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Niko’s eyes narrow, and he glances at Lucy as if he’s not sure what I’m asking. “That would be good. Liam would be alive and you can live your life.”
“But not together.”
Lucy squeezes my hand. "It's Liam's wish that you live a normal life outside the one we live. You didn't ask for this?—"
"You didn’t either."
Lucy looks to Elena, who comes over and sits on the coffee table, putting her hands over Lucy's that are holding mine.
"We didn't ask to be in this life growing up. But we both made the choice to be in it now because that's where the men we love are."
"I was going to tell him I would choose it too, but he wouldn't let me."
"Well, then, when he comes back, you're just going to have to try harder," Lucy says sternly. "That's the thing, Kate. These men, they get big egos because they're powerful and control big and important things. But they don't have to control you. Do you think I let Donovan boss me around?"
"I don't even try, darlin'." Donovan's voice enters the conversation. I glance over and see him smiling and winking at Lucy.
“But you are a leader,” I argue.
“I’m not.” Elena’s smile is soft. “But I don’t let Niko boss me around.”
“I’ve tried,” Niko quips.
"The point is, there is a structure of power. And there are times you might have to do what you're told because that's what's going to keep you safe. But you don't have to become a doormat,” Lucy explains.
I manage a smile and yet inside, I know none of this matters. If Liam is okay, he is still going to push me away.
"We should help you," Elena says.
I frown. "What, like a makeover or something?"
Lucy laughs. “God, no. You’re gorgeous.”
"Not makeover in terms of how you look. But a tutorial about how to live in our world. About how to be married to a man who is important and powerful, but sometimes dangerous,” Elena says.
"About when you need to listen and when you need to stand your ground," Lucy adds.
I nod, accepting their help because focusing on the possibility of convincing Liam to bring me into his world is better than worrying about whether he is dead.
29
LIAM
What is it they say about best laid plans? Something about them going awry?
My plan actually has gone pretty well. But the one aspect that hasn't is the one that's going to get me killed, and as a result, the plan will fail spectacularly.
The problem isn't that I am tied up and suffering torture and verbal indignities from Dimitri Babichev. That, in fact, was part of the plan. I’d set things up for him to capture me. The problem is that I was sure he’d take me either to the Brooklyn safehouse or the empty warehouse in Queens. That motherfucker brought me back to New Jersey into that same stinking room where Igor held me, Donovan, and Niko. The same building compound that Giovanni Fiore threatened to traffic Kate. And that means no one knows where I am.
By now, my men, Niko and Donovan, with their men, have been to the two locations. Not finding me, I know they’re working to figure out where I might be, but who knows how long it will take? Already, I’ve been with Babichev two days longer than I expected. And there is no reason for them to consider this place as it’s a former Fiori location.
"Igor should have killed you when he killed your uncle." Babichev is sitting in a chair, gleefully taunting me.
"As it turns out, Igor was as dumb as a bag of rocks."
Fury fills his face. His fist comes out, striking me in the jaw. This is not the first hit that I've taken. So far, the torture has been fairly light. A few punches, a couple of cigarette burns, and one dislocated pinky. Not that it doesn't hurt like a motherfucker, but I know that before long, it's going to get worse. All I can do is my best to hold out and wait for my men to figure out where the fuck I am.
"You think you're better than all of us. The lost prince. You betrayed us all by going into the FBI and then helping those Mafia pricks."
