Page 4 of White Rabbit
And when I hit bottom of whatever this pitch-black chasm was, it would hurt. It knew it would hurt. It would shatter me.
Couldn’t be worse than the past year at the mercy of the man who’d claimed to own me. At least, I was alone in what could be my last moments. Rad wasn’t here to hurt me. Hurt me more. Hurt me again.
He’d hurt me too much, so if this was the end…
If this was the end, I welcomed it.
I relaxed. Let myself fall.
And then…from somewhere…warmth enveloped my hand. I stopped falling. The warmth tethered me. Held me in place. Pulled me closer to it.
Whatever it was.
Chapter 4
Valariy
My footsteps echoes off the hardwood floor in the foyer of my home as I strode toward the west wing and my office. I ignored the soaring archway two-stories overhead. I gave no heed to the sunlight flooding in through the banks of windows and the stained glass above the double front doors.
Anger rode me, though I kept my face impassive. Heads were going to roll over this fuck up. Perhaps literally.
Enzo Bernardi had overstepped this time. Sending his men in to raid one ofmywarehouses…? Unacceptable! And he knew it. This was no mistake.
A nerve ticked near my eye and I pressed the tip of my tongue into my upper teeth as I sucked in a deep breath.
“Report,” I demanded as I passed my two brothers who waited for me inside my mahogany-paneled office. Jozef, ourobshchakin charge of our clan’s finances, was my second in command but at the moment.
I headed straight to the massive desk that dominated one end of the room. As I sank into my leather chair, my brothers dropped into the two seats across from me.
“Two security guards dead. He sent in a dozen of his soldiers like it was the fucking Beaches of Normandy. Didn’t find much because most of the inventory is in the secure hidden room. Gotpissed off and set a march to the place. Minimal damage, due to our fire safety system.”
I dipped my chin a single time, my jaw locked as I listened.
“Alarms were triggered,” he continued. “We took out three of them. Grabbed two.”
“Interrogation?”
“Not yet. I thought perhaps you’d like that honor—if you have time since you’ve been spending so much time at the hospital lately.”
“And why’s that?” my other brother, Kazimierz, asked. “Dinah’s been home for a week now. Physical therapy’s going well, by the way. You might want to stop over there since her father is yoursovetnik.”
“I visited her every day at the hospital. Do not imply I don’t care.”
“So what’s taking you to the hospital now?” Kaz pushed.
“Do not pretend you don’t know—”
“A woman,” Jozef said knowingly. Thank God our other five brothers weren’t here. The six of them were the only ones who could give me shit, and they took full advantage of that.
“Drop it.”
“I heard he’s taken over her medical care,” Kaz offered.
“I’m not a doctor,” I grumbled. That was Kaz’s job.
“And she has a boyfriend,” he continued. “Curiouser and curiouser.”
“You have a point?” I growled.
