Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
She’d been the one to go to him. She’d been hurt, afraid he didn’t want her. He’d been patient and gentle with her, always loving, but after, she’d wake to find him sitting on the edge of the bed, his face in his hands. She’d even gone so far as to wonder if he was gay. He’d rarely come to her and only at her insistence. It made sense that he wasn’t in love with her. He thought of her as a child. She’d grown up in his household and he felt protective of her, but he didn’t love her the way a man loved a woman. He was right, they were more like little sister and big brother.
She pressed the cold bottle of water to her temple. How had she gotten here? How had Sasha, or Joshua? “Life sucks sometimes,” she murmured.
“Nikita insisted I kill you, to prove that I didn’t love you and my loyalty was solely to the bratya. He wanted to make certain I didn’t love you more than our family.” There was a sneer to his voice when he used the word family. “He wanted me to be like him. I knew I had no choice, if you were going to survive, but to break with him, and that meant killing him.”
She gasped, one hand flying out to catch his wrist. “He’s still your father.”
“The father who murdered my mother,” he said bitterly. “Do you think I can ever get that image out of my mind? Ever? He doesn’t get you. You’re going to live.”
“Does he know you’ve broken with him?”
Sasha nodded. “It’s going to be an all-out war.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose, studying her. “I saw you in the bedroom with him – with Tregre. Then in the swamp it looked completely different, as if you were a prisoner, rather than being with him by choice.”
Before she could speak, he shook his head and held up his hand to stop her. “It doesn’t matter, you’re safe with me. Tregre is just as dirty as my father. He may not have killed his woman, but he’s ruthless in this business. In a very short time he’s proven he doesn’t shy away from violence. Nikita thought he could walk all over him, but that wasn’t the case. He’s a little afraid of Tregre, and that’s something I’ve never seen. Tregre is in solid with Elijah Lospostos.”
Sonia had heard that name come up several times in conversation, although it had always been in Russian, when they’d been sitting around a dinner table. Nikita had by turns cursed the man and then admired him.
“He’s going to come for me,” she said softly. “Joshua will, and I don’t want the two of you fighting. He’s my choice, Sasha.”
He shook his head. “I spent years protecting you. I don’t want you anywhere near this business. You get away and what do you do? You find the one man worse than Nikita.”
“How is he worse?” Her heart thudded in her chest so hard she pressed her hand over it. “What do you mean, worse? Did he sell me out to Nikita? Is that what he did? Did Nikita pay him for the information?”
He turned away from her, pacing across the room, his strides angry, the set of his shoulders stiff.
“Don’t lie to me, I need the truth.”
“No, he didn’t sell you out, Sonia. He doesn’t need the money or to have my father owe him a favor. That should tell you something right there. He came up fast – too fast. As far as anyone can tell, he was never connected before. He just walked in and took over. No one knows who killed Rafe Cordeau, but we all know he’s dead. His territory was wide open until suddenly Tregre comes out of nowhere and assumes the crown.”
She let her breath out slowly in relief. He didn’t know anything about Joshua, not really. “He isn’t any worse than you. If you manage to kill your father, are you taking over the family business?” She couldn’t keep the challenge out of her voice.
“Yes. I was born into this world. I don’t know any different. I’m good at it. Yes, sweetheart, I’ll always be what I was born. When my father is dead, the others will expect me to ascend the throne, and I intend to.”
“Sasha, I love you. I really do. With all my heart, I love you. You’ll always be my family, but he’s my choice. I want you to get to know him. To take that time, for me. I’m asking as someone who loves you and needs you in my life, take the time to get to know him before you judge him.”
“Damn it, Sonia, no. He’s not for you. This life isn’t for you. I forbid it.”