Page 100 of Beautiful Sinner

“No,” I say in a clipped tone. “She’s not.”

“She’s with Matteo still? And you’re judging me?”

“I couldn’t shoot Matteo, not with her in front of him. She was making sure I couldn’t kill him. I asked her if Matteo had hurt her arm but she said no. That you were the one who shot her.”

“She’s lying. She never wanted to be with me anyway. She always wanted to be with the enemy. I know she’s your sister, Viktor, but I’m not sure you can trust her anymore.”

I grab Connor by the shirt and slam him against the wall. “Don’t talk about my sister. You don’t get the right. You shot her.”

“You believe her word over mine?”

“Yes.” Despite what Julia has done, I know she was telling the truth last night. I saw it in her eyes.

Connor huffs. “Come on, man. It was an accident. I was aiming for Matteo.”

“So you admit it? You shot my sister?”

“It was an accident!”

I shove him against the wall and back up. He ends up stumbling towards the ground before he rights himself. “I’m not sure we should work together anymore.”

He brushes his hands down his shirt and stares at me with shock. “What do you mean? We’ve done good work together. Dante and Erik are running scared because of us. We can attack another shipment of theirs. We can take them down.”

“I thought you were capable of killing Matteo but you’re not and my sister is still gone. And your face is all over the news. I don’t need to be associated with you. I think it’s better we part ways.”

“And then what? You have no more power than you did yesterday. You’re going to lose even more if you break ouralliance. I am telling you, Viktor. I did not mean to hurt Julia. It was an accident. I heard the stories of you and your wife. Didn’t she get hurt because of you?”

I flinch. When Inessa and I first got married, I learned that she had lied to me about who her father was. I broke things off with her but a woman named Natasha tried to kill Inessa because she wanted me for herself. I let that happen and I never fully forgave myself for putting Inessa in danger. It was my responsibility to save her. I managed to and in the end, we forgave each other. But I still hold onto that guilt to this day, a year later.

“Don’t talk about me and my wife,” I growl.

“I don’t mean to. I’m just pointing that out. I didn’t mean to hurt Julia. You have to believe that. Julia lied to you. She went behind your back and betrayed you. She was seduced by the enemy. She chose the enemy over you. How can you trust her anymore? I’ve been nothing but a good ally to you. I almost died in my quest to kill Matteo. Give me some credit.”

I hate to admit it but… Connor does have a point. Julia even admitted to my own face that she lied to me and gave information to Matteo that she shouldn’t have. I might have to come to terms with the fact that Julia is no longer on my side. If I manage to get her back from Matteo, will she even be happy to see me? Or will she just try to go back to Matteo the second she gets?

I still don’t know who to trust.

“I appreciate you trying to kill Matteo,” I say. “I still want him dead for taking my sister. But I think it’s best if you lay low for now. Just until people stop looking for you. I’ll handle this on my own.”

“No. Let me do this for you. Let me prove myself. And when I kill Matteo, I get to marry Julia. That’s the deal.”

I hesitate. If I get Julia back, can I really force her to marry a man she doesn’t want to be with? Was that the reason she fell into Matteo’s arms in the first place? Because of my actions?

“I can’t promise you that,” I say. Connor’s face falls. “But if you get another chance to kill Matteo, take it. Otherwise, lay low. I’ll try myself. And if Julia ends up hurt again with you around, then I will blame you for it. And then we will be done. Understood?”

There’s an anger in Connor’s eyes I don’t like. “Deal,” he finally says.

“Good. Now leave before anyone finds you at my house. I don’t need you to drag me down with you.”

Connor begrudgingly leaves and I finally get a chance to sit down from last night. I’ve been pacing the entire night in worry over Julia. What will happen to her being around Matteo. Worry over how she chose him over me.

And worry that my own sister lied to me.

I’ve done nothing to protect her and this is my thanks? I’m starting to wonder if I’m going to have to kill Julia to kill Matteo. That’s a thought that I immediately push from my mind.

But I hate to admit it, the thought lingers.

Inessa

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