Page 64 of Deal with the Devil

I’d tell her. But not now.

I pull in a breath, leaning back against a spotless worktable as I cross my arms over my chest. “Nevaeh believed the only way to stop Antonio from forcing her to marry him was if she was married to another. I offered.”

“Why?” Miguel demands, lip curling. “Marriage is no simple thing. It’s for life.”

“It is,” I agree.

Patrick’s eyes widen. “Are you saying…”

“I’m saying I fell in love with Nevaeh. Quickly.” Idare them to question my feelings for her with a silent pulse. “I have no intention of ever walking away from her.”

Miguel raises a single brow. “Does Nevaeh know that?”

“She’s a little slow, but she’ll get there.”

Both men release tense chuckles. Miguel speaks, “Are you not worried about Antonio and his political smear campaign painting you and your criminal ties in black?”

“Not at all.”

“What criminal ties?” Patrick asks.

I shake my head and Miguel ignores him outright.

I say, “The public knows me as Kane from Devils Heartbreak. If someone feels the need to dig, they’ll see I’m the last son of Alexei Volkov, Russian Oligarch and founder of Volk Vault Bank, which is currently run by my eldest brother, Kirill. I’m in possession of a very generous trust fund supplemented by the very generous money I make through the band. I’ve resided in America since college and have dual citizenship, thanks to my American mother.” I pause, holding Miguel’s gaze. “If they dig deeper into my family, they will see that my older brother Ilya Volkov also has dual citizenship and owns countless lucrative businesses in the United States, many but not all founded by my father. These businesses include but are not limited to casinos, hotels, and shipping yards.They will find me to be the black sheep, a rockstar amidst a family of business moguls. But what they will not find anywhere, no matter how hard they search is ties to the Russian Bratva.”

In part, my family can thank Ian and his family business for that. It’s that business, Ian’s connections with security, and his talent for hacking, that had me coming to America to begin with. In my families line of work, connections such as the one I share with Ian, are invaluable.

Patrick goes ghost white at my last two words, the hand on the shelf nearest him anchoring him in place.

Miguel looks—pleased.

Interesting.

“And Nevaeh?”

I pin his eyes with my own. “I will protect her with my life. With everything I have. With the power of my family.”

I pull my phone from my pocket to show him the message Ian sent me. A screen recording of a video that he’s informed me dissolved as soon as it had been watched.

The masked man appears, his calm voice sounding in the otherwise quiet garage. “I hear congratulations are in order, and you’re a married woman. I think I might have been wrong about you, after all. You are a kinky little thing. I should have pushed my hand between your legs to destroy your cunt while yourblood dripped onto the sheets, my red necklace beaming bright on your skin. I would have if I’d known how rough you like it, my little slut.” The masked man tisks in disapproval. “But you should know better than to taunt me. You think you can hide from me?” He laughs. “No one can hide from me. I’ve already found you, you stupid slut. But fermented fear tastes better, so you can wait for me just a little longer. And when I come for you, I’ll make you watch as I gut the man you lie beside at night, spreading your whore legs for. I’ll gut him and fuck you in his blood, and then we can talk about what happens when you disobey my orders and ignore my lessons.” He leans closer to the camera and Patrick leans back, looking green. Miguel just looks red. “I don’t like to be disobeyed.”

The screen cuts to black. The only thing I see is Ian’s message.

He knows his way around the dark web. I’m not having much luck even with my tech. Need more time, don’t think we have it. Time to call in Ilya.

Miguel inhales sharply through his nose. “Who the fuck is this guy?”

“I don’t know,” I say. “But I’ll find out.”

“And when you do?”

“He’ll never hurt Nevaeh or anyone else again.”

Miguel offers me his hand as Patrick sweats between us. I take it and he grunts low, “Welcome to the family.”

twenty-six

Nevaeh

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