Page 81 of Lies He Told Me (Bratva Crime Syndicate 1)

“No point in obsessing over some supposed new leader when we’re regaining ground anyway,” I point out. “If we start losing to them, I’ll start worrying about this new leader then.”

“All right,” Ludmil says in a way that means he’s going to look into this on his own time.

Fine with me. Although Ludmil is an incorrigible fretter, he also has killer instincts. It’s why he’s my second-in-command.

We part with a silent nod.

* * *

The next morning, I wake at the usual time and go to the usual place.

“Morning,” Joy murmurs as Chowder leaps off the bed to give me a tail-wagging greeting. She’s all tucked up under the covers. I go to sit next to her on the floor. It has been our ritual for days now.

“No question today?” I say after a minute of silence.

“I’m thinking.”

“You don’t have to ask me one, you know.”

“I know. I just have a lot. And some … I don’t think you’ll like them.”

“Try me.”

“What’s the point if you won’t answer anyway?”

“Try me.”

She sighs. “Fine. Are you a dangerous man like people say? A bad man?”

Her glare dares me to make light of her question, of her. To ask who exactly these ‘people’ are.

“Dangerous, definitely.” I grin. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way …”

“See what I mean?” she protests. “You just joke and only answer half of it.”

“It was two questions.”

“Forget it.”

But I don’t, of course. It’s the kind of question I haven’t bothered thinking about in a very long time. The kind I had to set aside over a decade ago to get anywhere near where I am.

“For many years, I’ve lived by one rule,” I’m surprised to find myself saying. “‘Never hurt anyone not in the game.’”

She mouths the words in a silent echo, her lower lip falling. Her gaze flies to me, then away. Then, nothing. No follow-up question. No irreverent quip.

She’s beginning to understand.

I’m not sure I want her to. When I met her, there was something about her, some intrinsic goodness. The kind that can’t withstand a life like mine, with all its cruel realities. I shake my head. I’m done with this line of thought.

“Anyways,” I say as I take to my feet. “Today, we get married.”

“Today?” Joy sits up straight, forgetting her half-clothed state. “That’s it? No warning or anything?”

“I’m warning you now.”

“But, is there going to be a huge ceremony? Will I have to remember a bunch of people’s names and fit into a dress and—”

“No. It’s at the courthouse. There will, of course, be a media appearance after. But that’s it.”

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