Cruel Paradise - A Mafia Romance Chapter 156

Vadim stiffens, his skin going blotchy with unease. “He threatened Emma?”

“He made a point of commenting on her pregnancy.”

Vadim’s eyes bulge. “But… how? We were the only ones you told. And none of us would betray you.”

“Can we be sure of that?” Fyodor asks quietly.

For the first time, I notice the thin sheen of sweat on my uncle’s brow. He runs a hand over his head. “I know Arkady, Nikolai, and Mikael. All three of those men would rather slit their own throats than go against the Bratva.” His attention veers to Fyodor. “Do you agree, brother?”

Fyodor hesitates for only a second. “Yes, I agree. I’ve known those men for decades. I branded them with their marks myself. Those men are loyal.”

Kirill purses his lips. “Well, someone talked.”

Vadim raises an eyebrow. “Unless… unless Adrik has eyes on you, nephew. A spy. Someone you would never suspect. Someone who could get close enough to watch without being noticed themselves.”

I shake my head. “All my staff have been properly vetted.”

“Are you sure?”

His tone rubs me the wrong way. Mostly because that nasally pitch is making me doubt my vetting process, as well as every member of staff I’ve employed that has any kind of exposure to Emma and the children.

Which, in this case, is all of them.

Fuck.

“This was not an easy decision to come to,” I say through gritted teeth. “But, somehow, Adrik has shifted from thorn in my side to full-blown menace. And he needs to be dealt with.”

I glance around the room. Kirill’s expression is the easiest to read. He nods at me with resignation. Fyodor looks back towards the garden, uncaring. And Vadim… Vadim is looking back at me with grim submissiveness.

“You are the pahkan,” he concludes. “Your will, our hands.”

Emma’s fingers glide over the skin on either side of my forehead. She caresses gently before adding pressure. “Blyat’,” I growl. “That feels amazing.”

Her breath flutters against my ear. “Breathe. Relax. I’m here.”

And amazingly enough, I do relax.

How? I have no idea. I’m in the middle of a war and yet here I am, letting my eyes drift closed as my woman massages my scalp.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, we don’t have to,” she adds.

It’s generous, especially since I know she desperately wants to know how it went. I’m still processing it myself. But, quite apart from my promise to be honest and transparent, I find that I actually want to share with her.

“I made the decision to take Adrik out today.”

I’m expecting some kind of feedback. A hissed inhale, a flutter in her touch. But all I’m met with is silence. I open an eye and glance at her.

Emma is still stroking my forehead, her lips pursed up thoughtfully. “And you feel… sad about that?” she ventures.

“I’m not sad about anything.”

“Can we remove the macho male ego from this conversation, please? It might actually be a lot more effective that way.”

“Ouch.”

She giggles and that sound goes a long way in relaxing me, too. “Come on,” she whispers. “Tell me what you’re really feeling.”

The suggestion makes me shudder. Have I ever just sat with my thoughts and let myself feel? If I’d done that when we lost Mother and Leonid, I’d have imploded. Maybe that’s why I decided a long time ago to keep an arm’s distance between me and my feelings.

“I’ve known Adrik since I was a kid,” I murmur. “We used to play together as little boys.”

Emma’s fingers stop moving abruptly. Just long enough to meet my eyes. I can see all that empathy swimming inside her, ready to forgive a man that she hates simply because she’s able to picture who he was before he was a monster.

“Is this story gonna make me feel sorry for Adrik?”

I laugh brusquely. “I don’t know.”

She sighs. “Go on.”

“We’ve always had this competitive thing going between us. In the early days, it was more like sibling rivalry than open hostility.”

“When did it change?”

Good fucking question. “Adrik was always a thorn in my side. Constantly trying to outdo me, undercut me, sabotage me… but it never got to the point that I considered him a legitimate threat. At least, not until the Venera launch.”

“And now, you’ve decided to…” She pauses like the thought of ordering an execution is still too much to even think, let alone say out loud. “To do this thing. And you’re feeling… bad about this decision?”

“It is the right choice. There was a time when the competitiveness between us was a good thing. He pushed me to be better. A more accomplished fighter, a faster runner, a better shot. It was something of a game.”

“Until it wasn’t?”

“Until I became pahkan and everything stopped being a game to me.”

“Maybe he was jealous of what you became.”

I grind my teeth. “I lost my mother and my only brother to get it.”

“Sometimes, people don’t appreciate the cost of certain things because they never have to pay that price themselves.” Sighing, my gaze finds hers. She stops massaging my forehead and cups the side of my face. “Maybe it doesn’t have to end this way.”

I smile painfully. “It’s kind that you’re trying to save him.”

“Him?” she balks. “Fuck him. I’m trying to find a way for you to avoid the guilt you’re already feeling for so much as considering taking him out.”

This woman. My God. She is a fucking marvel.

I shrug up to an elbow and pull her a little closer to me. “I’ve never done this before,” I whisper as my finger starts stroking the soft skin behind her knee.

“Gotten a scalp massage?”

I roll my eyes. “No. Discussed strategy with a partner. Discussed anything with a partner, really. I’ve never even wanted to before now.”

“And you… don’t hate it?” she asks hopefully.

I kiss her lips softly. “It could be worse.”

She sighs with obvious relief. “Good. Because I really, really enjoy this.” Her expression shifts. “Uh—I mean, not the topic exactly. Just the feeling of—”

“I know, kiska. I get it.”

She smiles self-consciously and places a hand on my chest, just over my heart. “I want to be able to help you carry all this weight you’re toting around. You don’t have to do anything on your own anymore. We’re a team, Ruslan. We’re in this together. I want you to know that I’ve always got your back.”

I used to think that this kind of dynamic would be claustrophobic. But as it turns out, it’s invigorating.

In the end, it also helps put things into perspective. Because the truth is, I will do whatever it takes to keep this woman in my arms safe. To keep her happy. To keep her beside me.

Including destroying someone I’ve known my entire life.

“I have something for you,” I tell her suddenly. I reach over to the bedside table and withdraw a sheaf of papers from the drawer. I hand it to her and lean back to watch her reaction.