Page 30 of Savage Little Secret

The noise is overwhelming, and things only get worse when I get a text message from Artur telling me to meet him at a nearby brunch location. He wants to talk. I want to put a bullet in his head for the attack on my shipment, for destroying Luca’s truck. At least nobody was killed on Artur’s orders, unlike the Irish. Several of my men were hurt, though.

Without a word to Cara, because I still don’t know what to say just yet, I leave my penthouse and go to the place Artur picked out. I quickly spot him seated outside at a small table with a cup of coffee in front of him.

“Bold of you to invite me,” I say when I walk up to him. “After spilling my men’s blood.”

“A little blood from your men is the least you owed me. I didn’t want to ever see your face again except in an obituary, but the Council reached out to me. They told me to give you one final chance before things…escalate further,” Artur says as he peers up at me through his sunglasses. He’s still vying for a vor position, which means making amends, and ensuring that all the members are happy with him.

I take a seat, only ordering a cup of coffee for myself when the waitress zips by. “I’m not surprised that they contacted you.”

“You were taking too long to contact me yourself,” Artur replies as he leans back in his seat, crossing his arms over his wide chest.

Because I’m already over an alliance with the Suyunovs. I know what that means for me.

“I have a lot on my plate right now,” I tell him, falling silent for a moment while the waitress drops off my coffee. “You’ll have to give me more time.”

Artur scoffs at me. “More time? You don’t get to have more time. You’ve embarrassed me, Dmitri. Correct your mistake and let’s build the alliance that we originally planned.”

This is exactly what everyone wants me to do. They want me to suck it up, shake Artur’s hand, and marry his daughter. It’s so easy for them to pressure me to do it when it’s not their lives that are going to be impacted.

“I’m still not a hundred percent happy with the terms,” I reply before taking a sip of my coffee.

Artur places his fist on the table, anger etching across his face. “You mean the part where you marry my daughter? Why is that?”

“It’s a bad match,” I state in a flat voice.

“Annika’s humiliated,” Artur snaps. “You made her a joke.”

“She’ll recover,” I tell him. “We can renegotiate terms.”

Artur shakes his head. “My daughter is more important than the money. She deserves a man who can provide for her and make her happy.”

He’d burn the city for his daughter. But he’s a better father than Sean, I’ll give him that.

“She deserves better. It won’t be me.”

Artur scoffs. “What, are you trying to marry for love? You are a fool.”

No wonder he’s single and spending a shitload of his money on the dancers at his clubs.

“I can’t accept your offer if you don’t drop the marriage clause,” I tell him firmly, refusing to budge on that. I don’t care who it pisses off.

Artur grits his teeth. “I’m not dropping the marriage clause! Don’t be an idiot, Dmitri. Accept it and be done with this foolishness.”

I frown as I stare at him, not seeing anything but pain and frustration if I take his offer. Sure, the access to his businesses and the money will be great, but money isn’t everything.

“No. I’m sorry,” I reply as I stand from my seat and drop a few bills on the table to cover my coffee.

Artur slams his fist down on the table, rattling it. He’s incapable of internalizing his emotions. “You’ve just started a war you can’t win!”

His words make me uneasy, but I walk away from the restaurant, my heart pounding. What I just did will have even worse consequences than when I turned him down the first time. The Council gave me a chance to correct my mistake, and I made the same decision.

I don’t look back.

I keep walking around the city, not even knowing how much time has passed. I want to see Cara, but I still need to be smart in my interactions with her. I need to think about the big picture.

Things don’t look good for either of us right now.

It doesn’t take long for my phone to start blowing up once again, but the messages are worse than before.