Chapter 30
EVA
Consciousness comes to me in waves. My eyelids feel heavy, almost impossible to open.
Where am I?
I try to sit up but my head throbs. I look around the room, taking in the heavy drapes that don’t let in any light.
There isn’t any furniture but the bed and a small table and chair. This isn't the compound. This isn't anywhere I recognize.
I swing my legs off the bed but they buckle when I try to stand. I sink back onto the bed.
I rub my temples, trying to loosen memories of how I got here.
The doctor's parking lot. Gunfire. Men in black SUVs.
Ivan's cold smile as he grabs my arm.
Mirabella screaming, reaching for me as they drag her out of my arms.
The promise to share information I don’t have.
With greater will this time, I drag myself to the door, yanking at the handle. Locked. I pound against the solid wood.
"Let me out!"
No response.
I scan the room for an escape. I move to the window, pushing aside the heavy curtains. The windows are barred with wrought iron.
I’m trapped.
I sit on the bed again as the final memory drops into place. I’m a dead woman.
I have no information to offer Ivan. No valuable intelligence on the Dantes. Nothing worth keeping me alive for. Of course, even if I did, I wouldn’t tell him.
I'm a loose end to tie up, revenge for refusing to work for them any longer.
At least Mirabella is safe.
Adriano will protect her.
My daughter will grow up loved, secure, with all the comforts a girl could need.
The door swings open, and Ivan Vasiliev saunters in like he's the center of the universe. I don’t rise to meet him. I barely even look at him.
"Eva Santoro," he purrs, spreading his arms wide. "How nice to finally have you back. I trust your accommodations are comfortable."
“My door is stuck,” I quip.
His smile is amused. “I could put you in the basement. I’m trying to be cordial here.”
I meet his gaze, seeing how his eyes are similar to his brothers, a cool icy blue, but where Maksim’s held cruelty and cunning, Ivan's burn with something more desperate. Like he’s a man with something to prove.
It actually reminds me of Alessandro, who I now know has struggled to get his foothold in the family business since his father’s death.
“How does knocking me out fit into being cordial?”
“Tsk, tsk. You were attacking me.” His eyes narrow, turn lethal. “I could have killed you and dropped you on the road in front of your child. But it doesn’t have to be like that.”
"Why am I here, Ivan?"
"Such hostility." He shakes his head and sits in a chair near the window. "You see me as the villain of your story, don't you? Just like the Dantes painted my brother."
"You kidnapped me and my child. How am I supposed to see you?"
"I returned your child safely. Something the Dantes might not have done in my position. You know this."
The worst part is he might be right, but I refuse to give him the satisfaction of agreement.
"If you cooperate, Eva, things can be much more comfortable." His voice softens to an almost seductive tone. "You can leave this room, have a proper suite. Clean clothes, a hot bath. We could even discuss things over dinner rather than… other methods."
I know what "other methods" means in his world. I see my chance, however slim, and take it.
"Fine."
Victory shines in his eyes. "Excellent choice." He rises from the chair. “Come, I’ll show you to another room. However, don’t think my lenience gives you the opportunity to escape. If you try, I will kill you.”
The room he offers me is lighter in color and atmosphere. It is something he might offer a guest. But I have no illusions about my stay. I’m a prisoner.
I shower off the sweat and grime from my kidnapping and dress in the slacks and blouse he’s left behind. Despite his warning, I search for escape routes or weapons, but Ivan knows what he’s doing.
Resolved that I’m trapped, I’m escorted to the opulent dining room, dripping with old-world luxury built with blood money. Crystal chandeliers, a long dining table likely made from expensive wood.
Ivan sits at the head, leaving me to his right, a position of honor, but I know it’s all an act.
"You look refreshed," Ivan says, lifting his wine glass in appreciation.
I don't touch my wine. "Let's skip the pretense of hospitality, Ivan. We both know I'm not your guest."
He cuts into his steak as he snickers. "Such hostility, Eva. My family offered you a life. Sanctuary.”
“Offered? I was forced and then you killed my father.”
"The Dantes are the ones who destroyed your life,” he counters, pointing his knife at me. “I'm simply picking up where circumstances left off. Restoring you to your proper place. Your father is dead because of the Dantes."
"The Dantes didn't kill my father," I snap at the gall of this man.
Ivan's smile turns cold. "No, that would be you, Eva."
I gape at him.
"They made you run, did they not? Maksim gave your father every chance to produce you, to explain where you'd gone." He takes a leisurely sip of wine. “Funny how you joined us to help him, but in the end, he gave his life protecting you… not from us, but from Lorenzo.”
“You either have a terrible memory or excel at twisting the truth.”
He gives a smile and a shrug. "I have to hand it to you. The death you staged was quite convincing. The car, the fire, the dental records you somehow falsified. Professional work."
But it all failed. Somehow, after nearly four years living quietly in Boston, Ivan had found me. Why did he even bother looking?
