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He leaned over the table and peered into her eyes. “I don’t expect you to be a housewife. Do you have dreams or anything you’d like to invest your time in? I’ll give you all the support you need.”
She thought for a moment. Her dream had always been to survive—to be able to put food on her table and have a roof over her head. That wasn’t a problem anymore. She had all she could ever ask for and even more. But she’d never considered dreaming about more than being able to afford her basic needs.
Now, she had all the time in the world to do that. She was going to seize the moment and try everything she’d been holding herself back from doing. “I really hadn’t considered anything until now. But I’ll think of something, and I’ll let you know as soon as I do.”
He nodded. “Good. Whatever it is, I’ll provide you with whatever you’ll need.”
Zia looked across the table at Lev. There was a softness in his eyes, a vulnerability she rarely saw. Her throat tightened with emotion. Lev might not know it, but he’d changed her life in ways she couldn’t have imagined. He’d provided her with comfort and security, and that meant everything to her.
“Thank you, Lev,” she said, her voice sincere and cracking with gratitude. “Thank you for everything.”
He reached across the table, taking her hand in his. “I’ll do anything if it makes you happy, Zia. Anything at all. Just say the word and I’ll make sure you have it.”
She smiled because she believed him. He wasn’t bluffing. This man right here had gone against his brother and Pakhan just so he could marry her. This man had comforted her. He’d tortured a man for her. She knew he meant it when he said he would do anything for her. Maybe that she the reason her pulse raced as she looked into his dark eyes.
Her eyes caressed his handsome face, pausing on his lips briefly, and her heart throbbed. Her body ached for him; her soul longed for more of him. She wanted more than dates and sex; she wanted his heart.
Because in her heart, there was only him.
She’d tried to tell herself otherwise. She’d wanted to deny it until she believed it, but the truth was staring right back at her now, and she couldn’t turn away from it. She didn’t want to.
She was falling in love with Lev Nikolai.
Chapter 18 - Lev
“We meet again, Lev Nikolai,” Cillian said with a smug smile on his face. “It is a pleasure, I must say.”
Lev snorted, his lips quirking with a smirk. It was the day of the meeting with the other heads of the mafia families in Chicago.
He had just got out of his car when Cillian stepped in front of him, as if he’d been standing there all along, waiting for him to arrive. Lev wouldn’t be surprised if he did. Cillian was a dog, and being the leader of the Irish mafia didn’t change that about him. “I cannot say the same about you, Cillian Moore. If it weren’t for your oddly boring look, I would have assumed you were one of my bodyguards.”
Cillian’s smile dropped instantly, showing he’d taken offense to Lev’s insult, just like Lev wanted. “Too bad I’m not, because you would be dead otherwise.”
“Because you would stab me in the back?” Lev chuckled sardonically. “Of course, cowards like you can’t face your opponents. You’d rather run behind the scenes like a sewer rat.”
“Careful now, Nikolai. We don’t want a fight breaking between us before we even make it to the meeting?”
“A fight?” Lev shook his head. “You mean you don’t want your lifeless body to be the topic of the meeting? You’re no match for me, Cillian. You’re just a bitchy whining about the death of his master.”
Cillian opened his mouth to retort but Lev didn’t give him the chance to. He raised his hand, shutting him up before he could even utter the first word. “I would love to stay hereand exchange words with you, but I’ll find a blank wall more interesting than I find you.”
With that, Lev stepped to the side and started for the elevator, leaving Cillian seething in the parking lot. A smile played on his lips when he felt Cillian’s gaze burning a hole at the back of his head.
“He’s not going to let that go easily,” Konstantin said. “He’ll cook up something at the meeting.”
Ilya cleared his throat. “He’s not smart enough to come up with anything now, but I’m sure he has something planned for the meeting.”
“Whatever it is, stay on alert. Don’t let your guard down,” Lev ordered.
Cillian was a complete idiot, and that made him even more dangerous than a worthy opponent. He acted on impulse, not with calculated moves. But that also made him easy to take down, too.
The elevator whisked them up to the top floor. Men in suits lined the hallway. They were here to guard their own bosses.
The circle was created to prevent wars between the families, but that didn’t mean there couldn’t be betrayals and conflicts that could lead to deadly fights between the families. Only a fool would come here unprotected, and none of them were fools to that degree.
Konstantin, Ilya, and the three bodyguards behind them took position beside the other bodyguards while Lev went into the room alone. It was his first time attending a meeting with the other bosses. It was Mikhail who should’ve been here, but since Mikhail was not disposed, he had no other choice.
He hated the way the other men raised their heads to look at him. One of them was the head of the Camorra, Luca Angelo, who looked at him as if he didn’t belong there.
