Page 62 of Marked By the Devil

It had happened so swiftly.

One day, I was looking forward to moving. The next, I was kidnapped. And now, I was here, naked and flush against him, cozied in for a good sleep. I wished I could say I was without a care in the world, but that wasn’t true.

I was in too deep as it was.

“How are Carina and Isabel doing?” I asked, just to break the silence with how intense these feelings were that he stirred within me.

“Good. They’re both home and adjusting as well as they can,” he replied, stroking my cheek and watching me like I was the only masterpiece he wanted to admire in life. “Maksim will be fine too.”

I smiled. “He didn’t seem fazed about having a child.”

“He was. Is. But I know what you mean. He wasn’t the first one. He saw how Adrik and Elena adjusted with Luka and kind of knew a little more of what to expect.”

“They’re so close together in age.” I smiled slightly. “They’ll always have someone to grow up with now.”

“Sometimes, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” he muttered.

I laughed. “I can only imagine. All six of you in a close range.”

“My mother and aunt never lived to see it. But my grandmother…” He smirked. “She was a tough soul.”

“Did she pass away when you were older?”

When he frowned, I wondered if I was being too intrusive.

“Not that old.” He cleared his throat. “Gregori killed her and my grandfather together.”

I froze, stunned by this news. “Gregori as in…”

He nodded, scowling. “As in the Gregori who formed that network and is trying to destroy the Bratva.”

“No wonder you guys don’t like him.”

He sighed, hugging me closer. “That’s not even the half of it. You can see us all as a family, a business, a close-knit group.”

“You are,” I replied, resting against him and enjoying the familiar heat of his body against mine.

“We are, but Gregori has never been a true part of it. He was my uncle, my father’s younger brother. And it was due to his greed to have the throne that he tried to kill my father, my grandfather, and several other prominent bosses. He succeeded in killing most. My grandfather passed away trying to stem the bleeding from my grandmother’s wounds. My father was injured but survived. And Gregori was believed to have been dead, killed in the same explosion.”

“My God…” I frowned up at him. “I’m sorry. I… I can’t imagine.” I really couldn’t. I’d never had a big family to get used to. My grandparents were already gone and my mom had no siblings. My dad didn’t either. It was just me and my mom, and I missed her terribly. That was part of why I always hoped for a sense of family or comradery in the workplace. But to have more family members to lose? That was a lot of loss. A lot of heartbreak. A lot of anger, too.

“When Elena was given to Adrik, she began to point out the fraud and mismanagement of funds that led us to discover the network. We were shocked that Gregori was not only alive but also that he was in the position to challenge us at all.”

“I don’t blame you,” I said sincerely. “Because I can see how much you protect your own.”

“That extends to you, Wren.” He kissed me tenderly. “That’s why I’m not crazy about them wanting to use you as bait or anything else like that.”

I smiled slowly. “I can tell.” Damn, did these butterflies in my stomach excite me. This idea that Viktor saw me as his thrilled me. And it encouraged me to say what was on my mind. “However…”

“No. There is no room for negotiation when it comes to your safety.”

“However,” I said again. “I could try to be a double agent, after all. Not through anything directly linked with Smithson. Or anything near Rico Johnson.”

“Then how?”

“There’s one name that I haven’t seen at all in everything I’ve been hacking into and investigating. He’s too new, even newer than me, but he’s been close to Smithson. Brayden Hunton is his protégé, and if I reach out to meet with him, I bet I could get some kind of intel out of him.”

He watched me so seriously for several minutes that I began to lose hope of his agreeing. His expression was too cold, too somber, to suggest that he was going to be the least bit open-minded about my idea. While it was hot to know he cared this much about me, I sort of despised not being able to contribute more. The way Smithson and others had referred to me by calling me a traitor stung. If I could hit back at them, it would make me feel good too. Seeing them paying for their crimes of corruption would be justice in and of itself.