Page 81 of Lord of Passion

We sit, cross-legged on the floor in front of the two-story high windows, basking like cats in the sun and eating our way through approximately six thousand calories of dessert.

"You went there because of me, didn't you?" Liria asks, brushing crumbs off her lap.

I froze, half-eaten cookie in hand. "Why would you…" My throat tightens and it takes a minute to swallow that bite of chocolate chip goodness.

She watches me, her silvery gray eyes steady. "That's why you came to the house and cuddled the twins. You kept touching me. Then, that high-stress call? I could almostsmellyour anxiety. Johann, he's Dritan's little special fella, isn't he?"

I burst into laughter, trying to smother it when the guards look at me disapprovingly. I tell her about his bizarre proposal in Boston. How he broke into my office at the Lyric. The phone call where he told me he'd pin that mass grave on the Krasniqis.

"It would be just like before," I say sadly. "You being the target of everyone's rage and your fucking father continuing to whither, perfectly safe, the son of a bitch."

She's pale, but she grabs my hand. "I love you so much, fam. But you are a fucking moron. There's no negotiating with crazy people. I remembered Dritan bringing young guys to the estate and training them. Other crime families would send these poor teenagers to him."

"Johann was one of them. He threatened to pin it on you immediately if I didn't come to meet him in Boston. I insisted on a public place, but… yeah," I sigh. "That didn't help."

"Why didn't you go to Nikandr? Or Alexsey?" she frowns, still clutching her half-eaten brownie.

I rub my eyes, suddenly exhausted. "Everything's been so bad, the break ins and theft. The Morozov soldiers getting killed. I know they've all been buried under each new disaster. Nikandr had to fly to Moscow and save those contracts. It's stupid, I know. I thought I could handle it, I wasn't going to let that rat bastard put you in danger again."

Tears escape her eyes, dripping down her cheeks. "Did you really kill Dritan?"

Smiling, I feel that unhinged satisfaction again. "I stumbled onto his room while I was trying to find a way out. Why should he still be alive after everything he's done to you? I saw him there in his bed, lounging like a snake."

"How did you do it?" she whispers.

I lean forward, taking her hand. "I folded his oxygen tube in half. It cut off his oxygen while I reminded him what he'd done to you. But that you were happy now, and no one would remember him." Her eyes are enormous. "Then, I tucked the folded tube under his pillow and told him thathewas killing himself. I watched him die. I've never seen that before."

"Thank you." She leaps at me, knocking me backward, brownies flying. "Thank you so much." I burst into tears, too.

"He's never going to hurt you again," I sob. "Dritan is the corpse he should have been years ago." Over her shoulder, I see Roan looking at us, looking terribly sad.

"I'm glad you saved Miss Liria," he says. "I am deeply aggrieved that I couldn't kill Krasniqi. I am in your debt."

"No," I shake my head. "I was in Liria's debt after my idiot brothers betrayed her."

"Stop!" Her voice is sharp. "We're not talking about that. You are not Bobby and Mikal and you have nothing to make amends for.”

I'm pretty sure that it's all the Morozov men are talking about. The odds of me being alive by this time next week are slim.

"Miss Liria," Roan crouches gracefully next to us. "I've been instructed to bring you home."

We hug each other fiercely. "I'm sorry," she whispers, "I nagged Alexsey for hours before he'd agree to let me come."

"It's okay," I murmur back. "I'm so grateful I got to see you."

Especially if it's the last time.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

In which Nikandr finally pulls his head out of his ass.

Nikandr…

Underneath the Morozov Global office building, we have a warren of holding cells with one-way mirrors so we can watch our captives being questioned, fall apart, and start begging for their lives.

Two guards have brought Caroline into this cell, handcuffing her to the table. They're not rough. They're careful, because I told them I would put a bullet between their eyes if they roughed up my wife. Alexsey, Dmitri and Roman are standing next to me on this side of the mirror. Andrey is handling the questioning, because no matter how intimidating any of us can look, Andrey is downright spooky.

"You don't have to see this if you don't want to," Dmitri says, sending a concerned glance in my direction. I keep my eyes on Caroline. She looks frightened, but there's a tight set to her mouth that tells me she's also angry.