Page 75 of Twisted Fate

We finish our lunch, talking, discussing the city and what we’d like to explore in it as if we have all the time in the world. As far as Konstantin knows, we do. But I can feel the weight of all my lies pressing down on my shoulders, weighing me down.

I know what I’m going to have to do. But it’s never felt so impossible before.

I take the car that Konstantin sent earlier back to the penthouse after lunch, that weight settled on my shoulders so heavily that it feels almost physical. My mind is spinning with everything that’s happened over the last few days—with the memory of Konstantin’s touch, the sound of his voice saying my name, whispering filthy things in my ear. The hope in his voice when he talked about his plans this afternoon, the passion when he talked about making something that lasts.

I have no doubt that if this marriage were real, if I let him devote that same passion to it that he does to all of his other dreams, it would be something incredible.

I kick off my heels as soon as I walk into the penthouse, padding across the cool wooden floor to the long floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the water and the Miami skyline. It all glitters in the afternoon sun—my favorite view in all the world, but it only makes my heart feel heavier, looking at it today. This city that Konstantin wants to transform, to make his own in a way his father never could.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and my heart drops. My gut tells me that it’s not Konstantin calling again. That it’s someone else—someone who I’ve never dreaded speaking to before, but am now.

With a deep breath, I answer. "Hello?"

"Valentina." Kane's voice is sharp, impatient. The sound of it cuts through me like a knife. "Do you have anything for me?"

My stomach twists. I could tell him no. That I haven’t learned anything yet. That I need more time. But I’ve never lied to him before, and I’m not sure that I could do it now.

And what would be the point? What would I gain, other than more time with the man that I’m inevitably going to have to kill? More time that will only serve to make me fall?—

“Yes.” I bite out the word, crisp and clipped as his voice a moment ago. “I couldn’t get away to call you yet. I was going to this afternoon.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” The silkiness in his tone makes me think that he doesn’t entirely believe me. “So what have you learned?”

"Konstantin and his father are planning a meeting with Don Genovese and the Slakov patriarch. They're going to invite them to the mansion, supposedly to discuss territory."

“But with other intentions.”

“Yes.” I bite my lip. “They’re going to eliminate the don and the Slakovpakhan. Send a message that the Abramovs are not to be threatened.”

“When?” Kane sounds thoughtful.

“A week from now, if they accept. Victor’s man was going to talk to them. Konstantin hasn’t told me anything more yet.”

“Then the hit is back on.” Kane’s voice is calm, collected, but the words slice through me like knives in my flesh. “If the Abramovs kill Genovese and Slakov, it will destabilize everything even further."

I swallow hard, trying to regulate my breathing, my voice, my entire fucking nervous system. If Kane hears the slightest hesitation in my voice, the slightest hint that I’ve started to fall for the enemy, he’ll pull me off the mission. He’ll send someoneelse, and I won’t get what he promised me. He’ll keep me indentured to him, and I don’t know if I’ll ever get free.

If I’ll ever get the vengeance I’ve craved all this time.

"You need to kill Konstantin before that meeting," Kane continues, and I feel my stomach clench, twisting in on itself. "With him dead, and clear evidence that someone else did it—someone from outside the family—Victor will be forced to find a new heir. Things will continue as they have been. The balance will be maintained."

My throat tightens. "You want me to frame someone else?"

"No need," Kane says dismissively. "It’s enough that it’s made apparent that it wasn’t Genovese or the Slakovs. Leave something that hints that it was someone else. Him in bed naked, traces of foul play from a woman he brought home. You don’t need to frame a specific person, just leave a pointless trail for the cops and Abramov to follow. The murderer will never be found, especially with you back home safely where you belong."

Home.The word sounds hollow now. Even as recently as when we came back to Miami, I longed to go back to Kane’s mansion, to everything that was familiar there. But something has changed. Shifted, between Konstantin and me.

When Kane saidhome, I didn’t think of lemon and flowers and the pineapple-scented candle in my room, the view of the gardens outside. I thought of this place, of the views of the water, of the scent of Konstantin’s cologne, of the look in his eyes when he set me on the edge of the table last night.

I thought of things that aren’t really mine to have, things I was never going to be able to keep.

"Valentina?" Kane's voice sharpens. "Are you still there?"

"Yes." I force myself to focus. "And the fact that I haven’t gotten any other information on him? Nothing more helpful?”

“We need to stop this now.” Kane's tone is dismissive. "Victor will find someone who thinks the way he does, and the peacewill be kept among the families. That’s what this job was always meant to accomplish. You need to finish it. You kill him."

I close my eyes, fighting against the wave of nausea that threatens to overwhelm me. "And after..." I clear my throat before my voice can crack and give me away. "After I do it, you'll give me the name? The person who killed my family?"

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