Chapter 28
Alina
Dominik continued to hold me despite my betrayal, but his grip wasn’t the same. It was still tight, protective… just not as gentle.
Saying goodbye to him was getting harder every time. I never know how long it’s going to be until I can see him again.
And I hate that Gavriil decides when I get that mercy.
It’s probably not even mercy, though. It’s a plan that I can’t see.
“Be careful,” Dominik whispers in my ear as we embrace one final time. “He’s more dangerous when he doesn’t have control.”
And we want him out of control. Dominik is depending on me making Gavriil break.
I nod my agreement as I brush my fingers through his hair, my eyes closing to hold the moment in my heart for as long as possible.
Our freedom may be limited in this cell, but the closer I get to Gavriil, the more dangerous things become.
And the less I trust myself. But that’s exactly where Dom wants me to be.
“I’ll see you soon,” I tell him with hope in my voice.
We were together for almost twelve hours this time, and I’m glad that we had more time to talk and reconnect. So much weight dropped from my shoulders when he forgave me, and I don’t want to do anything else to jeopardize our relationship.
“Soon.”
“Come on,” Valentin says impatiently from the doorway of the cell.
Flipping him off crosses my mind, and I could probably get away with it, but the last thing that I need to do right now is draw attention to myself. Silence and subtlety are my best weapons if I want to outsmart Gavriil from here on out.
Regardless of his sacrifice for Dominik years ago, he’s still an asshole.
“I love you,” I tell Dominik as we break away from each other, our fingers grazing.
Dominik’s smile wavers as we lose contact with each other. “I love you.”
Without a fight, I walk out of the cell and up the stairs, hearing Valentin follow me closely. I guess I’ve behaved well enough for Gavriil and his guards to drop their guard a little. No more handcuffs.
My eyes sweep around the interior of the large house as I take the stairs that wind their way up to the second floor.
A few guards stride across the foyer toward the front door like they have somewhere important to be, sheathed knives and handguns fastened to their belts.
They speak to each other quickly in Russian.
I may not be able to understand the words they’re saying, but I have a feeling that they’re stressed about something.
I suppose I’ll find out during the next meeting that Gavriil allows me to sit in.
Once I reach the bedroom, I expect to be put in the cage, but Valentin shuts the bedroom door behind me instead. My eyes narrow in confusion as I start to turn around to try the handle, but a shadow catches my attention out of the corner of my eye.
“Enjoy your extended visit?”
I spot Gavriil standing on the other side of the bed as he takes off his watch. His shirt is partially unbuttoned, exposing a few inches of his bare chest. He hasn’t even looked me in the eyes yet, which somehow makes me angrier.
“You set me up!” I snap as I walk toward him, my skin heating.
Gavriil drops his watch on the nightstand like its cheap plastic and not worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. He doesn’t say anything while keeping his back to me.
“You told Dominik what we did without warning me. You only sent me down there so that he could confront me!” I say, a wave of shame crashing down on me.
Dominik might’ve acted like he’s forgiven me, but I know it’s not that easy.
I’m still sick with guilt for going behind his back with his conniving brother.
Gavriil slowly turns to face me, his expression unreadable. He drags his eyes over me, not saying a word.
Is he even listening to me?
“You wanted to hurt him. And guess what? You succeeded,” I bite out before shoving at his chest, a burst of anger taking hold of me.
“I’m sure you already know this, but you’re an asshole.
You don’t care about anyone but yourself, and your own brother has suffered enough because of that! You need to let him go free.”
Dom didn’t say it, but I have a feeling that the first thing he’ll do once he’s out is go for his brother’s throat.
I’m not sure how I feel about that. Or the fact that he didn’t come out and just tell me that’s his plan.
Gavriil’s mouth twitches. His blue eyes look oddly hazy.
“Are you giving me the silent treatment now?” I question him, growing more and more frustrated. If he wants to get under my skin, he’s succeeded. “You can go fuck yourself, Gavriil. Don’t ever touch me again!”
