Page 104 of Darkest Desire
If Nico and I fell in love, then what? I’d have to come to terms with being in love with a man like him. That’s not good but it’s not exactly bad either.
He clears his throat. “I should go talk to Mikhail.”
“Ok. I’ll be right here.”
With a wink, he leaves the room and Natalya comes back. I feel safe when she takes my hand in hers but not as safe as I felt when Nico was holding onto it.
Nico
I find Mikhail leaning against the wall, glaring at me as I approach. “Did your wife talk to you about making a deal with me?”
“She did. I went to you once before to make a deal and you said no.”
“And then you shot me in the back,” I remind him.
“Because you’re an asshole.”
“And so are you.”
He drops his head back, muttering to himself. This should be fucking fun.
I sigh, stuffing my hands in my pockets. “Listen. Your wife made some good points. Denis is no longer my ally. And… if wemade a deal, then Sasha would be kept safe. And you would have my word that I would never hurt Natalya.”
“The problem is: I don’t trust your word.”
“And I don’t trust yours either,” I snap. “But we have one thing in common: neither of us want our wives to be hurt.”
“We can agree on that,” he admits.
“So let’s do this, Mikhail. Even if I’d rather jam a hot poker in my eye than be allies with you, I’m willing to do it. For Sasha.”
“You know, you have changed, Nico. I mean, you’re still the asshole I know but you have changed.”
“So have you. What do you say? Are we doing this?” I hold out my hand to him.
And slowly, he takes it.
Mikhail and I are finally partners. This should be interesting.
Sasha
Natalya leaves to grab me some food since I’m starving after not having eaten for a day. I’m all alone when someone enters my room.
Looking up, I’m shocked to see that it’s Giovanni himself.
Before I can scream, he runs across the room and clamps his hand over my mouth. “Be quiet. If you don’t want me to hurt you.” He removes his hand and smiles down at me. “How I’ve missed you, Sasha. I’ve come to claim what should have been mine.”
Chapter Nineteen
Sasha
Fear spikes through me but I can’t let it win. I can’t let Giovanni win.
So I work up all the strength I have and I bite down hard on his hand. He yelps but before I can scream, he smacks me across the face.
“What is your plan?” I gasp out. “Rape me right here, in my hospital bed? Nico is outside. He’ll find you. He’ll kill you. And how did you find me here anyway?”
“It wasn’t hard to find where Nico lives. I went to his place but neither of you were home. I managed to find out you were hurt by the Irish and had gone to the hospital. It’s a wonder what people will say when you torture them. One of Nico’s guards isvery talkative that way. So here I am.” His eyes flick over me. “And judging from the bandage around your leg, you can’t run.”
