Page 102 of Twisted Embrace

Mattia pulled a switchblade from his pocket. “Let me see the damn thing.”

I handed it over, taking a few seconds to scan the carnage. It had been over a year since I’d been to the estate, something I almost regretted. Still, there were too many bad memories that couldn’t be erased, including ones that haunted both D’Artagnan and Lucia. “Did they hurt you?”

“No. We were lucky. But I had to kill two of them. I just…”

Jesus. Her tenacity was unreal. Mattia and I glanced at each other, his slight smile indicating approval. She had no idea how strong she was.

“Your premonition likely saved your life.”

“It was your face I saw. You were dead,” she half whispered.

“That’s not going to happen.” I hated to make a promise I wasn’t certain I could keep.

“You were right,” Mattia snarled as he held out the necklace. “That answers how they tracked us in Italy. What about what happened in Sicily?”

I rubbed my jaw as I looked at the sophisticated design. At least there were no indications of any kind of listening device. I’d been such a fucking fool. After studying the intricate pieces nestled inside, I fisted my hand over it. Whether or not her parents had been recruited after all these years to turn their daughter over to the Russians would remain in the back of my mind.

“What are you going to do?” Joy asked.

I glanced at Mattia who grinned. “Set a trap.”

“Don’t do anything that will get you killed. I can’t take it any longer.” She wrapped her hands around my shirt, pulling herself closer.

As I pressed my hand against her heated cheek, I lowered my head. “You need to trust me, precious jewel. The game just shifted into our favor.”

“I do trust you. I just don’t want to lose you. I said it to you once and I’ll say it again. Don’t die on me.”

* * *

Setting a trap. It had taken two full days to ensure there wouldn’t be a single aspect that couldn’t be handled.

It was risky on several levels. Once D’Artagnan had been stabilized, I’d had him transferred to a location not disclosed to anyone but those Dar, Mattia, and I trusted implicitly, Anthony the point man. Fortunately, his injuries hadn’t been as severe, although he still needed medical attention. Thank God we had a doctor on call that would remain with them until our return.

If we returned.

I was cognizant of the fact with the number of soldiers it would appear Grigori had brought into the country, the fight would be intense. I hadn’t anticipated Antonio Romano insisting on assisting us as well. Granted, at this point he had nothing to lose. At least he’d found a single traitor who’d been working with Volkov, eliminating the problem.

Now the Cosa Nostra were poised for a war that should never have gotten this far. We’d grown soft in the months since the Russians’ original defeat, acting as if we could go about handling business as normal without picking off the Russians one by one. Our complacency had caught us with our pants down.

The room had been turned very quickly into a command center, computers highlighting the already existing security cameras. If anyone moved within a half mile of the facility, we’d know about it. In addition, there were soldiers positioned throughout the forest, around the outside buildings and some on the room of the estate. I’d placed a hell of a lot of faith in my instinct, as well as Joy’s premonition from the night before. Her visions were becoming more specific, enough so I felt certain this charade would be over tonight.

My beautiful bride to be was a force to be reckoned with herself. I chuckled at the thought.

Romano paced the room of my father’s old office, swallowing one drink after another. While I understood his tension, his sullen attitude was getting on my nerves.

“Sit down, Romano. We’ll know when they’re getting close.”

“You mean if.”

“No, I mean when.” I turned my head in Mattia’s direction. We were all antsy, anticipating the attack the night before. While Grigori appeared to have left Moscow, his son remaining and tending to the palace, there’d been no additional sightings of the Pakhan in eighteen hours.

“This is getting ridiculous,” Romano added.

Mattia walked closer. “How long do you want to continue the charade?”

“Until we finish what we started almost a year ago.”

He took a deep breath then nodded. Invading Russia would be a suicide mission at best. So we would wait.

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