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Cora removes her foot. “Stand up.”
Francia rises, unsteady and afraid. Still, it isn’t enough. She deserves more than embarrassment. She deserves pain. Lots of it. What I wouldn’t give to let loose on her and—
Suddenly, Cora jerks out of my grip and lands a punch directly in the center of Francia’s face. There’s a nasty cracking sound and blood spurts down her lip.
Francia screams and recoils back, both hands clamped over her nose. More blood wells between her knuckles.
“Now,” Cora says, shaking out her fist, “get out of my fucking house, you psychotic bitch!”
Even after the blow, Francia doesn’t hesitate. She leaves a trail of spattered blood droplets as she runs around us and disappears through the front door.
I turn and look at my woman. “Cora…”
“Sorry about the power trip.” Her cheeks are pink and she chews nervously on her lower lip. “I should have let you handle that, but I just… I got so mad when I saw her. I wanted to make her pay.”
I grab Cora’s shoulders and look her in her eyes. “Cora, that was the sexiest fucking thing I have ever seen.” I grab her hand and place it over the bulge in my pants. “I have never been more turned-on in my life.”
Her mouth tips into a shy smile as her hand strokes up and down the length of my zipper. “Now what?” she asks.
I smirk. “I have an idea.”
42
FRANCIA
She thinks she is better than me.
That worthless bitch thinks she deserves that life more than I do? Just because Ivan is willing to show up and save her again and a-fucking-gain?
She’d be nothing without him.Theywould be nothing without me. I’m the reason they met. I’m the reason they’re together.
And I am going to be the reason they lose it all.
There is no car waiting for me outside, so I walk through the front gates and down the road for a few minutes before I pull out my phone.
Then I call the only person left to call.
It rings and rings and rings before Mikhail finally answers. “What?”
“Funny. You’re questioning me, but I’m the one who didn’t get a warning about what was going on.I could have died.”
“So could I,” he hisses back. “We bumped up the wedding onyouradvice, Francia.Youtold us we needed to hurry and that you would keep an eye on Ivan.”
“I had it on good authority that he was planning an attack.” It’s not entirely true, but the fact he refused to touch me was evidence enough that something was up. His loyalty to Cora would be sweet if it wasn’t so pathetic.
“Next time, details would be nice! Like, ‘Hey, Mikhail, Ivan is going to send a crew of motorcycle-riding pyromaniacs to try and kill you all. Just thought you should know.’I almost lost my eyebrows.”
“Yeah, well, I just got surprised by Cora and Ivan coming home together. I would have loved to miss that reunion. The only reason I made it out is because I—”I begged on my knees in front of them both. The memory is too horrible to repeat. I shake my head and bury it. “A warning would have been nice next time.”
“There won’t be a next time. This plan went off the rails as it is, Francia. You don’t have anything left to offer and we’re done with—”
“I have plenty more to offer.”
“You should offer your life,” Mikhail snaps. “That’s all you have left to give me. Men are dead because of your incompetence. Why should you get to live?”
“Even more will die without me. Maybe even you, Mikhail.”
There’s a long pause. He could be taking a long time to think it over, but I doubt it. Alexander is probably there, too, listening in. I’m sure they’re looking at each other, silently going back and forth on what to do with me. God forbid Mikhail make a single fucking decision on his own.
