MIKHAIL
Boris storms into my office without knocking. I barely glance at him as I continue my work. I’m checking through my finances to make sure my men are collecting payments owed to me, which is much more important than whatever Boris needs to talk with me about.
“How long are you going to keep Viktoriya and Mila here?” he asks, leaning over my desk as if he’s an intimidating presence. I am an intimidating presence. Boris is just a tiny fly to my Venus fly trap.
“As long as they want to stay. Sofiya and I made a deal. She upheld her end of it, so her sisters get to stay. Do you have a problem with that? Because, if not, I’d really like to get back to work.”
“Of course, I have a problem with that!” He shoves the chair across the desk so hard it goes flying across the room.
I only sigh. “Throwing a temper tantrum won’t help you, Boris. You failed with Sofiya. And now, you’re not getting your hands on Viktoriya or Mila. Get over it. You lost.” I set my eyes back onto my computer.
Boris growls deep in his throat. Does he seriously think he’s a threat? He’s just a little annoying fucker. Nothing more. “I will have Mila for my bride.”
“The only way you’re doing that is if they go back to New York, and they’re not going back to New York.”
“If you don’t hand over Mila, I’ll go after Sofiya.”
I slowly bring my gaze back to Boris and stand up. He visibly gulps. “You will not threaten my wife, Boris. You won’t like the outcome. And you know I’ll deliver on it.”
He quickly backs away. “Sorry. I won’t go after Sofiya.”
“Good.” I sit back down and wave toward the door. “Now, leave. I’m tired of talking to you.”
Boris storms out of the room with the same force he used when he came in. He’s no threat to me.
But his words linger in my mind. Would he really go after Sofiya? I’ll protect her at all costs. I just hope she doesn’t get hurt in the process. Seeing how shaken she was when I killed Irina startled me. Death is nothing to me now, but for Sofiya, it’s all new.
She came back into my arms, but there was a hesitation there, and I need that hesitation gone. There can be no barriers between us. Except, I haven’t been fully honest with her about everything. She still doesn’t know about my son.
My Alexei.
I don’t know how to talk about him, but if I don’t open up to her about him, there will always be a distance between us.
And I’d rather die than ruin my marriage with Sofiya.
SOFIYA
I’m enjoying my breakfast with my sisters when Boris walks into the kitchen. I didn’t even know he was here. My eyes land on Mary, who always answers the door, and she’s smiling to herself. She knew inviting Boris would upset me.
“What are you doing here?” Vik asks, gripping her mug so tightly her fingers turn white.
“I need to talk to Sofiya.” He stares at me pointedly. “Sofiya.”
“You don’t have to talk with him,” Vik says as I get up from the table.
“No. I will.” I glance in Mila’s direction, and she’s white as a sheet. I nod at her, and Vik slowly nods back, understanding what I’m doing. I won’t let Boris be in the same room as Mila.
I motion for Boris to follow me, and we walk out of the kitchen and into the foyer. It’s intentional. I want him out of here as soon as possible.
“What?” I ask, crossing my arms.
“You don’t need to take that attitude with me.”
I scoff. “I can’t believe you. You tried to force me into a marriage. You shot at me. And then you tried to force my baby sister into marrying you. Why wouldn’t I have an attitude?”
“Because I’m not sure your husband would approve. He likes you docile, doesn’t he? Submissive?”
I try not to flinch. “How do you know what Mikhail likes? You don’t know him.”
“I know him better than you. I know how deadly he can be. He goes through people like they’re trash. Once he’s through with you, you’ll be wishing you had agreed to marry me.”
“No. Mikhail will never be through with me. You don’t know him.”
“I know him well enough. I know he was married before.”
“So? I already knew that.”
The smile that covers Boris’s lips has me worried. “Did you also know about his son?”
Everything in me goes still.
“You didn’t, did you?” He points at my face. “I can tell. Well, I’ll let you talk with him about that. But you just proved my point. You don’t know him that well. He will hurt you in the long run. But I can help.”
I shake myself. “No. Mikhail would never hurt me.” But Mikhail hasn’t told me everything, even after I asked him to. He still chose to keep things from me.
“I can help,” Boris repeats. “If you give me Mila, I will offer you a safe sanctuary for when things go bad between you and Mikhail.”
“What? I’m not going to give you Mila for anything. Besides, Mila is her own person. I can’t give away a person.”
