Page 9 of Of Murder and Matrimony

“Try me.”

She wisely shut her mouth, her shoulders sagging.

“Smart choice,” I cooed at her. “Now, be a good girl and sit still until Jason arrives.”

“I’ll never forgive you if you hurt him,” Olesya whispered a few minutes later, breaking the silence.

“I don’t need your forgiveness.” Her attempt at bargaining was laughable. “You’re a convenient way to end the war with your brothers. Nothing more. The faster you accept it, the easier things will go for you.”

She shook as crunching gravel signaled a car’s approach, followed by the slight squeak of brakes and a door closing. There was a tap on the front door, and after a moment, the blonde-haired doctor entered the house. “Hey, babe, I’m he—”

His words trailed off when he saw us sitting together on the couch. While most men would have been angry, Jason looked confused.

“What’s going on here?” he asked, stopping just inside the doorway, rain dripping off his jacket onto the wood floor.

“I just came to retrieve my wayward fiancée,” I said smoothly, reaching into my pocket and producing a black velvet box. I popped it open and withdrew the ring, ignoring Olesya’s glare as I held up her bare left hand and slipped the sizeable round solitaire on her finger, covering the indentation from her previous ring. A tear trailed down her dirt-stained face. “Tears of joy, amore?”

Olesya tensed in my lap as I kissed the ring on her finger, looking up at the blonde man standing before us in shock. “Aren’t you going to offer your congratulations, Dr. Miller?”

Chapter Four

Jason’s gaze was filled with hurt and confusion when he finally looked at me for answers. “Engaged?”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered hoarsely, my throat sore from screaming at Dante. “I never wanted to hurt you.”

“I don’t understand.” Brow furrowed, Jason’s eyes darted between the rock on my finger and my face. “Who is this, Nikki?”

How did I answer that? Did Dante want me to say his name? He clearly wanted me to acknowledge the arrangement our fathers made when we were children, to humiliate me in front of Jason. I tried to refuse, keep my lips pressed in a firm line, but I’d already poked the proverbial bear by running from him. There was no telling what he’d do to Jason to punish me.

“This is Dante,” I forced out. “We were… involved… years ago.”

Jason crossed his arms over his chest, his mouth turning downward. “And what, he just shows back up, and everything we have means nothing?”

“It’s not like that,” I protested, but Dante’s hand tightened around my thigh in warning. I closed my eyes, trying to find the girl I’d been, the one who knew how to play the dangerous game and follow the precise script of the Bratva life. “But in the end, it will all be the same for you. I can’t marry you.”

“I’ll be taking her home to Chicago,” Dante added, his fingers stroking up and down my thigh. “I’m sure your brothers will be happy to know you’re finally returning home.”

“I thought you were from Iowa,” Jason accused, his voice rising angrily. “An orphan who caught a break with college. Now you have brothers? Was it all a lie, Nikki? Is that even your real name?”

“I almost feel sorry for you.” Dante belied his words with a chuckle. “Did you really think somebody with as much beauty and poise as Olesya was some down-and-out orphan? A Bratva princess is made for more than a small-town life with some nice local doctor.”

“Bratva?” Jason paled, his perpetual tan from hours outdoors on the weekends greying out with the realization that things were worse than he’d imagined. “Like the Russian Mafia?”

Dante nodded, that fucking shadow of a smirk on his face. “She never mentioned her brother is the head of the Chicago Bratva? How convenient—yet unfortunate for you. It appears she also left out our engagement.”

“Stop, please,” I choked, gripping Dante’s fingers. “Just leave him alone. He doesn’t deserve this.”

“It’s time to face reality, Olesya.” Dante turned his palm over to clasp my hand, his thumb brushing over my knuckles. His dark eyes held no hint of remorse. “Lies can never be hidden forever. Look at the mess yours have caused.”

“Is that your name?” Jason spat. “Olesya?”

“Yes,” I nodded.

The color rushed back to his face as he pointed a finger at me. “You let me fucking call out Nikki when I fucked you!”

Dante’s entire body tensed beneath me. “If you mention fucking my fiancée again, I’ll drag you out into that forest and make you scream my name as you beg for your life before I slit your throat, Dr. Miller.”

Jason’s mouth snapped shut, and he took a step back.

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