Page 100 of Beautiful Deception

I have always hated Dante for being a part of the Italian Mafia and for stealing Nadia away from me. Now that I’ve found love with Inessa, the sting of losing two fiancés to two different men doesn’t hit as hard.

But my pride is still pissed. Dante embarrassed me.

He needs to finally fucking die. I’ve had enough.

When Inessa leaves to pay for her dad’s motel, I go out to find Dante. It’s better if Inessa doesn’t know about this. She asked me to spare Natasha’s life after what Natasha did to her. Inessa might not appreciate me trying to kill more people and I don’t want her to see me in any bad light. She sees me as a man who saved her. That’s the only way I want her to view me.

I know where Dante lives but I can’t just barge in and kill him – not when his house is surrounded by guards. But I know another way to draw him out.

I call Finn. “Time to blow up Dante’s product.” Finn stole Dante’s drug shipment a few weeks ago. We’ve been selling it off to make more money but there’s still a lot to get rid of.

“What’s the plan?” I can hear the eagerness in Finn’s voice.

“Just meet me at Dante’s house.”

I park across the street from Dante’s large mansion out in the suburbs. Guess he wanted the space to start a family with Nadia. The thought makes me grind my teeth. He doesn’t get a happy ending after everything he’s done to me.

When Finn arrives with some of the product, I motion for him to follow me towards the front gates. The two guards there notice me right away.

I tell Finn to set the drugs on the ground and right before the eyes of the guard’s, I light the drugs on fire.

“Tell Dante to come out!” I say. “Or I’ll burn more of his product.”

One guard pulls out a phone and calls Dante and after a minute, Dante comes storming out of his house. “Call Erik and Aiden,” he demands to his guards before coming right up to the gate. Impressive. I could easily shoot him but he’s not showing any fear. I always appreciated that in him.

And I fucking hated it too.

“What?” Dante snaps.

“You should not have come to my wedding. I didn’t like it.”

“So? I don’t do things for you, Viktor.”

“I know. Seeing as you stole Nadia away from me. And then your man, Aiden, stole Elena away from me.”

Finn tenses next to me at the mention of his brother.

“Erik wants peace,” Dante says.

“And you? What do you want?”

He shrugs. “I’ve wanted to kill you for years for thinking you could ever marry Nadia in the first place. She’s mine.”

“I don’t want her,” I say dismissively. “I have my own wife now.”

“Ah, yes. Your maid. How romantic.” His voice drips with sarcasm. “Did you pressure her into marrying you?”

“Don’t judge me. You kidnapped Nadia, you bastard. Somehow, you forced her to fall in love with you. I never hurt my wife.”

Dante’s face contorts into pure anger. I struck a nerve, it seems. “If you don’t want to make peace, Viktor, then you need to die.” He whips out his gun and I dive to the side to avoid getting hit. I shoot back at him but my bullets hit the gate instead of him.

“Stop!”

It’s Erik. He jumps out of his car with Aiden at his side and rushes towards us. “Stop. Don’t fucking kill each other.”

Finn helps me off the ground while he glares at his brother. Aiden looks back but doesn’t glare. Instead, he just looks… sad.

“Erik,” Dante growls.

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