Page 133 of Heartfelt Pain
Her husband takes up more space than is necessary as he joins us. “I suppose I better start thinking of you as my next daughter-in-law.”
“Yes.” Roma grabs my hand.
I pull out of his grasp. “Please, you wish.”
He pouts, a puppy dog look spreading across his face.
Lev sighs, shaking his head slightly. “We move forward?” he asks.
A beat goes by. Then another. This man takes what he wants and disregards a lot of people. Sometimes even his own sons.
But Roma loves him, no matter what he says about his parents. I nod. We’ll have to move forward.
The moment is quick because a woman glides forward.
Andrea Petrova.
If Lev had a little sister, this is who she’d be.
Smart, cruel, and doesn’t take shit from anyone.
She’s at the same level as Boris and Dima, and she takes her role in the bratva seriously. She loves the life and is loyal to it. But there’s one man she loves more than all else.
Petrova’s husband, William Hallow steps out from behind her. He doesn’t normally come to such openly criminal areas. He’s a man of wealth and integrity.
At least that’s what all the business magazines say.
His son, Hadrian is next to Isolde. Trevino narrows his eyes at him and I’m not sure if he’s taking his bodyguard duties seriously or something else. He certainly doesn’t like the Hallows, based on the few things I’ve heard him say before.
“Excuse me.” I leave Roma and his family.
Andrea and Dimitri are bickering in Russian. It gives William Hallow a chance to step forward and speak to me.
“You gave the Stuart’s a prod.”
His brows raise behind a pair of silver-rimmed glasses.
I don’t have time for the feigned surprise.
“I don’t know what you did, but you gave them just enough of a kick in the ass to try to move into New York.”
And now his biggest rival has been decimated.
His wife is now barking at Dimitri. Andrea and her husband try to keep their work lives separate. He’s the city’s golden boy while she conducts business in the dark. It’s a rare instance when things cross over. He clearly dislikes the Stuarts.
“Five innocent people died due to your little plan.”
He sticks his hands in his pockets. “There’s not an innocent soul on this planet.”
“You’re right there’s not.” But that doesn’t mean they deserved to die. “I suppose you’ll pick up some more work in Shanghai, now too.”
“China’s always a good market,” he agrees.
“I wish you well.” It’s not very sincere, but neither of us cares. I glance over at his son before stepping closer. “But if you ever fuck with me I know exactly what to do.”
He chuckles, the patronizing asshole. “Sure, go after my son and see how that ends up.”
I laugh back. “You’ve spent your life trying to keep your son on a leash. Let’s see what type of monster he’ll turn into when he’s fully cut loose.”
