Page 65 of Savage Bratva King

“Maybe the printzessa will recognize it.” Without warning, Ivana removes the object from the box and turns around to show me.

My stomach churns, and I have to cover my mouth with both hands to stop myself from being sick when I see what she’s holding. It’s a hand. It only takes me a beat to understand that this isn’t some Halloween prop for a costume party, and that the blood and flesh clinging to the wrist is real.

Did Xander send this to Leonid? What kind of grisly warning is this supposed to be? Why didn’t he just track me down and set me free? Why did he have to kill someone and deliver their hand to his enemy in a box?

What kind of man did my sister marry?

* * *

It’s late when I sit up in Leo’s king-sized bed and switch on the lamp on the nightstand. My sleep has been fitful; it feels like it should be almost dawn but it’s only a little past midnight. Still, Leo’s side of the bed is untouched.

I lean across and breathe in the smell of his pillow. It’s cold to touch even though I catch the lingering scent of musky cologne that sends a shiver traveling through my body.

He didn’t come home after the macabre delivery earlier today. He didn’t get a message to me, and no one would tell me where he was or what he was doing; I guess it’s on a need-to-know basis, and I don’t fall into the right category.

But I can’t stay here knowing that he might be in danger.

I get up, pull a bathrobe on and fasten it around my waist before heading to the door. As expected, the guard is instantly alert.

“Where is Leonid?” I don’t give him the option to tell me that he can’t answer the question, but he remains silent. “Is he in the house?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Take me to him.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I?—”

“Take me to him or I’ll tell him that you entered his room unannounced while I was sleeping in his bed.” His expression tells me all I need to know—Leonid would kill anyone who dared to approach me without his knowledge.

He inclines his head and walks off, and I follow him along the softly lit corridors and downstairs to a room that I haven’t yet been inside.

“Thank you.” I offer him a smile that goes unacknowledged. Perhaps he will be in trouble for bringing me here, but I’ll fight his corner if I must and tell Leo that I insisted.

I knock softly and enter the room.

This must be Leo’s study. Lamps are lit on a bureau behind the wide mahogany desk, casting a golden glow across the room that doesn’t quite reach the corners. Leo is sitting in a high-backed leather seat behind the desk, a bottle of vodka and a shot glass in front of him. His suit jacket is hanging from a coat stand. He has removed his tie and opened the top couple of buttons of his shirt, but it is the weariness in his eyes that makes me gasp.

“Leo?”

He rises, swaying unsteadily on his feet. “Gianna? What are you doing here?” His eyes instinctively drift towards the closed door.

“I made him bring me to you. I was worried about you.”

He shakes his head, a small smile appearing and vanishing in a fraction of a moment. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Here as in your study or do you mean here in your house?”

“I shouldn’t have dragged you into this, Gianna.” He sits back down heavily in his seat, refills his glass with vodka and knocks it back in one.

I walk around the desk, his eyes following my every move, and kneel in front of him, spreading his legs wide so that I can shuffle in between them. “I’m here now. Will you tell me what’s going on?”

“I’m sorry you had to see that.” He makes no move to touch me. When he speaks, his voice is slurred. “I wanted to keep you out of it. I wanted to protect you from it, from seeing the kind of man I am.”

“You didn’t deliver someone’s hand in a box.” His eyes linger on mine and something melts inside me. “You can’t protect me from reality, Leo. I’m a Sedric, remember?”

“You don’t understand…” His hand drifts towards my face and I grab hold of it, pressing his knuckles to my lips.

“I understand more than you give me credit for.” I push him back in his seat and unfasten his pants. “I understand that you want me as much as I want you.”

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