Page 293 of Legacy
I glance at him.
He nods sharply, his eyes on Ayla for moment before he steps away, falling into line beside Angelo and Santo.
I glance over at Angelo, catching his eyes across the room.
He’s watching me, jaw tight, but there’s something softer beneath the steel. A flicker of pride. Of trust.
His chin dips in a single nod.
I turn to Ayla.
Her big brown eyes meet mine—wide, cautious, and quietly exhausted.
The front door clicks shut behind Maksim, and that seems to be the first breath she’s taken since walking in.
She exhales slowly, shoulders dipping just a fraction.
Before I can say anything, Vasilisa speaks.
“Is he keeping you against your will?”
Ayla’s head jerks up. Her eyes go wide, and she shakes her head a little too fast.
“He called you beda…trouble,” Vasilisa says, tilting her head. “To Maksim, that means either affection—or contempt. So which is it? Did he take you, or… do you like him?”
The bridge of Ayla’s nose turns pink. She looks down, and for a second, she doesn’t answer.
Vasilisa grimaces.“You like him?”
I ask it more gently than she does, surprised. “Do you?…Like Maksim?”
“He’s not a nice man,” Vasilisa says flatly, eyes locked on Ayla like she’s trying to decide what kind of threat she is.
Ayla doesn’t flinch.
“Neither is Santo,” she shoots back.
I blink.
Ah, now I get why Maksim called her trouble.
Vasilisa takes a slow step forward, the gun still in her hand, and I move without thinking, slipping it gently from her fingers before she can get too close.
She lets me.Barely.
“You know my husband?” she asks, tone now colder, more precise.
Ayla crosses her arms. “I’ve seen him around.”
“No one justseesmy husband around,” Vasilisa bites. “Either you know him, or you don’t.”
Another step. Heels clicking like war drums.
“Or are you a whore from Opulent?”
Ayla scoffs.
“Everyone knows your husband,” she says. “Santo Amato. Underboss of Cosa Nostra. A killer.Scythe.”
