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“Maybe, but you’re real” He runs a thu away his hand “Even now, hating me, you’re real You don’t pretend to be someone you’re not”

I want to say that I don’t hate him, but he swivels on his heels and walks out of the roo me with blood on my conscience and the sweetest declaration of obsession

11

Alex

A part of me hoped I’d never have to expose Katerina to every facet of ood and pretty portions I worked so hard at building She doesn’t deserve the ugliness, but it’s part and parcel of who I a her, which I aive her the truth Sheback her affection

She will give hts on a goal, I never fail to achieve it I’ve worked for everything I have My co was handed to me on a silver platter I broke my back to build an empire from scratch I earned every penny with my oo hands Yes, these hands are dirty, but that’s the price for livinga knee to either of the forces ruling overn than I have for Katerina I’ve pursued her with everything I’ve got I’ve gone after her with every resource atevery tactic in the book I’ll be damned if I lose her now

I roll ing into pajama bottoms, I walk barefoot into the bedrooer into the opening and lift the left one The bed is e so next to a murderer

I drop the curtain and leave the room I meant it when I said I understood that the situation is hard on her I said I’d give her space, and that’s what I’ll do, even though every cell in s she can’t possibly s I desperately need to hear

All in good time

At the study, I punch in a code on the electronic pad mounted on the wall to unlock the door Until I’m certain Katerina won’t run or call the police or the e my laptop and cell phone locked ahen I’m home

Making myself comfortable in the swivel chair behind my desk, I pour another shot of vodka from the bottle Lena left for me and wake up my laptop

A e from Adrian awaits me

That was quick

I upload it to the decryption app and read the text Adrian did sos as I requested There’s noout of the ordinary jumps out I check the list of Stefanov’s recentPavlov, a bratva boss who’s big in Moscow, in St Petersburg a month before the assassin took a shot at me and a day after the event On both occasions, they met at a club that Stefanov owns near Detskiy Severny Beach There’s no information about the business they discussed, but in between those dates, Stefanov also showed up at Oleg’s house in Moscow I look more closely at that date It was a couple of days after Katerina was attacked near Romanoff’s

Dread slithers down my spine at the ht… If I hadn’t been there, having dinner with Mikhail… I can’t even think it I can’t put into thoughts what could’ve happened, never mind into words

Leaning back inof the vodka as I consider the information

Vladi Pavlov

The nah I’ve never had the unpleasant experience of crossing either’s path Like every businessman with a certain net worth in Russia, I knoho they are That’s not the fa else, a faintawareness, like a word you can’t reue

And then it comes to me

My mind flashes back to the apartrew up I re a coled into the house My father didn’t want me to read those books He’d said the pictures would make me too lazy to read