Page 97 of Devious Madness

I sigh. “Yeah, you’re right. But still, isn’t that what’s wrong with me? Shouldn’t that be what I want? Why do I go for these guys who are way too much for me?”

“Nothing is wrong with you! And besides, Ted’s not real, and Rurik is. And Rurik loves you. You have him now.”

I roll back to pressing my forehead against the tabletop.

“Even if I marry him, he’ll just get bored of me and divorce me in six months.”

“He won’t. Divorce isn’t really a word these guys acknowledge.”

I glance up again. “You are not helping.”

She laughs. “Sorry. Look, we’re like magnets for trouble, so it’s good we have guys like Alexander and Rurik on our side. I mean, I don’t think Ted could take on the Italian mafia to keep us safe, do you?”

“I’m a magnet for trouble. You just keep getting caught up in my drama. That’s why your husband hates me. It’s why Rurik should hate me.”

“He doesn’t hate you! I’d kill him if he did.”

“You would not. You love him.” I lift my head up and rest it on my arms.

She gets that lovey dovey smile on her face again. “Yeah, I do. But we’re a package deal, you and me, and he knows that.”

“He also knows that if it wasn’t for me, he wouldn’t be at war with the Italian mob, because they wouldn’t have tried to hurt you because of me.”

“It was more complicated than that, and he doesn’t blame you. No one blames you.”

“He will when he finds out what I did.” She has good points, and I can already hear Rurik parroting most of them, but the heaviness of my decision still weighs on me.

“It’s messy, I know, but it will get better. But first you have to forget this idea of meeting Detective Calloway. He’s only going to make things worse.”

She gives me her mom eyes when I don’t answer right away. “I mean it, Mira. Even if he does somehow manage to arrest Marco and put him behind bars, it won’t change anything.”

“Alexander wouldn’t have to go after him anymore, and Rurik wouldn’t have to worry about him anymore. I can finish what started because of me.”

Then I could slip off into the night, and Rurik could forget all about me.

“Marco heads the DeAngelo family. Getting rid of him won’t matter; someone else will just take his place. A brother, a cousin, anyone strong enough to overpower theothers. There is no getting rid of this until the DeAngelos and the Volkovs decide it’s the end of it.”

The waitress shows up with our wine and a sympathetic smile for me. I grab the glass by the stem and gulp down the contents.

“I can’t shake the feeling it’s my fault, Megan. I just can’t. I have to do something before more people get killed.”

Megan’s eyes soften. She pushes back her hair from her face, tucking the two white locks that mingle with the rest of her dark hair behind her ear.

“The DeAngelos are more than just Marco, and Alexander won’t stop just because he’s gone.”

“But maybe if he’s gone, the next one in line will be more reasonable.” I slide my phone back into my purse.

This could be the dumbest thing I’ve ever put my mind to do, but I can’t just sit by and let anyone else get hurt or dead because of my decisions.

“Mira.” Megan grabs hold of my hands tightly. “Do not talk to that detective. He will only make things worse.”

She’s the closest thing to a sister I’ve ever had, and she’s never steered me wrong. Through everything she’s been the one person I could count on no matter what the circumstance. And all I’ve ever brought to her life is drama. She was nearly killed because of me.

“I need to get back.”

“Mira.” She grabs hold of my arm. “Give it a few more days. Talk to Rurik, tell him what you told me.”

I huff. “He would only try to take control of the wholething. And I’m trying to protect him, not get him more involved.”

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