I can tell she believes what she’s telling me.
“But, at the end of the day, we don’t trust each other,” she continues.
“Do you remember what happened when I found you here?”
“You were so pissed at me,” she says.
“No.” I cross to her, needing to touch her. “I told you then, and I meant it. I wasn’t angry with you. I was livid that someone—anyone—had put their hands on you this way. The fury was, and still is, a breathing thing inside me. I would have been upset to see any woman hurt like this, but the fact that it was you made it so much worse. So, no, we may not fully trust each other, but damn it, I care about what happens to you. I don’t want to see anything happen to you. And we’ve been given orders to work together. To figure this mess out and get it resolved. I don’t know what’s happening now, with the murder at the wedding and your attack. I don’t know if it has anything to do with my aunt and uncle, but I need to find out. I have connections that you don’t and vice versa. We’re stronger in this together. So, until we resolve this, you’re stuck with me.”
Her blue eyes slide to mine. “What do you mean?”
“You’ll be staying with me. I can’t protect you the way we’ve been doing things, obviously.”
“I don’t need—”
“Just stop talking.” In exasperation, I march away from her. “Yes, you’re strong and badass, and you can take care of yourself. But right now, people want to hurt you, and I’m partly responsible for that. There’s a team of people here to help keep us safe. And goddamn it, that’s what you’re going to let me do.”
“So, I’m being held hostage?”
I grunt but can’t help but start laughing. “Yes. Clearly, this luxury penthouse is a horrible situation. I feel for you, Nadia. But keep a stiff upper lip. Suck it up and deal with it.”
She snorts. “No sex. I mean it.”
“I’m not in the habit of forcing unwilling women to fuck me.”
Her face sobers at the steel in my voice. “I didn’t mean to insinuate that you’d rape me.”
“I need some fresh air.”
She nods and glances at her phone when it rings.
“Not gonna answer?”
“I have no intention of speaking to my father. At least for a few more days.”
I narrow my eyes. “Why haven’t you told him about this?”
“Because. And the reasons are none of your business.”
“If you confide in him, you could live wherever the fuck you want. He’d send protection, and he’d start his own hunt for the bastards who touched you. Nadia—”
“You have the luxury of trusting your family,” she interrupts. “It’s not something we share.”
I step back, surprised. “You don’t trust your family? When it comes to the business we’re in, trusting them is of the utmost importance.”
“My father, yes. I know he loves me and would do anything to protect me.” She swallows hard. “But I don’t trust my brother at all.”
That’s something we can agree on. Alexander Tarenkov is a slimy piece of shit, and it would make my black heart happy to tear him limb from limb with my bare hands.
“Why?”
“Alex is a selfish man,” she says simply. “Only concerned with himself and how to manipulate every situation to his advantage. He’d make a horrible boss. The family, the organization, would collapse within a year. I don’t know what shady deals he has going on the down-low, but I’d guess there are a few of them. No. I shouldn’t be telling you any of this.”
With a sigh, she lowers herself to the couch.
“I hate your brother with every fiber of my being.” My voice is flat as I sit across from her. “There’s nothing honorable about him.”
“I know.”
“Do you think he’s behind everything that’s going on?”
“No.” She smirks. “He’s a pussy. He doesn’t have the balls to kill anyone. Alex is self-serving, yes, but he’s also content to ride just under the radar. I do think he’s laundering money that he’s hiding from Papa. And when he’s found out? Well, let’s just say it won’t go over well.
“But killing another family’s boss? Possibly starting a war? No. He’s not smart enough for that.”
Unfortunately, I agree with her. He’s slimy to the core but also as weak as they come.
And not especially intelligent.
“So, in the meantime, you’ve been attacked twice, and your father has no idea.”
“He’ll be angry,” she admits. “But until I figure out who’s behind it and everything else, I’ll keep it to myself. Besides, what’s done is done. He can’t undo it.”
“If I kept something like this from my father, he’d be livid.”
“You’re lucky,” she says. “That your family is so close. That it’s your safe haven.”
“You need that, too. Our business is too lonely to be alone, Nadia.”