With This Secret

“Two years later, I married her … but ten years ago, I killed her.”

Something so painful struck me in the chest, it took my breath away.

He allowed his words to sink in, and then went on, “Levan has taken your hand, and there are only two ways it can end. Either he kills you or you kill him.”

I didn’t even know what to say. I just wanted to leave. I couldn’t breathe. “I will never hurt Levan—”

“You already have. He’s locked up right now, behind bars, and it’s all for your sake. I can’t stop him from giving his life to you, but I will tell you this. The day you turn your back on him, is the day that I will end you. And you won’t see it coming.”

He turned to the box by his side. “I want you to give this bracelet to Levan the moment you see him in New York. It means a lot to me and him, so do not for a moment let it out of your sight until you see him. Do not for a moment, let it out of your sight. He will understand what it means when he receives it. A plane will be ready to take you back to America in three hours.” With that, he straightened and walked out of the study.

His words were reverberating through every fiber of my being. Then my legs began to work, and I headed over to the table. I picked up the bracelet and looked at the thing that once belonged to Levan’s beloved mother. I fastened the emerald and gold band around my wrist, then left the study.

45

Bianca

I realized that I needed to call Maxim and when I approached one of the guards he said he could not do so, but he would have Maxim call me.

After the mess previously and how annoyed he was the last time I pulled a disappearing act, I wasn’t about to make the same mistake again. I waited around anxiously for Maxim’s call.

Some thirty minutes later, he called. I had insisted that Aldie remain in Spain so when Maxim’s town car pulled up beside the plane at the private airport we had landed at, I was alone.

One of his men held the back door open for me and I slid in. Restlessly, I tapped my fingers against the seat as the car moved smoothly towards Levan’s house. The moment the car came to a standstill, I jumped out and headed straight to the kitchen.

Gloria was there. “Hello there,” she greeted cheerfully. As usual, she gave no indication that she was surprised by my sudden appearance.

I gave her a polite smile before heading over to the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water.

“Are you hungry? Can I prepare some food for you?” she asked.

“No, thank you. I’m fine.” I smiled back at her and downed more than half of the bottle. My nerves were shot to hell, but I didn’t have time to dwell on how I was feeling. I only had a few hours left to get to Bogdan and my father.

Quickly, I headed straight towards Levan’s office. Two of his guards stood outside. I knew they weren’t fond of me, given all the stunts I had pulled in the past and landed them in deep trouble with their boss. They inclined their heads coldly at me. I walked past them and knocked smartly on the door.

“Come,” Maxim called.

I pulled the handle down and walked in.

He was seated behind the desk, but even so, the luxury and danger that filled the air around him was impossible to miss. It made me wonder if any woman would ever be able to tame him. He lifted his cold, unreadable gaze up to me and I held my ground as I had already learned that to survive the tigers in this household, one had to do that.

“The bracelet,” he said.

I looked down at the jewelry I’d almost forgotten was on me.

“Your father gave it to me,” I replied. “He insisted I hand it directly over to Levan the moment I saw him. He said that it belonged to—”

“I know who it belonged to,” he cut me off.

I snapped my mouth shut. I still had a hard time believing the cold and psychopathic way his father had told me about their mother’s death. I thought my family was dysfunctional, but this was one hell of a peculiar family.

Maxim rose to his feet and came around the table to lean against it just as his father had earlier back in Spain. “I need Bogdan alive. At least until we can find the kid. That’s Levan’s only way out right now.”

“What about my dad?”

“My priority is my brother,” he informed me icily. “What’s yours?”

My response remained the same. “Both of them. The man I love and the man that fathered me.”