Before I can storm off to the cage, he surges forward, doing exactly what I just told him not to do. He grabs my arm to pull me back to him. Then, his lips crash against mine, both of his large hands caging my face between them.
I draw in a sharp breath through my nose, my body freezing as his lips caress mine.
He’s kissing me.
Gavriil holds the frame of my face tighter like he doesn’t want me to slip through his fingers. He kisses me deeper, lips brushing and pushing against mine so needily that it dizzies me.
My mind goes blank, and all I can register is the warmth of his mouth and the way my body betrays me.
Dominik told me to give in if I wanted, so I do.
The kiss almost feels…passionate. I start to lean in to match his eagerness, but a familiar taste hits my tongue.
I jerk away from him, my fingers flying to my tingling lips. “Have you been drinking?”
Gavriil smirks a little, but his blue eyes don’t reflect any happiness or amusement in them. He looks fucking miserable. “Why’d you stop? You kissed him for hours.”
He was watching us? Or did the guard tell him?
I stare at him for a few seconds, taking in the way he leans slightly when his posture is usually straight and perfect. His eyes aren’t half-lidded, but they certainly look heavier than normal. And the sharp bite of vodka is unmistakable.
“Are you drunk?” I ask, taking a step back from him.
I’ve never seen him like this before. Sure, I’ve seen him sip on vodka every now and then, but he never drinks to excess. It’s not like him. He can’t be in control if he’s drunk.
Gavriil moves closer to me, reaching out to clumsily take my hand in his. “I should’ve brought you back sooner. To me. Not so late.”
I blink at him, having to decipher his fragmented speech. “What’s going on with you, Gavriil? Did something happen?”
Gavriil lets out a weak scoff as he grips my hand like I’m the only thing keeping him upright. “What didn’t happen…”
My heart hammers against my ribs. What’s so bad that it’s reduced him to this state? This isn’t the Gavriil that I know, and for some reason, that scares me.
It would be easy to take advantage of his intoxicated state right now, but my chest tightens at the thought of hurting him when he’s so…vulnerable.
Maybe it’s because I now know he not only carries the weight of leadership on his shoulders, but he also lives with a brutal secret.
He has his own father’s blood on his hands.
And however that happened, it was so traumatic that I think he still has nightmares about it.
He basically admitted as much when I asked him about talking in his sleep.
“Why don’t you sit down?” I suggest as I try to tug him toward the bed.
Gavriil doesn’t budge. Even with a wavering balance, he’s still stronger than me. “I saw…watched you. Watched you kiss and…cuddle.” He says the word like it’s a dirty slur. “I wanted that. You’re supposed to be mine. Only for a month.”
My face warms up when he confirms what I suspected. He does have a camera in the cell. He has been keeping an eye on us. And he sounds jealous.
“And the meeting was a waste.” Gavriil sighs as he shakes his head at himself, grimacing like there’s a bad taste in his mouth. “I fucking…lost it. The Italians…they’re so goddamn cocky. I just…”
I frown as I piece together his words. “You had a meeting with the Italians today?”
“For their help,” Gavriil mutters. “They refused.”
My eyes widen in realization. He wanted the Italians to be their allies in the war. “What happened?”
He shrugs and is thrown off balance. “I failed.”
Gavriil opening up to me, admitting to making a mistake and that he’s jealous? The world must be ending.
The heaviness in his voice is so concerning that I find myself trying to reassure him. “Maybe the Italians will come back. You could try to apologize…”
Gavriil shakes his head. “No. It’s done now.”
Of course, pride would never let him apologize. He’s probably lost countless deals and allies because of his refusal to suck it up and admit when he’s wrong. Just like he’s doing with Dominik.
“Why did you blow up on the Italians? Because you were jealous?” I ask him. “Jealous of what?”
Gavriil tugs me closer. His other hand breezes along the side of my face, his fingertips grazing my cheek. “I want you. I want you all to myself.”
