Page 88 of Tarnished Tyrant (Zhukova Bratva 1)

“Then I must’ve had a reason.”

She scoffs. “How could you have had a reason? We were talking, having a good time, and then you got up and left. You were only gone a few minutes when I followed. What could have happened in a few minutes to be worthy of death?”

“He was spying on us. On me,” I say. “After I warned his boss what would happen if I caught his men doing exactly that. The bastard was asking for it.”

Her brow furrows. “And Giorgos Simatou is the man’s boss?”

“I thought you didn’t want to know anything.”

She glares up at me. “Consider it my last wish.”

I bite back a smile. She was begging me to send her home, and now, she’s asking for more information. Curiosity really might kill this cat.

“Are you sure that’s what you want?” My eyes dart down to her cleavage, where the skin is flushed with anger and fear.

Her glare crystallizes. “I’m sure.”

I chuckle. “Yes, Giorgos is the man’s boss. He and I are working together, but it seems he doesn’t trust me. He’s been having me followed to make sure I’m not breaking our arrangement. But I don’t much care for surveillance.”

“So you killed him?”

“After a warning.”

“That doesn’t make it okay,” she bites out. “Your life isn’t worth more than his.”

“Depends who you ask. To me, my life is much more important."

"Being rich and powerful doesn't make you more important!"

"Maybe not, but unfortunately for the deceased, being rich and powerful allows me to call the shots. And I decided he needed to die. Therefore, he’s dead."

Belle squeezes her eyes closed, taking deep breaths. When she finally looks up at me again, her eyes are glassy. “How are you going to do it?”

I smooth my thumbs over the soft skin on the inside of her arms. “Do what?”

“Kill me,” she rasps, barely able to get the words out. “How are you going to kill me?”

I lean forward, my voice low. “Now,lapochka, why would I ever want to kill you?”

“Because you just confessed everything to me.”

“So?”

“So… I’m a loose end, aren’t I?”

“It’s your word against mine,” I say with a shrug.

“No, I have proof.”

I snort. “Are you trying to convince me to kill you? Because I wasn’t planning on it, but if you’d like to make an argument, then—”

“No! No. But—I don’t—why would you tell me all of this if you aren’t planning to kill me?” she whimpers. “I don’t understand.”

I smile and lean even closer. “Because there is no one in the world you can tell who will believe you. The police already think you’re a problem, and half of them are on my payroll. I know where your sister is right this second. Plus, I have our little home movie as a backup plan to keep you quiet.”

She narrows her eyes into furious slits. “That video isn’t proof of anything.”

“It’s proof that you willingly submitted to me,” I tell her. “It’s proof that you’re in this with me. That you and I are working together. Or, at the very least, you knew more than you let on.”

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