Page 59 of Wicked Knight 2

“He was bleeding and unconscious when the bounty hunters brought him in. I volunteered to bring him here to my room until he was able to talk.” A smile pulled at her lips. “He was so beautiful, like a fallen angel. I didn’t want him to die. He was with me for days. When he finally woke up, I realized he didn’t remember anything about himself. I told him we were lovers, and he believed me.”

“I thought you started all that because Papa asked you to.”

“He did. But that was after I told him about what I did.” She sighed. “I just wanted to know what it would feel like to kiss him.”

“Of course you did.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. I had come a long way from my status of jealous girlfriend, but Belinda was really testing my limits. “So what? Just like that? Papa decides to keep him?”

“Yes.” She released a breath. “After Maxim woke up, they spent hours in Papa’s library.”

“He tortured him.” I covered my mouth. “Fucking asshole.”

“No, he didn’t.” She reached for my hands. “Papa wanted to see if he could turn him.”

“Make him a brother?” I met her gaze. “So Ivan knows who Maxim really is, same as Papa, but he plays along. Why?”

“Papa told him to. He said it would be our secret.”

“Who else knows?” I asked.

“Just the three of us.”

“Do you know how fucked up this is? Maxim is a prisoner here, and he doesn’t even know it.” I ran a hand through my hair.

“That was a year ago. Things have changed. Everyone loves Maxim. He’s Papa’s favorite son. Ivan loves him like a brother. That’s not a lie.” Tears streamed down her cheeks.

“But everything else is.”

“Not anymore. He belongs here.”

“No, he doesn’t.” I raised my voice. “He has no idea who he is.”

“Why do you care?” She pouted.

“Maxim is my husband. Our destinies are linked. If he dies, I die.”

What was the play here? I had no idea what to do. For weeks, I’d been dying to put together this puzzle. I couldn’t understand how a member of the Gallo family, one of the original five families who founded the Society, ended up playing the role of the good son to a Russian mobster.

As incredible as Belinda’s story sounded, I believed her. The timing was right. Jimmy Gallo was the first to fall two years ago. That night after so many were killed in one fell swoop, I made Luca promise me he would never look for me again. I was so afraid for his life. Leaving the country was the only way he could survive.

He never came back because he fell into Papa’s trap.

Papa was a smart man. He had to know he couldn’t keep Maxim forever. Even now, he was starting to remember. He still didn’t trust his broken memories. But one day, it could all come back to him. What was Papa’s plan then? Kill him?

“You heard what Papa said tonight?” I asked.

“No, I was in the kitchen.”

“I thought we were done with the lies.” I glared at her.

“I heard. He’s the next Pakhan.”

“You and I both know that would never happen. Do you think Papa is going to leave his Bratva empire to an Italian?” A cold shiver ran down my spine at the thought that maybe this was all a game to Papa. To see how far he could go, how much he could mess with Maxim’s brain. “Even if Papa was demented enough to do it, Ivan would never allow it.”

“I don’t know.”

A prisoner of my own desire. That was what I had become. I should’ve left the minute I found out Maxim was Luca. I stayed because I needed his touch, because I couldn’t think when he was near. When we were alone in his suite, it was easy to fantasize about a life where we were husband and wife.

But every time I was alone, I couldn’t ignore the fucked-up reality we were living. Maxim didn’t exist. When a wave of anxiety and terror flooded my mind, I put my head between my knees and sucked in a breath. I held it for several seconds, then released it. I had to come up with a plan before I reunited with Maxim upstairs. This time, I had to stick with it. No more letting him seduce me into staying.

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