Page 17 of The Bratva's Nanny

“Yes. Betrayal is a lot easier to handle.” Alix was an anomaly. He didn’t quite understand her. “My death would come at a great cost. People would get rich from killing me, besides the reputation they’d earn.”

Alix frowned. “I wanted to sleep with you, Dmitry. I didn’t want to kill you. I’m not … George might be part of your world but I really was just a … ugh, just a nursery teacher. I love being around kids and cooking and baking, cleaning even. I’m not after power of any kind.”

Damn it. He believed her.

“I don’t want to kill you.” She took a deep breath. “But I understand that you have no reason to trust me. Even though you have no reason to trust me, I haven’t given you any reason tonottrust me. I would never hurt you or Sofia.”

He stared at her, a little taken aback.

“I don’t exactly like you right now, but Sofia loves you.”

Dmitry smiled. “My daughter is giving me a free pass?”

“Yes.”

He wanted to apologize to her, but he couldn’t do it. He wasn’t the kind of man who said he was sorry.

Alix picked up her knife and fork and began to cut into her chicken and vegetables.

After putting Alix in his bedroom, he had spent the whole afternoon with his daughter, which he hadn’t done in a long time. He had enjoyed every second of it. Once he left Alix, he’d gone straight to the sitting room where the guard had been watching over Sofia. He took the seat Alix had sat in and watched Sofia, while hating himself for what he’d done.

Once Sofia woke up, she asked about Alix. He’d lied saying she didn’t feel too good and had to lie down. Then he played with his little girl. It had been an afternoon of absolute delight. Now, his daughter might be the only reason Alix was still sitting opposite him, but either way, he was willing to take it. He wasn’t used to people caring. Was that why Alix cried? She cared about him? It seemed too good to be true and he couldn’t allow himself to believe. So, he enjoyed his food as best as he could, even though he couldn’t quite taste it.

Alix finished before him and sat back in the chair.

“I’m so sorry about your wife,” she said. “I … I know who you are, I know what you are, but I couldn’t imagine living with someone who wanted me dead.”

“It gets easier to live with.”

Alix laughed. “There is no way that’s something easy to live with. You said you faced death every single day. One of your men could even turn on you.”

“That is a fact and I have seen it happen. My own father was shot near the heart when I was a child, by one of his own men, a man he trusted as well … but he’d been easily swayed.” Dmitry took a sip of his wine.

She shook her head. “I’m not like that. I swear my loyalty to you, Dmitry.”

“Don’t do that,” he said. It makes the betrayal so much worse.

“Why?”

“You don’t know what the future holds. You don’t know how you will be pushed.”

She reached out and took his hand. He had already finished his food. “I know who I am, Dmitry. You can question me all you want but I am loyal. I swear to you, you may not think you have someone, but you have me. I know it’s not much. I don’t know how to fight or how to use a gun. But I can watch your back. I can take care of you. You can have someone.”

He stared at her, knowing she was a temptation but one he was going to have to deny himself. There was no way he could give in to her, even though that was all he wanted to do.

Alix laughed. “I know you don’t trust me. I know it doesn’t matter what I say, you won’t believe me. You’re going to need actions more than words. I hope it never comes to it, but if it does, I’ll protect you and I’ll protect Sofia.”

“All I need you to do is protect my daughter. I can take care of myself.”

She chuckled. “We’ll see. As for George, I don’t know what he has done. Other than the divorce, I don’t know where he is. I don’t know what else he owns, or who his friends are. He would say he had a lot of friends in high places. This happened a lot after that party. I don’t know if he was just trying to impress me or what.”

“I’ll find him,” he said.

Alix pulled away and he captured her hand. She didn’t fight him.

“You wanted me to put a label on it last night,” Dmitry said.

“A lot has happened since last night.”

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