Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 120165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 601(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 601(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
I turned on the spot, taking it all in. I felt like I was on the set of a movie, or in a show home but this is my home now. I glanced at Radimir. And he’s going to be my husband.
I stumbled over to the wall of glass and pressed my forehead against it. The rain was coming down so heavily it looked like we were underwater, and I was looking down on a blurry, undersea city. My head went light and my stomach flipped, but it wasn’t vertigo. This was the first time since he’d proposed that I’d had a chance to just stop and process things.
I was going to be a mafia wife, like Liliya. Maybe Radimir would treat me a little better than Spartak treated her, but he was still a criminal. People were terrified of him. He killed people. It didn’t matter how much I was attracted to him, I couldn’t love him.
I heard him walk over and caught his reflection in the glass. He stopped behind me, watching me. “You must have questions. Ask them.” His voice was tight, like he was bracing himself. “They won’t be able to make you testify, once we’re married.”
I didn’t turn around. I wasn’t sure I could ask this stuff if I looked into his eyes. “How many people have you killed?”
“More than twenty, over the years. I didn’t always do it myself, but I gave the order.”
“They were all bad people, though, right?”
“They were all part of my world, yes. We don’t kill civilians.”
Civilians. There was a shock as I realized that’s what I was. And then a second shock when I realized that I wasn’t, anymore. I didn’t have that protection now. If someone murdered me, it would be Bronwyn Hanford, a known associate of the Aristov mafia family.
“What do you…do? I mean, drugs, or prostitution or…?”
“Mainly what you’d call...white collar crime. Bribes and sometimes blackmail so I know which pieces of land will become valuable. Backroom deals so my property company gets the contract. We run a lot of gambling in the city, move stolen goods, sell guns. We take a piece of other people’s activities and we run protection for a lot of neighborhoods and businesses...but no, we aren’t involved with prostitution, or trafficking. And we don’t sell drugs.”
“The man I saw you kill, Borislav. He was...bad?”
“He was a rapist piece of shit,” said Radimir coldly. He told me about all the women Borislav had attacked, and I felt a tiny bit of the tension in my chest unwind.
“And that’s why you killed him?” I asked hopefully.
“No,” said Radimir bitterly. He explained about The Eight and their order to kill Borislav, even though he was Spartak’s brother, and the two families had a truce. My head started to spin again. How can he just kill someone, on an order? I didn’t understand his world and I wondered if I ever would. “And if the guy at the funeral…” I asked nervously. “Spartak...if he finds out you killed his brother…”
“He’ll come for me,” said Radimir. “And everyone close to me.” He looked at me and I saw a flicker of fear in his eyes.
My stomach lurched and I must have gone pale because Radimir marched over to me and put his hands on my shoulders protectively. “That’ll never happen. He’ll never find out.”
I nodded weakly but the fear barely receded. How do they do this? How do they live their lives knowing there are people who want to kill them? I had to focus on something concrete or I was going to lose it. I pushed off from the window and looked around the rest of the apartment. There was a wet room with a rainfall shower, another bathroom with a beautiful copper, freestanding tub, a gym with a weights bench, floor mats and a punch bag and an office. That only left…
I pushed open the final door and found a bedroom with a king-size bed. I stood there staring at the plump white pillows and crisp sheets as Radimir walked in behind me.
“There’s only one bedroom,” I said, my voice slow with shock. I whirled to face him. “How is there only one bedroom, it’s a freakin’ billionaire penthouse!”
“There were three bedrooms,” said Radimir, tugging his waistcoat straight. “But I had one converted into a gym, and one into an office. Why would I need more than one bedroom?”
“But there’s only one...bed.”
We stared at each other. I saw the heat rise and flare in his eyes and felt the traitorous depth-charge of heat bloom in my groin. I quickly looked away and started pacing, running my fingers through my hair. I’d had this thought as soon as he proposed but I’d been pushing it out of my mind. I couldn’t put it off any longer. “We need to talk about how this is going to work.”