Page 34 of Fortress of the Heart

“I don’t need to. I know exactly what girls like you post about, and it’s all superficial bullshit.”

“Why don’t you just go and bite me?” she fires back, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Nice comeback, practice that in your sleep?”

She ignores me. “The only thing remotely good about that dungeon place you held me in isn’t the uncomfortable mattress, it’s your mother and Valentina.”

I’m surprised by her admission, floored even.

Ma is just like that to everyone.

Should she be a little put out that Katiya is a Petrov and was sitting in our kitchen, eating our food and drinking our coffee? Probably. She’s a tough woman; she’s had to be all these years.

But she’ll never turn someone away when they’re down and out, Russian or not.

Ma doesn’t know the ins and outs as we do, she stays out of it for the most part, but she does get small trickles of information on a need-to-know basis.

Angelo still hasn’t told Ma about Mario. I know she’ll be devastated, and now we have a funeral to organize.

This is so fucked up. There’s so much to think about and too much to do.

I can get my assistants onto most of it, even if it isn’t business related. Helena is used to picking up my dry-cleaning and shit like that. I’m sure making a few phone calls and arranging flowers for the funeral aren’t going to be a big deal. I know Angelo has enough on his plate as well to be worrying about that. I make a mental note to text him when I get there to let him know I’ll organize shit. We all loved our uncle but Angelo was the closest.

“That goes to prove the Medicis aren’t all bad, doesn’t it?”

“The women in the family, at least.” She huffs.

“You know, you can’t go around hating me forever. It honestly isn’t healthy. Plus, we have to coexist under the same roof for the next few days.”

“Well, if this castle has a wing as you suggested, it should be far enough away that I can do my own thing until my release.”

She makes it sound like she’s in prison.

I glance at her. “Do I just bring out this side of you, or is it always there, Katiya?”

She sighs and stares out of the window nonchalantly. “Must just be you. I don’t seem to have these issues with normal people.”

Now I’m abnormal?

I laugh under my breath. “Somehow,princess, I find that very hard to believe.” I’m just calling her that now on purpose to piss her off.

“I don’t even understand what I’m supposed to do while I’m even here. You better have some good movies to watch and Wi-Fi.”

“What are you going to need Wi-Fi for? You don’t have a cell or a laptop.”

She folds her arms over her chest again and huffs. She does that a lot.

“So that means that I truly am a prisoner?”

“It’s not summer camp. You’re not on vacation.”

“Then let me go,” she pleads.

“You know I can’t do that, but like I said, you have my word no harm will come to you.”

“You know how to ruin a fucking homecoming, don’t you, Medici?”

I take a deep breath. “I hate to rain on your parade, but this isn’t prom, and I do have a name.”

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