Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 80942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Kirill adjusts his glasses, staring at me intently. “You’re surprisingly…more.”
“More what?” I ask.
“More everything, though I suspected that Adrian was putting on an act when it came to you.”
“You did?” Damien wipes the droplets of vodka off his upper lip.
“Of course. Not all of us are idiots.”
“Who are you calling a fucking idiot?” Damien clenches his hand in a fist. “Want to go outside and test that?”
“You probably shouldn’t,” I say absentmindedly, watching the stairs, hoping Adrian will appear, already. “Kirill might not resort to violence, but he was some sort of a captain in the Special Forces and I heard that’s a big deal in Russia.”
Silence greets me and I glance back to find both men staring at me with peculiar expressions.
“What? Just because I wasn’t talkative, doesn’t mean I don’t know these things.”
“Add this fact to your list of things to know, Lia.” Damien grins. “I can still kick Kirill’s ass and beat him the fuck up.”
“Or that’s what you wish.” Kirill smirks. “You heard Lia. Just because I don’t use violence, doesn’t mean I can’t. I merely leave brute force to fools like you.”
“Who are you calling a fucking fool?”
Damien and Kirill continue their bickering, but my attention breaks from them when I notice something happening around me.
First, Lazlo left his circle and headed in the direction of the bathroom. His brother, Nicolo, followed soon after, though in a different direction. Then several Italian guards left their positions and scattered. It could be my paranoia, but I’ve learned from Adrian how to recognize a pattern. They might not have gone together or to the same place, but there’s something going on.
He’ll answer to me.
My father’s words from earlier cause me to spring to my feet. Damien calls after me, but I’m not hearing him as I quicken my pace up the stairs, ignoring the pain from the heels.
By the time I reach the top, I see Lazlo, Nicolo, and the others forcing Adrian into one of the rooms.
I break out into a sprint and barge inside before they can close the door.
“Stop it,” I speak to Lazlo with a firm voice. “You promised.”
“Lia, leave,” Adrian tells me with a closed off tone.
“No.”
“We’re only having a chat,” Lazlo says.
“Then you won’t mind if I join you.” I kick the door shut. “After all, I’m the main reason behind this.”
“You’re not.” Lazlo glares at Adrian. “His lies are.”
“He didn’t lie to you.”
“Only hid the truth to serve his agenda,” Nicolo steps in. “And I will see the end to that.”
My father’s second-in-command, Nicolo Luciano, is around my husband’s age but has the stare of a wise man who’s seen the future and didn’t like it. And because of that, he went back in time to slaughter anyone who would contribute to making that future a reality.
In the past, I was always wary of him, even more than I’ve been of Lazlo. Because while my father is the Don, everyone in the criminal circuit knows that his underboss, my uncle, is the true mastermind behind the Lucianos’ bloody savageness.
Rai once told me about his secret torture chambers that cause Nicolo’s enemies to cower in fear. He’s known to be sadistic and downright terrifying to those he deems to be a threat to his family.
And I’ll do everything in my power to make sure my husband isn’t in that category.
Nicolo didn’t seem to dislike me when my father introduced me to him earlier, but that could be only a façade.
“We’ll speak another time, Lazlo.” Adrian comes to my side. “I have to get Lia home.”
“No.” I step forward. “I’m done playing a secondary role in my own life, so if you have something to discuss, do it now.”
Lazlo shakes his head with a smile. “You take your stubbornness after me, it seems.”
“Great, then you know I won’t give up.” I grab Adrian’s hand in mine, squeezing to stop the nerves from emerging. “I don’t care about what you think he did wrong. This man is my husband and the father of my son, your grandchild, and if you hurt him, I will never speak to you again, let alone have any sort of relationship with you.”
“Lia.” Lazlo steps closer. “He lied to me and kept us apart.”
“Because he wanted to protect me from this life. He barely brought me to these gatherings before for the same reason. I’m the one who insisted on being part of his life. If it were up to him, he would’ve kept me in a gilded cage where no one would reach me, let alone hurt me.”
The Don stares at Adrian with what seems like newfound respect, and I smile internally. I knew that no matter how mad he is at Adrian, he would relate to that protective side of him. I guessed it to be a trait they had in common and I guessed correctly.