Page 85 of The Den of Sin
I slid down his body and took a step back. “What do you mean?”
“Raphael Santos wants his half-sister,” he accented the last word, “-in his life. He wants to apologize and explain what happened yesterday.”
I frowned. “Not sure if there is anything to explain. He tried to kill Tatiana.”
“No, he almost killed you,” he said darkly. “I promised we’d meet with him and he can explain, but everything else is up to you.”
He ran a thumb across my cheek, his eyes somber but a soft smile on his lips.
“He won’t hurt you. I will be there with you, and Alexei asked around with some of his mutual friends. While Lombardo and Vincent Santos were bastards, Raphael Santos turned out to be a decent man. People speak highly of him, and I have to admit he has been a lot better to deal with than his other family.”
“Wow, two brothers on the same day,” I muttered.
“And a soon-to-be husband.” Vasili smiled and interlinked our fingers. “Ready to go meet your other brother?”
I nodded and with his fingers interlocked with mine, we walked out of the medical room. I have known Vasili for almost ten years and it was the first time we acted as a couple. And I have never been happier.
As long as this man held my hand, I’d go anywhere with him.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Vasili
When we got to Tatiana’s place, Raphael Santos was already there. And he was alone, leaning against his black Land Rover. Unless he had his men lurking in the shadows, he was trying to show good faith. He wore a white suit with black shirt underneath, looking every bit the Colombian he was. Again, I noted his hair color resembling Isabella’s. I always thought Isabella had her mother’s hair color, but it was really her father’s. She had her mother’s pale complexion.
“Wow, this place is cleaned up,” Sasha muttered grudgingly. Reluctantly, I let him tag along. I would have preferred to have him parked at a remote spot where he could put his sniper skills to good use without running his mouth. But getting rid of Sasha was like peeling off a damn tick. You needed tweezers, or a fucking weapon.
My lip quirked, noting Raphael erased all traces of yesterday’s fight. Even the window that someone crashed into was repaired. Smart move on his part. He didn’t want reminders of what happened yesterday. He really took starting fresh to a whole new level, aiming to impress his half-sister.
“Why are we letting Isabella meet the bastard anyhow?” Sasha questioned.
She stiffened next to me but said nothing. I took her hand in mine. We didn’t tell Sasha anything. We would let him find out during this reunion. Unlike Raphael, I had thirty men in position and another five vehicles behind me. I took Isabella’s safety seriously.
I left Adrian with Tatiana, along with ten other men. And nobody knew where Adrian’s place was, not even me. So I knew she was safe. Alexei was with us too, but characteristic of him, he spoke little or not at all. He’d kill anyone that even looked wrong at his sister.
The moment the car came to a halt, the doors opened.
“Stay next to me,” I told Isabella, raising her hand and brushing my lips over her knuckles.
“I will.” She was nervous. It was written all over her. I couldn’t blame her. There was a lot of shit that happened over the last few weeks. Truthfully, things have been brewing in her life from the moment she was born, but the cruelty of the underworld wasn’t something she would ever get used to. Not because she was raised outside of it but because of who she was. Her soft, forgiving personality would have been squashed and her light extinguished if she grew up among men like her father. Even my own father, and he was nowhere near as cruel and heartless as Lombardo Santos.
I exited the car first and she followed right behind me, her small hand in mine. Her eyes traveled to her half-brother, casually leaning against his car. He greeted her with a smile. Raphael tried his darndest to appear non-threatening.
“Hello, Isabella. Thank you for meeting with me.” His Colombian accent was thick, and it was the only thing betraying his emotions. His face was an unmoving mask.
“Hello,” she answered stiffly.
My woman would not make this easy on him, and I was fine with it. Fucking more than fine.
“Let’s make this quick, shall we?” Sasha chimed in. “This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Fucking head of Florida underworld wants to apologize to the woman for almost choking her to death. We should let her choke you to death, with our help.” Sasha grinned happily at his own dumb suggestion like it was the million-dollar idea.
Raphael’s gaze darkened and his eyes locked on my brother’s form, threatening all kinds of pain to Sasha. If he wanted to beat Sasha, I probably wouldn’t stop him, but I knew he wouldn’t. He didn’t want to scare Isabella. He’d given her enough reason to fear him last night. Instead, he just continued staring at my brother, fire burning in his eyes. The throb of the muscle on his neck and his pressed jaw were his only betrayal.
“He’s my brother.” Isabella’s voice cut through Raphael’s and Sasha’s staring contest. It was almost comical to see both of their heads snap in Bella’s direction.
“You told her?” Raphael growled.
“What?” Sasha asked at the same moment, surprise and shock coloring his voice.
