Page 89 of When We Fall: Part Two
“Easy,” I murmured. “Let’s just talk, OK? If you still want to kill him after, I’ll step aside.”
A muscle thrummed along Dom’s jaw, but he gave us a curt nod and moved to slide in next to Levin, who continued to glare at Drake. I knew Levin Seeley. He was tough like his old man. The good news was that while Klaus wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger, Levin seemed to at least think things through.
I let Drake slide into the booth first, then sat down.
“How are you?” I asked, genuinely giving a shit as I stared at Dom.
“Fuck you,” he said, his eyes narrowed at me. “You fucking know how I am. You’re marrying my girl.”
“To save her,” I said immediately.
Dom’s hands unclenched in front of him. I noted the scars peeking out from beneath his long sleeves from when he’d tried to kill himself to get to Bianca on the other side. A pang went through my chest at the thought. Deep down, I knew I’d struggle if I were him and I’d lost Rosalie. In fact, I thought I had the night of the engagement party, and the plan to join her if she left this world had eased over me.
“Matteo said Carmine is coming for a visit soon.” I launched into telling him everything I knew. With each word, he tensed more and more until I thought he was going to explode. Levin sat silently beside him, not saying a word. Instead, his gaze was fixed on Drake. I knew if Levin decided he was going to kill Drake, there wouldn’t be fuck-all I could do to stop him.
“So I asked Matteo if I could have Bianca,” I finished. “Matteo said Carmine is a monster. That the babies would be in danger. I don’t want that, so I asked if I could have her. And now, she’s mine.”
“She’snotfucking yours,” Dom seethed at me. “She’s mine. She belongs to the kings.”
“I know,” I replied. “I understand that. I’m trying to help. I’m trying to save her and the babies.”
Dom visibly swallowed. “Have you touched her?”
“I kissed her when she said yes,” I answered honestly. “To make it look authentic. Past that, I’ve not done anything more than be her friend.”
Dom breathed out, visibly relaxing. “Is-Is she OK?”
“She’s good, man. I spend as much time with her as I can. The babies are good. Matteo ensures her prenatal care. She’s not been harmed. She has her own room. She’s fed. She wants for nothing.”
Dom settled back in his seat, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Promise?”
“Yes, Dom. I won’t let anything happen to her or the babies. At night, when I’m there, I take her to my room and we hang out. We watch movies. We talk. She misses you guys, but she’s strong. She’s so fucking strong.”
“Matteo hasn’t…” Dom’s jaw shook.
“No. He hasn’t touched her. He won’t now that she’s mine. In fact, he didn’t even while having her for those few weeks. He didn’t even speak to her. Alessio handled everything, and he never touched her.”
“Alessio is a good man,” Dom said, nodding.
Drake snorted and looked away.
“What?” Dom demanded. “You got something to say, Petrov?”
“Just that you clearly don’t fucking know Alessio Valentino,” Drake said.
Dom glowered at him, but it was Levin who spoke.
“Shut the fuck up, Petrov, or you’re going to eat this fucking table.”
“Levin, man, I want to talk.”
“No. Fuck you. Meet me in the parking lot so I can shoot you in the fucking face.”
I glanced at Drake, who tensed.
“I did it because I knew shit was going down,” Drake snarled back, leaning forward. “Do you fucking think I wanted to hurt you, Levin? You’re my fucking brother, man. I care about you. I care about our lives, our girl?—”
“You’re dead to me,” Levin whispered.
