Page 29 of Savage Little Secret

“Yeah, yeah, fine. I did that shit,” he replies. “Fifteen grand. What does a dead woman need cash for?”

He really thinks I’ve already killed her.

“Did she tell you exactly how she earned the money?” I press him.

Brendan shrugs. “She said you paid her under the table, that it was like a week or two’s pay working as your assistant.”

“Right.”

I run my hand over my face as I turn away from him, my mind racing.

He didn’t smirk about her earning it on her knees. And Sean was furious when he found out we slept together.

That wasn’t part of the plan.

She fought it. She fought me.

And when Cara said she was in love with me…I think she meant it.

11

Dmitri

Once the oxy starts to kick in, Brendan is useless.

He’s staring at the ceiling when I leave.

But I got what I came for. He confirmed some of Cara’s claims.

That answers a few questions. Not enough.

Everyone knows that she’s the spy, and the Irish and the Bratva are still at odds. The Council wants Cara dead, and, eventually, I’ll run out of time and excuses to keep her alive.

They’ll send someone else to do it if I can’t.

I know I won’t be able to.

Despite everything, she’s still under my skin.

We just can’t be together.

No one will accept that, and we’ll get each other killed trying to defy them.

Brendan was right about one thing. Cara doesn’t deserve to die.

I need to figure something else out and do it fucking fast.

I won’t let her die because of me.

I don’t sleep that night. I kept thinking about Cara in the guest bedroom.

I bring her food. Water. I give her bathroom breaks, but I don’t stay.

Every day feels heavier.

It doesn’t help that my phone is blowing up. My men. Members of the Council. Other Bratva families.

All of them giving me reports or trying to tell me what to do.