Page 124 of Married to My Sis’s Bratva Fiancé

Matteo stepped out of the shadows. One eye fixed on me, the other side of his face ruined by an old blade scar that had carved up the socket. He looked thinner than in the photos, but nothing about him was loose or soft.

I saw six gunmen in the open. The rest hid on the second level and behind steel pillars.

I counted positions. I counted the distance between Elena and the nearest exit.

"Where are your people?" Matteo asked.

"They patted me down at the door."

"Pakhan Morozov came empty-handed?"

"You wanted me alone. I came."

Matteo's mouth twitched. "For a woman."

"To end this circus."

I didn't look at Elena.

She still shook her head, once more.

That movement hit my peripheral vision more clearly than a scream.

Isabella walked up to her, lifting the gun on purpose, pressing it near Elena's shoulder.

"See? She still thinks she matters."

My knuckles tightened.

"She does matter," Isabella answered herself. "If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be like this."

She grabbed Elena by the hair and wrenched her face toward me.

Elena winced, a muffled sound scraping out of her.

"Look close, Kiryan. She's been acting since she was a kid," Isabella said. "Playing pathetic. Playing innocent. Playing like everyone owed her protection. She ruined my baby, ruined my marriage to you, made you kick me out. She pays."

"Once she's dead, everything goes back where it belongs," Isabella said. "You marry me. The invitations are already ready. Guest list doesn't even change. Father will say yes. Everyone will."

She stepped toward me. Years of training still made her posture graceful, but her eyes were pure madness.

"It should have been me," she said, voice softening. "Elena was a mistake. We erase her, and we put everything back on track. You just have to say the word. Nothing has to change."

I finally looked at her.

"You were never my track."

The blood drained out of her face.

I turned to Matteo.

"Name your terms."

"Clean," Matteo said with a grin. "I like doing business with someone who gets it."

"Kidnapping a pregnant woman isn't business."

"A deal at gunpoint is still a deal."