Once upon a time, the Makalov family prospered in Russia. My father, Ivano Makalov, and his younger brother Nikolai worked for the Bratva throughout their childhoods and teenage years. Their hard work paid off with each dirty task or gruesome job they completed.Stella knew of my father's and mother's failures in raising me and the squalid conditions we landed in after my father's fall from grace. It was horrifying enough that when Nikolai returned from a business venture in America; he whisked me away from my parents. Most of that time turned dark in my mind and I couldn't remember the severity of the situation.That's all my dancer needed to know. That my father peddled drugs in Russia and impregnated one of his clients. I couldn't stand the thought of telling her about my father, high on his own supply, skimming off the top, and stealing money from the Bratva. All those things put a target on Ivano Makalov's head.Nikolai successfully started up a business after ten years in Americ
Only the city lights fought back the darkness of midnight. The humming neon light over the noisy club reflected a sickly green in the oily layer of water on the streets. Nikolai and I left through a backdoor to avoid the clamoring crowd around the corner.I had the car ride across the city to ponder the churning thoughts in my head. One swelling, thought stirring notion whipped up and heaved into the next with as much force as a seething tsunami. Each wave slammed against the inside of my skull, threatening to spill out past the emotionless mask I tried to maintain."You're already a better father than yours was.' That cut deeper than I'd like to admit. Even to myself.Most of my adult life, I told myself that I didn't want to have children. The trauma of my upbringing in Russia left a bitterness in my soul. Never mind Annika and Nikolai taking me away from that shithole. I couldn't get over the idea that I'd be no better than Ivan Makalov.In moments with her, I'd noticed the sneakin
RHEA'S POV Aleksander stood before me, shoulders slack and mouth pressed into a thin line. The guilt rose to the surface of his eyes, darkening the rich brown pools. In his gaze, I saw the truth-his silent admission."Even now, you can't bring yourself to open your mouth and admit the truth with your own words?", I spoke in a low voice."You know the truth. I don't know what else you want me to say.""I want to hear it from you, Aleksander! I want you to be the one to tell me these things. Every fucked-up thing you've ever done. You should have been the one to tell me. Your lies have stolen my agency from me." I found myself shouting at the end."I'm sorry that I didn't tell you the truth, Rhea. But I knew you'd react poorly if you learned about the things I'd done. However, I fail to see how that takes your agency away. It's always been my goal to ensure your freedom."I snorted when i heard his words."Of course you fail to see it. Your self-righteous head is so far up your superio
Aleksander roared as he whirled around. A deranged fury filled his eyes that I'd never seen before. "Perhaps that's how I felt in the beginning. I won't deny that. It's the reason I wanted an exclusive contract to have you!""A live-in fuck-toy. That's all I've ever been.""No," he shot forward. Aleksander reached for my hands, yet I swayed enough to dodge his grasp. In response to my reaction, he groaned, a sound so full of despair I wanted to cave. To give in to my buried desire to slip into his arms and forgive his atrocities but my heart was still rejecting him."I fell in love with you, Rhea. I'd never had this feeling before. This yearning to hold and protect someone else. I would have done anything to keep you safe. Fuck, I'd kill God just to see you smile.""Really?" I balked at him, eyes growing larger. "Is that really the most appropriate thing to say right now? Not only have you killed people and lied to me about it this whole time, you open your stupid mouth and say someth
ALEKSANDER'S POVAlthough it should have been me at her side, they would protect Rhea at the safe house. It took a wise man, or at least a competent one, to realize she needed this space away from me. With the progression of our argument, I couldn't call myself a wise man. Not in the least.Sitting at the dining table in my family home, I weighed Rhea's wedding band in my palm. This diamond on her finger had been a brief taste of victory in my life. A sweetness that lingered on the back of the tongue and kept you wanting more and more and more...A glass of whiskey waited at the edge of the table in my peripheral. Each sip burned a fiery path down my throat, easing the ache that tore apart my tattered insides. Without her shining light at my side, I was only a flayed shell of a man.I couldn't regret the things I'd done to protect her, but I bore heavy guilt for how my actions affected her. I'd done her a disservice by keeping the truth from her. Because I'd underestimated Rhea's abil
Dust motes danced in the golden shafts of early light filtering in through the windows. Only the shuddered exhale from my lips broke up the charged silence in the dining room. Annika swiped a tear from my face, her lips trembling with her own sorrow at the pitiful sight of me."If you want to be worthy of her love, then earn it. Show her you can be the man she deserves." Annika rose gracefully to her feet, clasping her hands together."Is that what Nikolai did for you?" I regretted the derision in my tone. It came about from the alcohol, I thought. "That fucked up old man made you believe he was worthy of you?"This time when she smacked me, it truly stung. A real slap that shook some of the buzz from my inebriated state.The ensuing second of stunned silence stung worse."I know you are distraught and drunk right now, but never take your uncle's graciousness for granted. He has done what needed to be done, much like you have. You and I have always known that. Now Rhea knows that same
RHEA'S POV Flickers of memory sparked behind my eyes. Bright lights. The world spinning. Broken glass. A dull throb echoed in the back of my skull.Voices that sounded both distant and near filtered through the high-pitched ringing in my ears. Male voices that didn't seem to hide their raised argument. Yet I couldn't make out a single word they exchanged.My heavy lids refused to open. It felt like they were glued shut. Forcing them only worsened the pounding in my head. Light stung my eyes when they eventually peeled open.The walls were dark, stained with years of dust and grime. Weak yellowish light shone from a metal beam overhead. Abandoned boxes and metalwork littered the spacious warehouse.A twinge of pain in my lower back caused me to shift. A soft clink and pressure on my wrist made me freeze. Agonizingly slow, as though I didn't want to come to terms with what I already knew, I angled my heavy head toward my wrist.No surprise flared within me to find my right wrist handcu
"I'll handle it." The snarky response pulled me from my thoughts. Then the door at my back pushed open with a grating creak of metal on metal. I slammed back into reality, where I sat handcuffed to a chair in some semi-abandoned building.Every breath I took burned my chest. My body tensed with the fear running in my blood. As Luca's shadow rose ominously over the opposite wall, I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move a muscle as each sinister thump of his shoes carried him closer.Luca appeared in front of me with an eerie aura. His disturbing grin slashed wider upon finding me alert.I tried maintaining my gaze at first. He lasciviously ogled every inch of me with a malicious sneer, twisting his features. The threatening glint in his eyes forced my gaze down to his expensive leather loafers crunching on bits of broken glass beneath us."You're finally awake," Luca announced, cocking his head to the side. "The accident was unfortunate, but I didn't think your driver knew any defensive ma