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“Fairbanks, Alaska,” Lucien answers.
“Alaska?” I choke. “I’m in fucking Alaska?” I stare at him in disbelief. “How long was I out for?”
“A good eight hours,” Lucien tells me. “I was about to call the doctor until the head chef here—a very nice lady, by the way—gave us some of her wake-up drops.”
“Yes, thanks for that. My nose is still burning,” I crick my neck, “and I have a stiff neck.”
“Sorry about that, but we didn’t think you’d go nicely with Harry if he asked you.”
“No, I’d have shot him,” I admit. “And aimed to kill.”
“See!” Lucien laughs. “There’s that Bratva and Mafia streak in you.”
“Fuck off!”
“Harry saved your life,” Lucien tells me. “His fucking crazy sister and her sociopathic boyfriend were going to lock you up after you’d led them here. Then, when your babies were born, you’d no longer be of any use to them.” He raises his eyebrows and shrugs. “So they’d either kill you or, knowing Lev Belov as I do, he’d probably keep you as a plaything for him and Stacy.” His eyes narrowed, and anger burned in their depths. “I’ve seen what he does to his playthings.”
“Stacy would never do that to me!“ But doubt is starting to creep into my mind.
Especially as I was told she was dead and that Lev had beaten her to death. Then there’s the question of how the fuck did she know where to find me, and right at the same time Lev did.
“No, of course not, because you know Stacy so well, and she’d never betray you.” Lucien holds my gaze. I’m struck by how much he looks similar to my mother. “It’s admirable how you’re trying to cling to your loyalty to your best friend. But here’s a word of advice, cousin: it’s usually those the closest to us that stab us in the back.”
“Or, it’s just the fucked up crime world where you can’t trust anyone, and everything out of everyone’s mouths that is part of it is a lie!” Before he can answer, I change the subject. “So what happens now that I’m where I’m supposed to be?”
“Haven’t you been told all this already?” Lucien’s eyes narrow. “I thought Konstantin would’ve explained it all.”
“All Konstantin said was that our mother was working on one of the most powerful drugs that had many potential uses,” I blurt out before I can stop myself and feel compelled to continue the story. “My brother told me that our mother wanted us to make a journey up north to meet someone who will hand me her legacy and information that will heal wounds and hopefully keep more of her family from dying.” My eyes widen. “You gave me some of that shit, didn’t you?”
Lucien’s brows draw together, and he looks at me confused. “What shit?”
“Don’t fucking lie to me.” I start wiggling against my bonds once again. “You’ve drugged me, so I’ll talk.” My eyes narrow. “If you didn’t look so much like my mother and a bit like my brother, I’d be doubting who you are right now.”
“Isabella…” Lucien’s brows knit a bit more tightly together. “I swear I’d never drug you. I’d never risk the life of your children. They’re very important to all of us.”
“Fuck you, no one is getting my babies!“ My voice starts to rise as I start twisting, pulling at the silky ropes that have me strapped to a chair.
“No one wants your babies…” Lucien stops himself. “Okay, there are a few crime families I know, including the Belovs, who do. But I can assure you the Andreevs and Zhukovs don’t.“ He pauses. “Okay, maybe if I haven’t gotten an heir by the time I’m ready to retire, I will announce one of your children as my heir.”
“So you do want my babies!”
“No.” Lucien shakes his head, getting annoyed. “I want your son or daughter to be the next Andreev Pakhan. But that’s way, way, way in the future. Not for another eighteen years or so. But I do have a vested interest in my baby cousin’s well-being.”
“Great!” I roll my eyes. “So you’ve already sealed the fate of my kids!”
“I’d say Andrey and I have ensured they have a future,“ Lucien corrects me. “And because they’re the next heirs to two large organizations, made even stronger by the alliance your union with Andrey has brought…” He trails off, leaving me to add up what that means as if it’s going to sweeten the pot for me about living in the dark underworld.
“My kids’ lives are screwed because, like me, they won’t be given a choice to become what they want to become,” I point out bitterly. “Because even before they were conceived, their entire lives have been mapped out for them.”
Lucien’s eyes harden and become colder. “Isabella, have you actually taken a good look at the world today?”
My eyes narrow. “What does that mean? I know what the world looks like. It’s a mess. But that doesn’t mean my kids have to be part of this… this chaos I’ve been dragged into.”
Lucian lets out a sigh, leaning back slightly, though his gaze never leaves mine. “You think the world you grew up in is normal, don’t you? That it’s better than this one? But the truth is, the world you know is just as twisted, if not more, than the one you’ve been so desperate to escape. “
I scoff, shaking my head. “Are you seriously trying to justify the Bratva to me? To paint this life of crime as somehow better?”
He leans in closer, his voice lowering. “I’m not justifying anything. I’m telling you that the world you think is normal is anything but. It’s full of lies and corruption—just like the underworld. The difference is, in our world, at least we know who the enemy is. There are rules and codes we follow. There is order in the chaos. “
