Page 69 of Savage Bratva King

“And then what?”

I know Victoria needs to see the finish line before she can start the race, but I haven’t thought beyond seeing Gianna’s face light up when I tell her what I’ve planned.

“I want her to run it.”

“Okay.” She stares at the window without seeing what’s on the other side. “You know that her family will never agree to this.”

“Gianna isn’t her family.”

Victoria shakes her head like this is going to be more painful for her than it is for me. “I can see that you want to believe this, Leo, but you know that isn’t how it works. She’ll do whatever her family orders her to do.” Pause. “What do you think would’ve happened if I’d refused to marry Aleksei? You think our father would’ve helped me set up my own law practice and given me his best wishes?”

“Gianna is different. She wants to make a difference.She cares, Victoria.”

“I care. You care. We all care, Leo. We just care about different things.”

“She hasn’t been involved in the Sedric family business. She’ll stand up to her father for this opportunity.”

“Like she stood up to him when he arranged her marriage to Seamus Mulligan?”

This stabs me straight through the chest, but I’m not giving up that easily. “She didn’t have me to fight in her corner then.”

Victoria closes her eyes briefly while she chooses her next words carefully. “You can’t fight in her corner from where you’re sitting. Do you think she’ll forgive you for your part in this war against Xander Amory?”

“She knows what I am, same as she knows what kind of man her sister married.”

She smiles, and when she speaks, her voice is gentle. “What’s this really about, Leo?”

“I need to end this war. I can’t keep doing this forever.”

“And what about Gianna?”

“What about her?” I’m stalling. I know what she wants me to say, but I haven’t figured out what it is about Gianna Sedric that has me wanting to do everything in my power to make her happy.

“Where does she figure in ‘I can’t do this forever’?”

“Honest answer: I don’t know.” I wouldn’t even reveal this much if Andrej was still in the room, but Victoria has always been able to see right through me.

“Okay, here’s what I think. You have feelings for Gianna Sedric.” I go to protest, and she raises a finger to stop me. “Hear me out. I know you better than you know yourself, Leo, and since you met her, you’ve softened. Why do you think Andrej is so angry? It suits him being the youngest sibling. You shoulder all the responsibility while he spends his time messing around and reaping the financial rewards of being an Ivanov. The last thing he wants is for you to step down.”

I know she’s right but admitting that I have feelings for Gianna is like cutting open my own chest and inviting my enemies to come and take a piece of me.

“It was going to happen one day. You’re only human.”

I can’t help smiling. “I always believed I was part monster and part automaton.”

Her expression crumples. “It’s what this life does to us, Leo. Look, I think the refuge idea will work. I’ll speak to Mom when I leave here.”

“But…?”

“What makes you so sure that Gianna will want to get involved?”

“I’m offering her a lifeline. A way out of her arranged marriage, and an opportunity to be happy.”

“Are you happy?”

The question catches me by surprise. “I will be.”

She casts her eyes to the ceiling and mutters, “Thank you, Lord. You’ll be happy when she’s happy, right?”

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