Page 138 of Fierce Pursuit

Nothing could be further from reality.

"Yeah, the Ivanovs in Moscow are just like our men,"Samara laughed, shaking her head at an inside joke I was supposed to understand.

Nadia smirked and handed me another glass. "That might be one reason," she said. "But do you know the others?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out.

Because I didn’t know.

I had assumed Kostya’s obsession with marrying me was about power. Control. His possessiveness. But as much as he enjoyed making me submit to him, there was something deeper at play, something I hadn’t quite put together.

Samara filled the silence. "It’s because you’re in danger."

My stomach clenched.

"We don’t know all the specifics," she continued, her voice more serious now. "The men try to keep us out of the loop when it comes to business, but…"

"We hear things," Yelena finished for her, tilting her glass slightly, the champagne swirling inside like shimmering gold. "Solovyov sent a hitman after someone, not sure who, but that was who kidnapped you. It was about the money, or more specifically, the hits that were written on the money."

A chill slithered down my spine.

The money.

The bloodstained bills that had led Kostya straight to me. The reason I had been taken in the first place.

“Oleg,” I said, my throat suddenly dry. "The hitman was Oleg."

I turned back to the mirrors, my fingers tracing lightly over the beading on the bodice, the delicate crystals that shimmered under the soft boutique lighting. The dress was a masterpiece, something from a dream.

And yet I was living a nightmare.

"Wow," Samara exhaled. "I didn’t know it was Oleg. Gregor has mentioned him before. He is one scary man."

"Was," I corrected flatly. "Kostya put a bullet between his eyes."

Silence.

For the first time since I stepped into this boutique, the laughter stopped.

Nadia set down her glass and rested a hand on my shoulder, her touch warm but heavy.

"Solovyov will want to tie up loose ends," she said. "That includes you. Right now, you’re fair game. Kostya can’t keep you safe without locking you away somewhere. But if you’re his wife…"

She let the implication settle between us.

I swallowed hard. "Then I’m untouchable."

"Exactly."

I scoffed. The sound came out harsh, almost bitter.

"Am I?" I turned, meeting Nadia’s gaze head-on. "My sister wasn’t."

The words hung in the air, cold and sharp as a blade.

For a moment, none of them spoke.

I turned back to the mirror, my reflection staring back at me, a stranger in a wedding gown.

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