Page 94 of Thorns of Lust
“I’ll hold your hand,” I offered, my speech a tiny bit slurred. “As long as you buy me a drink. I’m feeling depressed.”
And that was putting it mildly. It wasn’t every day you found evidence of your husband's betrayal. He had enough shit on my brothers to put them away for twenty goddamn lifetimes. Maybe destiny intertwined and spared us all the pain.
Well, except for me.
The problem now was to figure out who sent me that video. Adrian was dead and obviously someone had it. Maybe a blackmail note would follow. Or demand for something.A chip, my mind whispered. It could be that a follow-up demand would come for that chip that everyone seemed determined to get their hands on. Maybe it was in Russia and Adrian left me a clue to the chip.
“It’s possible,” I muttered to myself while my brothers started their usual bickering. Well, it was more like Vasili preaching and Sasha egging him on.
I tuned them all out, my drunken brain working up some kind of plan. Any kind of plan. I’d been going through options for weeks, trying to figure out how to get to Russia and go to the spot where I believed another clue waited for me. Vasili raged and bellowed, while I schemed a way to get to Russia.
A pair of dark brown eyes flashed in my mind. Would Konstantin help? Except, he was the last person I wanted with me when I found that message. Assuming there was even a message.
Jesus, what a damn mess.
“Take Branka Russo back,” Vasili threatened. “If you don’t, I will.”
Sasha got to his feet and fixed the sleeves to his suit. “Touch her and you won’t have to worry about a war with others, Brother,” he declared calmly. The two stared at each other like two stubborn Russians. “Because you’ll have one with me.”
Without another word, Sasha left his office, Alexei right behind him, leaving me alone with my eldest brother.
We stared at each other as an invasive silence crept along at my skin. The first droplets of rain started to beat down on the glass. Somehow it reflected what I felt inside. As if my soul was weeping, right along with the dark skies.
The distance to healing seemed to have suddenly gotten longer rather than shorter. That familiar dull pain in my chest was back. A tremor shot through my veins. The cloudy sky cast gloomy shadows over us, the slow thunder rolling through the sky.
“I’m sorry, kroshka.” Vasili’s voice startled me, and I ripped my gaze from the window.
Our eyes connected. He watched me with furrowed brows. I feared he’d see too much. Or maybe not enough. I wanted to tell him what I found but I feared what it would mean. Maybe it was best to let ghosts rest. Adrian was dead; he couldn’t use any of that data against my brothers. Against anyone.
Inwardly, I shook my head. I couldn’t go there. Not now. I wouldn’t think about Adrian now, I couldn’t. It would tear me apart.
“It’s not your fault.”
Lowering my head, I stared at my clenched hands, my knuckles turning white in my lap. My black dress mocked me.
“I shouldn’t have let you get involved with him,” Vasili muttered.
My head shot up. “Why?”
Did he know already?
“I didn’t want you in this world,” he continued. “I wanted a good life for you. Fashion. A design house. Not underworld and crime.”
I swallowed.
“Adrian wasn’t part of the underworld,” I croaked but the lie was bitter on my tongue. My chest squeezed painfully at the sense of betrayal that plagued every fiber of me since I saw what my husband had stored in his gadget room. The pain was deep, and it wrapped layers around my heart.
I still cared for him, but even that seemed like a betrayal. I remembered the boy who always called me pipsqueak. Pulled on my braids. But then it all turned into anger somewhere along the way, inflicting such destructive suffering. The harsh truths slowly crept through my mind, but I refused to listen to it.
Maybe I was just a glutton for punishment and chose to believe in Adrian. After all, he wasn’t here to defend himself.
“He wasn’t good enough for you,” he claimed. “I vowed to protect you and I failed.”
I sighed. “So I keep hearing,” I said, slightly annoyed. “Yet, nobody said a word while he was still alive.” Our gazes locked and despite the alcohol in my veins, I found the will to rebel. To fight.
“I never signed the shares over to him,” I uttered softly. The surprise in Vasili’s eyes told me Isabella kept him in the dark about what she shared with me and my chest warmed. She’d always have my back. Just as I would have hers. “You taught me better than that, Vasili. I would never do something like that. Not without speaking to you.”
“Fuck, kroshka,” he grunted. “I just want you to be happy. I didn’t want to burden you with business stuff.”
