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The look on my face is answer enough. She catapults off my lap before I can hold onto her.
“Is he really that selfish? If he can’t have it, no one can? That fucking—that piece of—that absolute…” Her rage dims, and she whirls back around to face me. “How am I gonna tell Mom about this? This will destroy her.”
“You don’t tell her,” I say simply. “There’s no reason for her to know, and she doesn’t need the stress. I’ll deal with it. It’s my fault, anyway.”
“How is this your fault?”
“I should have killed him when I had the chance.”
I thought scaring that fuckingmudakwould do the trick, but he’s made it clear now that he’s never going to stop. I should’ve seen that. Should’ve dealt with it permanently.
Laila goes deathly still. The silence stretches. Her eyes are pooled in shadow, so I can’t quite tell what’s going through her mind.
“He’s not going to leave you alone, Laila.” I walk over to her, my footsteps echoing in the silence. “And I’ll be damned if I’m going to let him touch my family.”
Tears fill her eyes, and then she falls into my arms, sobbing.
“It’s gonna be okay,” I whisper. “I’ll take care of it.”
She cries for a long time. When her sobs finally die down, she pulls her head back. Tries to smile, but it’s thin. “Arsen, I appreciate everything you’re doing for me?—”
“It’s my job.”
“But can I ask you a question?”
I pause. Fuck only knows where this conversation is going. But wherever it leads, I’ll give her the truth. She’s strong enough for that. She’s earned it. She deserves all of me.
“Ask me anything,roza.”
“At dinner, when we ran into Alessandro, you made it sound like you were responsible for your grandfather’s death…”
Dammit.It’s not that I’m trying to hide things from Laila, but I would have preferred to keep the uglier aspects of my life away from her.
But she’s strong enough,I remind myself.She’s earned it. She deserves it.
“He was not a good man, Laila.”
“Like Charles.”
I nod as the parallels become too obvious to ignore. “He became paranoid as he got older. He groomed me to take over for him, but he was also threatened by me. It got to a point where it was either him or me.”
She plays with the collar of my shirt, pointedly avoiding my eyes. “It just seems so brutal. Was it hard for you?”
“Death is always brutal.” I trap her arm between my hand and my chest. “But my grandfather was never my family—not the way the Bratva and my men were. I had to take him out to protect myself and the people who relied on me.”
“You don’t have to explain it, Arsen,” she says softly. “I trust you.”
I draw her hand to my lips and kiss each finger. “Then trust that I will do what’s best for you. Always.”
She closes her eyes and sighs. “I do.”
“Arsen.” My shoulder shakes, and I blink through a sleepy stupor. “Brother, wake up!”
I peel heavy lids open to find Dominik looming over me.
Laila’s head is on my chest, her breathing deep and even. I meant to carry her to bed, but we fell asleep on the couch in my office.
“What the fuck is going on?” I whisper.
