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“How romantic. No candles?” Jax asks with a teasing smile. “I’ll save that for my dinner with you,” I drawl. I push out of my seat and wave them off. “Now get out, the both of you.” “Off to the servants’ quarters we go,” Jax groans.
“You’re being ridiculous, Willow—” “Am I?” she asks, as her walls start to break down. “Because you took everything about me and destroyed it. Including my love for you.”
“What?” she asks, defensively. “You didn’t know that I loved you? Well, I did. At some point in this whole ridiculous fucking charade you’ve concocted, I fell in love with you. And I was stupid enough to believe that when you married me, you loved me, too. In your own way. I convinced myself that we could be happy, that we could build a life together.” She shakes her head. “And then I learned that it was never about love at all. You never wanted me. You wanted my name. You wanted power. You wanted a key.”
“I loved you, Leo. Wholly and completely,” she says. “But not anymore. You took that from me, too.”
Leo chuckles lightly beside me as I get into the bed. I grab a pillow immediately and smack him with it. That doesn’t exactly stop the chuckling, but it gives me some small amount of satisfaction.
“Okay,” I say softly. “I’ll admit it.” “Admit what?”
“I was jealous.”
“You don’t say,” I drawl sarcastically. “You? Jealous? I don’t believe it.” “Shut up,” she grumbles again. “This is… hard for me.”
“Pasha.” She says it so softly I almost don’t hear her. “Huh?” “His name. Our son’s name,” she offers awkwardly. “It’s Pasha.” I turn to her but don’t say anything. Pasha is a Russian derivative of Pavel. Which means… “I named him after your brother,” she confirms. “Pasha Leonardo Solovev.” “Leonardo?” I repeat. A faint blush creeps up her cheeks. “After you.”
“You’re his grandmother!” Willow continues. “I thought he’d be safe with you. I thought you were strong. But all you are is an old woman who’s out of her depth.” Well, fuck me. The girl’s got balls.
“But even if I have to choose between the two, know this: I would burn my Bratva to the ground before I let anyone hurt my family.”
“I have to say,” she remarks, “I can see why she made the mistake of falling in love.” “Indeed,” I murmur. But in my head, I’m thinking, She’s not the only one who fell.
“Well, now you do. And I want you to choose to take me with you.” “No.”
“Why not?!” “Because I can’t lose you both!”
“Are we fighting again?” he teases mildly. “Because I can always pin you to another wall.” “Just get out,” I snap, half serious and half joking.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” He grabs my arm and tries to pull me away from the men.
“Is this the meeting spot?” I ask. “Looks kind of bleak.” “Jesus.” He sighs and pulls me away from the men and into a private corner.
He smirks. “Bit by bit, you’re learning.” “Now, who’s smug?” I grumble. Leo ignores me. “Jax!” he barks. “Get her a vest and a weapon. She’s coming with us.” “Seriously?” Jax calls. I tilt my head to the side. “Questioning the don, are we, Jax?” He raises his eyebrows while Gaiman suppresses a laugh. A minute later, I’m being fitted with a bulletproof vest and a gun.
“Leo is right, you know. This situation is dangerous. You need to stay close to us. And if shit hits the fan, you need to be able to listen.” I frown. “I already got one lecture from Leo.” He almost smiles. “My observation has been that you don’t do well when you’re given an order.”
I’ve already thought about all of this. Every worst-case scenario has been floating around in my head for days. I don’t need Gaiman to remind me of them. “I guess we only have one option, then.” “And what’s that?” “Don’t lose.” He stares at me for a moment and then he smiles. “You’ll make a fine Bratva queen one day.”
“Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it,” I say. “One horrifying situation at a time, okay?” He chuckles and falls into line behind Leo.
“You’re my wife. Anya’s daughter. Of course he’ll be expecting it from you,” he snaps. “Think, Willow. You’re going to get yourself killed right along with Pasha. I can’t lose you both.”
“Leave me alone.” “So you can run off to Belov and get killed?” he asks. “Fat chance.” “Like you care?” I shoot back. “You’re just interested in keeping Pasha alive to preserve your legacy. You’re not impotent like Belov. If he and I die, you have plenty of women willing to make you more babies.”
“If that’s what you think of me,” he hisses, “then maybe you’re better off with Belov.”
When my hand slips down to the waistband of her sweats, she breaks away long enough to ask, “What are you doing?” “Stealing your wallet,” I mutter sarcastically, kissing a line down her jaw.
I’m on the edge of coming myself when I hear footsteps approaching. Willow hears the same thing, because she jerks up in alarm. “Oh, fuck, someone’s coming.” “Yeah—me,” I growl, thrusting into her harder now. Almost there… “Leo, stop! Someone is—fuck…!” Her words turn into moans as I drill into her.
“I’ll bet you did,” I say. “So at this strip club, what did Leo enjoy?” The smile drops off his face. “It was long before you.” “That’s not what I asked.” “You hear that? I think I hear Gaiman calling me.” I grab his arm. “Jax!” “Sorry, gotta go.” Laughing, he pushes himself off the rock and starts ambling off in the opposite direction. “Coward!” I yell. He just laughs as he disappears into the trees.
