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Of course, I want him to pay. But I don’t want to open Pandora’s box—not when everyone will know who did it.
Not like this.
My thumb strokes the back of Katarina’s hand, but it does little to quiet my rambling thoughts.
“Think of the baby,” she urges, moving my hand to her belly. “Think of your son.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “A son? It’s too early to tell, serdtse.”
Katarina gives me a small smile. “A mother knows these things. I have a feeling we’re going to have a boy.”
My eyes soften, and a smile tugs at the corners of my mouth. A newfound determination to keep my growing family safe washes over me. I look into Katarina’s eyes.
“I want you to know that I don’t care whether we have a son or a daughter,” I tell her. “As long as the baby and you are healthy.”
Katarina chuckles. “You always know just the right thing to say. And here I was figuring you’d prefer a male descendant to carry on your legacy.”
“Women can be just as badass as men.” I smirk. “Even more so at times. Just look at you.”
Katarina shakes her head and presses a kiss on my lips.
“What do you want me to do?” I ask her, ready to listen. For my child, I’ll burn the world if I have to. I’ll get rid of everyone and everything that could harm them.
“Give my father your men and your guns,” she tells me. “Send them to end this nightmare once and for all.”
I sigh loudly and glance at Dimitri, who’s been watching our conversation without a word.
“Yakov’s our only target,” I tell him. “Anastasiya’s already suffered enough. She’s not to be touched.”
Dimitri chuckles. “As you wish,” he says, bowing his head. “Yakov and Sergey.”
I shake my head. “Fine,” I agree. “If I hear that Ana got hurt, you’ll pay for it.”
“In that case, it’s a good thing you’ll be there to make sure she gets out of this unscathed,” Dimitri replies with a smirk.
“Nikolai’s not going,” Katarina says, before I can even open my mouth.
Dimitri turns to her, a ghost of a smile on his face. “We can’t expect our men to fight without us leading them. The Bratva way is one of power. With his attacks, Gargarin has challenged our strength. We need to have family members there to represent us. Igor will do that for us.”
“No,” Katarina breathes, shaking her head. “Nikolai’s not going.”
She doesn’t see what I see in Dimitri’s eyes. This isn’t a question. It’s a test. A way to show we’re in this together. If it goes well, it’ll strengthen our family’s ties and help us move forward toward rebuilding trust. But that’s only if it goes well.
If it doesn’t, we’re fucked, and I’m dead.
THIRTY-NINE
KATARINA
“Nik, wait!” I demand, but he doesn’t stop and continues walking down the stairs into the basement of his townhouse. When the lights flicker on, I see the large room with many shelves stocked with all kinds of weapons. He has enough guns here to wage a war, which I guess is what’s happening now. If it’s not obvious that he doesn’t allow anyone down here, then the ironclad door surely suggests as much.
“I have to do this, serdtse,” he tells me as he takes the bag and starts filling it with guns and ammo.
“You have nothing to prove, Nik,” I insist. “You don’t need to get yourself killed over something my brother did.”
Nikolai sets the bag down with a loud thump and turns to me. His gray eyes are soft when they lock on mine. His hands are gentle as he touches me.
“It’s about honor,” he tells me softly. “The Sokolov name is now intertwined with Volkov. If your family is disrespected, I am as well, and I don’t tolerate that. We live in a world of sharks. They’ll come rushing in if they smell even a hint of weakness. Do you understand? I have no choice.”
