27. Tatiana #2
I hated the idea of having her in front of me. It made her an easier target. But she insisted. In her words, ‘If I’m your captive, I can’t be behind you,’ so we finally settled on the position.
We were at the mahogany front door and she pushed it open with both hands.
“We don’t knock or ring a doorbell?” I muttered my question under my breath.
She barely moved her lips. “He said to come in. Trust me.”
I trusted her. I didn’t trust Marchetti.
We wandered into a gorgeously designed foyer. The crystal chandelier glittered. The marble floors had angel designs on them. The beige walls had valuable art dating back centuries on them.
Jesus Christ!
You’d never have to move past the foyer to rob this man and he didn’t even have guards. There was something fundamentally wrong with Marchetti. I was certain.
She started for the staircase and I stiffened. “Please tell me he didn’t instruct you to go to his bedroom.”
She let out a soft groan and I watched in fascination as the back of her neck turned red. Good God, I didn’t think I wanted to know what she and Marchetti got into. I might kill him myself. Yeah, he was hot as sin and had some serious hot daddy vibes, but Isla was too fucking young for him.
Goddamn it! I should have loaded bullets in my gun for him.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
We made our way up the stairs, our heels clicking softly against the off-white marble floors. Our breathing mixed with the echo of our heels, projecting through the house.
We were both nervous. Perspiration ran down my back and my hand trembled, holding the gun pressed against my sister-in-law’s back. I tried to apply the breathing technique Sasha taught me to keep me calm. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.
It was fucking nonsense.
It only fed my adrenaline. My ears buzzed. My stress kicked up a notch. This couldn’t be good for my babies.
“Just a bit more, babies,” I murmured softly. “Then it’ll be all over.”
“Are you talking to the twins?” Isla asked incredulously.
“Yeah.”
“Now?” she hissed under her breath. “You couldn’t have done that before we left the hotel?”
“I wasn’t that nervous then.” Deep breaths. Deep breaths. “I want them to know they’re safe.”
“Enrico won’t hurt them,” she assured softly, just as we reached the top of the first floor. “Or you. If he tries, I’ll kill him.”
I rolled my eyes. “Isla, you’re scaring me.”
She shot me a dark look. “I’m not that innocent,” she remarked.
I knew it. It slipped in the moments she didn’t keep her guard up. Except I didn’t think she liked whatever plagued her. This secret that sat heavy in her heart.
“None of us are,” I told her softly. “All of us make mistakes and fuck up. But we move on, make the best of it, and make peace with our mistakes. It’s the reason I’m doing this.”
She gave me a pensive look, both of our steps faltering. I wanted to tell her so much more, but the moment wasn’t right. I needed to assure her that whatever it was she was harboring, I could help her. Her brother could help her. She’d be family, no matter what.
But I never had the chance.
“I must say, I didn’t expect two of you here.” A deep voice startled us and had us jumping out of our skin. My heart raced into overdrive and I tried to control my breathing.
Steeling my spine and evening my breaths, I shoved the barrel of the gun into Isla’s back. Not hard, but enough that she’d feel it pressed on her back. On cue, she stumbled forward, as if I pushed her with all my strength.
“Ouch,” she whimpered and I had to bite the inside of my cheek.
Marchetti’s eyes darkened to midnight storms and a shiver ran down my neck. My heart faltered as he took a threatening step forward. I barely blinked and his own gun was pointed at me.
Suddenly, I understood why Marchetti didn’t need guards. He’d easily kill anyone who threatened him. And I’d bet my life that he’d do it without a second thought.
I swallowed. Maybe we should have thought this plan through a bit more.
“I wouldn’t,” I said coolly. Thank fuck my voice didn’t portray the turmoil inside me. “Not unless you want to see Isla’s guts scattered all over your white marble.”
Sasha would have been so fucking proud.
His movement stilled, something crossing his face. It was barely a flicker but I saw it. This guy had it hard for Isla. Good, we might get out of this alive yet.
