Page 60 of Hateful Vows
“You have a heart.”
A beat later, I nod and she doesn’t hesitate to press our fingers on the trigger.
The maid’s wails are loud but none louder than the heavy thud of a body hitting the ground.
A single tear drops down my cheek. On her toes, Irina kisses it away. Then, we both clean up and bury the man who died looking death in the face, while Tino takes care of the mourning widow. Not a step closer to the person who orchestrated it all.
TWENTY-FIVE
IRINA
If I thought brooding looked horrendous on Aleksei, it has nothing on Dante.
The betrayal of his father’s staff still rings hollow in his chest. My husband’s too used to love and I, maybe, too used to hate. He grieves what could have been, whatshouldhave been, beating himself up for not seeing what was right in front of him. For punishing the man with the ultimate price and leaving a widow and a daughter behind.
It has him questioning his capacity to lead, like his father’s murder is on him instead of the person who commissioned it. Especially since we are nowhere closer to finding out who threatened the cook’s daughter to get to Dante’s father. And succeeded.
It’s hard to watch.
We’ve only been married a few months but I have never admired anyone more. I’d never tell him, his ego is inflated enough. The person he’s spending his grief on doesn’t deserve it. And I refuse to let him wallow in misery any longer.
He’s doing his best by his men, by his father’s legacy and I’ll beat it into his thick skull if I have to.
I find him in his office in our penthouse, grey clouds above his head giving his shoulders a rounded edge when he usually stands tall and proud.
The elevator bell chimes in the distance, and though he’s more silent than a predator stalking his prey, I feel Aleksei’s presence before he even enters the room. And when he does, my breath catches. His perfectly tailored charcoal grey suit is as perfectly pressed as ever, but the first button of his shirt is open to fully reveal the spider tattoo that has haunted my nights.
It’s uncharacteristic. And utterly mesmerising.
“What’s he doing here?”
Dante sighs. “I thought we were past this, Irina. Aleksei has a problem, we’re here to fix it, as per our contract.”
Both the use of my name and the reminder of our contract have my temper rising, the need to fight an instinct that’s hard to shake. “And I thought we were past pretending we are a contract,kozyol.”
“Is that why you’re here on a Tuesday afternoon instead of the shooting range you go to every day like clockwork? Is my wife here to cheer me up?”
“What good of a wife am I if I don’t?” I say, throwing the words I said to him the first time he took me in his office, back at the mansion.
The tentative uptick of his lips settles me. His gaze turns predatory, and though it wasn’t my intention, the direction of this conversation is much better than I anticipated. I’m no good at this emotional talking thing people do. Pain, fighting, even sex, that I can do.
A throat clears next to us and Dante turns his attention to Aleksei.
“But first, business,vipera. You have a lead,Lyosha?”
“Not exactly. More of a hunch. Every man in the London bratva has challenged my authority since I killed my father.Some with verbal jabs, some with their fists. I’ve crushed any sign of dissent. But Popov—” Aleksei shakes his head, thumbing the corner of his mouth where his scar beckons my eyes. I barely remember the man he’s talking about, someone from the old generation blending in the shadows, never standing out. “He’s too eager. He’s been helping me weed out the weak and the rats, shared some of his resources for expansion.”
“You think he’s only pretending?” I ask.
“Yes. I want a full check and a tail on him.”
“Consider it done,” Dante says but his darkened green eyes aren’t speaking of business anymore. He slouches in his chair, the warm brown loose tee-shirt he wears over his elegant black trousers a deep contrast to Aleksei’s severe attire.
The silence is loud and full of dirty promises. My skin prickles with goosebumps when Dante licks his lips, leisurely appraising me with a desire I’ve missed in the past few days. He’s made an addict of me. I can’t get enough of his eyes roving my body like I belong to him and he can’t wait for a bite.
“Why don’t you stay,Lyosha? See how much of a whore my wife can be when she wants to please me?”
Aleksei’s spine snaps up. He studies us with sharp focus, then walks the short distance to the sofa in the corner of the office by the window, lazily draping himself on it like a king on his throne. His arms spread across the back of it, giving the illusion of devil’s wings. I want nothing more than to sin.