Shock freezes me in place as I stare up into his eyes. I’m not even sure that I heard him right. “What?”
“Just me. I want you to choose me,” Gavriil says, slurring through his words as his forehead drops to mine. Of course, everything is a competition to him, even taking me from Dominik. “Mine. My Moya Koroleva.”
“What does that mean?” I ask.
“Queen. I’ll make you my queen. I’ll give you whatever you want.”
My heart jolts to a stop as words spill out of him. I don’t think he even means them. He’s just drunk. And he hates to lose, especially to Dominik.
“You’re not making any sense,” I tell him as I try to lean away from him, torn between wanting to close the distance and wanting to run back to Dominik.
“Yes, I am,” Gavriil tells me, desperation invading his voice. “What do you want from me? I’ll give you…anything. Everything.”
He’s speaking like a man who thinks that this is love.
And I doubt Gavriil could love anyone. He keeps everyone at an arm’s distance, and I doubt he allows himself to feel anything deeper than lust and desire.
I’m nothing but a toy to play with, and Dominik is his puppet that he’s constantly trying to control.
Gavriil just wants to win. He can make all the false promises that he wants to me, but they’re not going to get me in bed with him.
“All I want is Dom,” I tell him through gritted teeth. “I’d rather be your prisoner than your queen any day.”
Gavriil stiffens at my words, making me tense in surprise. He stares down into my hardened gaze for a few seconds before finally removing his hand from my face.
Fear crawls under my skin as I watch his expression darken. If he’s not acting like himself right now, I really don’t know what to expect from him being drunk and angry. Maybe I should fear for my safety around him.
But instead of lashing out or dragging me to the cage by my hair, Gavriil turns and staggers out, letting the bedroom door slam shut behind him.
Silence rings throughout the room as I stand there in shock and disbelief, replaying his words over and over again. I shouldn’t look into them too deeply because I doubt that he meant them, but my heart races all the same.
Was that really Gavriil baring his soul to me or just an attempt to sate his jealousy and try to outdo his brother?
I doubt I’ll ever find out.
Before I can get too excited about being all by myself outside of a cage or a cell, Valentin enters the room and jerks his chin toward the cage, guarding the door with his body.
I narrow my eyes a degree as I peer at him, wondering if I could possibly take him or not.
Then, I would have to run all the way downstairs, evade the guards in the house and on the grounds, and find somewhere in the world to hide.
I’d live the exact same life I grew up living, but I would be all alone this time without Archer.
Just the thought exhausts me, and the guilt of leaving Dominik behind would eat me alive.
No, I have to stay and convince Gavriil to release Dominik. Then convince Dominik not to kill his brother.
Those are two heavy burdens being placed on my narrow shoulders.
And Gavriil is complicating things by getting drunk, kissing me, and practically slapping his heart onto his sleeve.
Did telling him I only want Dom hurt him? Is that why he stormed out?
Part of me hopes so.
I’m supposed to hate Gavriil, not feel sorry for him.
And I certainly shouldn’t feel bad about hurting the megalomaniac’s feelings.
Except I do.
Gavriil opened up to me, something he probably doesn’t do very often, if ever.
So why me?
With a huff, I walk into the cage and drop down onto my mattress, not looking forward to sleeping all by myself tonight. But after what just happened, I doubt my mind will quiet down enough to let me fall asleep any time soon.
My bottom lip slips between my teeth as the taste of vodka lingers on my tongue. That was the first time we kissed, and it wasn’t anything like I expected.
Dominik holds me and kisses me sweetly but possessively, like he never wants to let me go.
It felt like Gavriil was trying to completely consume me, so no one but him could ever have me.
The kiss shouldn’t matter to me, especially if it meant nothing to Gavriil.
Except, I think it did. More than he would ever admit.
It felt like the beginning of something neither of us would ever outrun.
Somehow, I believe I’ve become one of the Pakhan’s rare weaknesses.
And I’ve never felt more powerful in my life.