“What do you want, Tatiana?” His voice was like a cold whip against my skin.
I met his gaze head on, keeping my shoulders straight. I wasn’t scared of him. If I whispered it silently enough, I’d give out that vibe.
“I told you I’d come after you when you killed my husband,” I said grimly. “Here I am.”
Marchetti didn’t seem perturbed. He smiled, cold and cruel. “But your husband is alive. In fact, he just landed in Paris. My guess is he’s headed here.”
I should have known a storm wouldn’t keep Illias away. The raging snow storm has plagued Russia since we left the castle. Honestly, I was surprised he hadn’t shown up sooner.
“I guess it means we only have a short time to get this over with then,” I drawled, pushing the gun against Isla’s back. “Don’t even try to move,” I warned her, glaring at her.
Her green eyes flashed with humor but she quickly schooled it. Fuck, she was having too much fun with this.
“Now, Marchetti, unless you want to see your blood or Isla’s stain on these floors, you’re going to give me some answers,” I started, hiding all my anxiety behind my bravado.
Fake it till you make it. It was what Sasha always told me.
Well, he actually said ‘Fake it until I come to save you’ but I didn’t think my brother could save me from this one.
“Are you a cold blooded killer?” Marchetti drawled.
I shrugged. “Aren’t all Nikolaevs?” I answered with my own question. “Kind of like you and the men you work with, huh?”
He put his gun away. I would have taken offense to it if my gun was loaded, but instead, I felt relieved. I couldn’t shoot him with an empty gun. He slipped his hands into his pockets and leaned against the wall, looking like a picture of a bored businessman.
“Men?” he asked. “What men?”
I narrowed my eyes on him. They always thought they were so much smarter than women, but I didn’t have time for this shit. Not with Illias on his way over.
“I don’t give a shit about your men,” I spat, glaring at him. “I want to know what happened.”
“A lot of things happened,” he retorted dryly. “You’re going to have to be a bit more specific.”
I narrowed my eyes in annoyance. “Why did you kill him?”
My heart clenched and my voice cracked slightly. It still fucking hurt to think of it. I’d known Adrian since I was five. Maybe we weren’t the right lovers but we were friends before. For over two decades!
Compassion passed Isla’s expression. It was exactly that which made her innocent in all this. She had a good heart. She cared about others. She fought for them. Defended them. Helped them.
“What had he done to put him on your hit list?” I asked.
He studied me, that dark expression reminding me of Illias. I could see these two men being either hardcore enemies or reluctant friends. I wondered what they’d be after today because the way Marchetti watched Isla told me the man would keep her.
I wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about it. I guess if she was happy, so was I. Yet, I couldn’t shake off the fear that his darkness would swallow her whole.
“You sure you want to know?” Marchetti asked, pulling me out of my worry for Isla’s well-being.
“That’s why I’m here,” I retorted dryly.
“Fine.” He extended his hand. “Please, enter.”
“I’m not going into your bedroom,” I sneered. “I’m not here to fulfill your fantasies. I’m here for answers.”
A sardonic breath left him. “I’m starting to see why Konstantin is so obsessed with you.”
I chose to ignore his comment. He was just trying to distract me. Marchetti’s eyes flickered to Isla, something dark and vehement flickering in them. His expression changed to mild disinterest when it returned back to me.
“Last chance, Tatiana,” he said, his voice dipping to freezing temperatures. “Certain things are best left in the past.”
I shot him a dark look. “Just tell me so we can be on our way.”
Even as I said ‘we’ I knew I’d be leaving this place alone.
“Fine, have it your way,” he drawled in a tone that told me he knew he’d come out on top out of this conversation.
My heart thundered as I held my breath waiting for the answer. He ordered Adrian’s execution. Illias wanted Adrian dead, but he defended me. I needed to know why. What had Adrian done that was so bad?
Although deep down I feared I already knew.
I just needed someone to say it out loud.