amara in her office. I hoped she could talk some damn sense into my sister and convince her to tell Andrey she was bluffing. It was hard to believe it was only a few hours ago I was in a jail cell, awaiting a bail hearing. I couldn’t think about how tired I was. The complications were piling up faster than we could bury them. I wasn’t about to let fatigue add to the list of problems to face.

Amara walked into the room. “I think she’s going to sleep,” she announced. “I hope for a few hours at least.” She closed her office door.

“Good.” I exhaled. “Maybe when she wakes up, I can drive her back to Andrey. We could go with something like…she was so worried about my hearing, that she thought she should spend more time with me. I don’t know. Would the Petrovs buy that? The worried sister.”

“She’s not going back,” Amara stated.

“She has to. I thought you would be the one to convince her she doesn’t have any other option.” I stared hard at Amara. We were supposed to be on the same page about this plan. Katya had to live with the Petrovs.

“There is one thing I know about Novikovs. That is once they have decided something, there is very little I’m capable of doing to change their minds. Your sister falls right into that category.” Amara sat at a table near the window.

“She hasn’t thought it through. She is going back.”

The dark flecks of green in her eyes glimmered. “It doesn’t matter. Losing Enzo like this has changed everything.”

“He’s not lost,” I argued. “We just have to find him.”

Amara cocked her head. “He is lost to her. She doesn’t want to live with a family like the Petrovs.”

“So what? We just let her?” I questioned.

The green seemed to glimmer with new fierceness. “The old family ways should have died with our fathers.”

“You’re saying Katya can do whatever in the hell she wants, despite the contract, the money, the property?” I huffed.

“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying. She can buy her freedom back. I’ll help her.”

“Why would you do that? You’ll be on their hit list next.” I shook my head. “No.”

“She’s your sister. That makes her my family. She deserves her freedom.”

She accepted Katya as her family, and it hit me with the same impact as it did the first time I knew I loved her. I thought about it in that second. Dropping to one knee. Asking her right then and there to tie her life to mine forever. I wanted the words she spoke to be recognized by every family in the city. I wanted the partnership. The family. The lifetime of ruling the city together. Creating an empire of our own making. Our own blood. Our own children.

But the timing was off. The timing was always off when I wanted to ask Amara to marry me.

“Did I take that too far?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No. I’m just surprised to hear you call Katya family. You’re right. We are family. And if you had a brother or sister, I’d feel the same way.”

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