Page 58 of Beautiful Broken Vengeance

“Holy shit, you never stood a chance.” I exhale as I stare out my window.

His hand is under my chin, bringing me back to face him. “When I was sixteen and taught to torture, no. When I was eighteen and killed my first man, I was my own person. I had a choice. And I made my choice. I chose this life. Do not excuse me for the life I am living. I do not apologize for it.”

It's clear he believes it. I nod, even though I don’t agree.

One eyebrow goes up, he shakes his head. Sighing, I disagree. “You’re saying your father said, if you want to leave there’s the door?”

“No.” He clenches his jaw tight.

“Then you didn’t have a choice,” I argue. “If you’re raised from freaking birth this is your role in life, then you walking away was never truly an option for you. Meaning you didn’t have a choice.”

“That was never something that could be done. It was believed I would be Pakhan of our operations in Philadelphia. My father raised his children in a way to avoid us becoming what his brother and father were. I’m sure you came across more than a few men who became twisted with unlimited power and money at their disposal. If he hadn’t done it the way he did, it would have been the equivalent of handing a loaded gun without the safety on to a child and not expecting anyone to get hurt. He did what he believed was best. I do not regret my life in the slightest.”

“It’s worth it? You don’t have a problem with killing someone?” I can’t believe I ask the question.

Gold is hard, remorseless. “Yes. I do whatever I need to do to keep what I have, power and control. I would never be happy as some rank and file office worker, punching a clock and explaining myself to anyone.”

My husband is a remorseless, violent man who swore he cared about me, who took care of me and was so very gentle. I can’t believe this is my life.

CHAPTER21

Aleksander

I struggle not to chuckle at the shell-shock on Phoenix’s beautiful face. She really did not do her homework. Thank god. If she had, she would never have tried going up against me.

It pisses me off that when I lift her out of the vehicle my shoulder aches. I resent my wound not allowing me to carry her inside. The whole drive I hated not having her against me, so I wind my arm around her waist, holding her close. Bastard that I am, I savor the way her breathing becomes hectic.

Her eyes are wide as I show her around. I walk her into the elevator to go upstairs. We’re sat on the edge of the room, as far from Milos’s office as we can be. “Do you like eggs benedict?” I ask her.

Her nod is quick yet distracted. I order for us without her objecting to anything.

The moment the waitress is gone, Phoenix lowers her voice. “I have to pee. Can I do it with this inside me?”

I nod. “Yes. While you’re in there, I’m going to check in with Milos.”

The frown that always flashes at the mention of Milos is there and gone before she gets up.

I’m surprised to find Milos is in a black mood. When I received the warning text early this morning from Damien of Milos killing our uncle last night for daring to touch Celia, I immediately reached out to him. As annoyed as I was for him killing Grigori, I wasn’t surprised. I would have done the same thing. He seemed relieved the pretending with his wife was over. I can’t help wondering what turned his mood. “What the hell are you doing here? You should be in bed resting.”

Chuckling, I sit down. “It was either get out of the condo or tear my stitches again. I brought her out for breakfast on a date. I feel good, too good to be at home in bed with her so close.”

He shakes his head. “A date, with your wife? Cute.”

I’m surprised by him dismissing it. “Come on, dates are important, keeps the magic alive. Father told us himself, feed the mind of your woman, the body, then her soul. Dates are all of that rolled into one. Isn’t that what you did with Celia when she was recovering? Lunch and dinner, watching movies, talking about books. Women love that stuff.”

The look on his face gives him away.

“Ah, you haven’t been doing that. Make new magic. Now that you don’t have to hide your love, you can show it to her in other ways,” I urge him. I spent far too many years watching him pine for her and hearing the girl’s voice not to remind him to treasure the time she is now his. “I need to get back to her.” Wondering if the fifty feet on the toy told the truth. I pull out the remote and press the button for a count of three.

“What is that?”

“Remote-controlled vibrator. If I have to suffer, so does she.” We laugh—neither of us were used to suffering for a woman until we met our wives. “Feeding the body in a different way.”

Outside Milos’s office I find Phoenix with her good arm wrapped around her middle. The red splashed over her face down to her neck brings a smile to my face. Boris is smart enough to be far away from her while still blocking the exit out of the second floor.

I lift my eyebrow at Boris. “You were right. As soon as you closed the door to Milos’s office she took off down the stairs. She was hurting from her wound at the bottom of the stairs when I spotted her. I walked her back up.”

“Thank you, Boris. Have something to eat. We’re going to be here for a little while. Then ensure no one is seated up here until we are ready to leave.”

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