"But Maksim never bought your death," Ivan says. "My brother was obsessed with finding you. I thought he was crazy, wasting resources on a dead girl. Especially when he was betrothed to Valentina Dante.”
What? That can’t be right.
“She was his ticket to ruining the Dante family for good.” Ivan wipes his mouth with his napkin. "Turns out he was right all along. You were alive and well.”
“I don’t know why he cared, or why you do, for that matter. After all this time, I have nothing to offer.”
He arches a brow. “You have a penance to pay.”
A chill slides down my spine. "What do you want from me, Ivan?”
“I think it’s time you returned home. Time to finally choose a side and help us end this conflict.”
I meet his gaze, steeling myself. “You don’t need me to end your conflict.”
“Need? Maybe not. But I like taking what Adriano believes is his.” His face contorts into confusion. “I have to admit, I’m surprised he hasn’t killed you himself. After all, you were spying for us. The only thing that makes sense is that he doesn’t know. Poor sap.”
I can only glare at him.
“Ah, I see I’m right. So why not put everything right again? You come work for me. What do you know about their operation down at the docks? What are they planning against me?”
“I have no clue. They don’t discuss anything with me. They’re suspicious of me.”
His eyes narrow. “I believe the deal was that I free your daughter and you tell me what you know.”
I nod. “And I’m telling you I know nothing. If it helps, I haven’t told them anything about you.”
He laughs. “Well, you wouldn’t, would you? You’re a traitor. So why not come work for me again?”
"Work for you again?" I ask incredulously. There’s no way I can get close to the Dantes now that they know I’m with Ivan. Alessandro would see my return for what it was—Ivan planting me in the family.
Ivan refills his wine glass. "Let's not pretend. Your arrangement with Maksim may have ended messily, but your talents are still valuable."
I clench my fists. "Your brother murdered my father. And now you want to offer me a job?"
"Business is business, Eva." He shrugs as if discussing nothing more significant than a minor contract dispute. "Maksim overreacted when you disappeared. I won't deny that. His temper was always his weakness. I’m much more controlled."
"You're insane if you think I'd ever work for the Bratva again."
Ivan's smile doesn't falter. "I think you misunderstand your position. This isn't a negotiation. It's an opportunity. The only one you're going to get."
“Even if I wanted to, it wouldn’t work. Alessandro has never trusted me. He'd spot a spy in an instant."
"And Adriano?" Ivan counters, his eyes gleaming with malice. "Does he trust you, Eva? After you've lied to him? He does. He’s so besotted, he’s blind. The Dante men have always had a weakness for affairs of the heart.”
“He’s not blind. They know by now that you’ve kidnapped me. If I miraculously show up there again, they’ll know why.”
He waves my comment away. “You’re a shrewd woman. You’ve proven it by faking your death. Escaping from my men. Making Adriano love you even though everything about you is a lie.” He looks at me with feigned awe. “I admire your skills. Why not embrace who you truly are? Work with me.”
People like Ivan are scarier than his brother was. Maksim always carried the hint of death around him. Ivan acts like he’s wooing me into the perfect job. Giving me a gift. Oh, sure, I know refusing means my death, but I’ll admit, the calmness by which he speaks nearly lulls me into complacency.
“Given my past, I don’t know why you’d trust me.”
He shrugs. “It wasn’t us you betrayed. It was the Dantes. First by giving us information and then by leaving. I mean, of course, you left us too, but the point was to escape Lorenzo, right? Really, Eva, had you come to us, we’d have helped you. And your father would still be alive.”
He leans forward, his forearms on the table. “So now we set up new terms. You've proven your value by infiltrating the Dante family once. Do it again."
"It won't work. They'll never trust me now."
"Oh, but they do. Adriano does. And that's all that matters.
" His smile reminds me of the Cheshire Cat.
"Provide us information on their operations for the next six months, and you'll be free. Truly free this time. I’ll even get you your daughter back and help you disappear into a new life.
Anywhere you want. New identities and no fears of retaliation by the Dantes. "
The walls seem to inch closer. Six months of betraying the man I love, of risking discovery, of living with the knowledge that I'm the very thing Adriano despises most.
Ivan's expression doesn't change, but his eyes go cold. “It’s the only way you walk out of here alive."
Betray the man I love again or lose my life? The choice isn’t difficult, although it scares me.
"I'd rather die than betray him. I’ve done enough damage already."
Ivan's face transforms before my eyes. His eyes bulge, veins pulsing at his temples as he slams his fist on the table, sending crystal glasses jumping and wine splashing. So much for control.
"That can be arranged!" he roars.
I flinch but hold his gaze, refusing to cower. If this is my end, I'll face it.
Then, like a switch being flipped, his expression smooths. He sits back, sucking in a breath. He dabs at the spilled wine with his napkin.
"No," he says finally, his voice now calm. "I won't kill you yet, Eva. That would be wasteful at this early stage."
The way he says it sends ice crawling up my spine.
Ivan studies me. "You still have value."
"What are you talking about?"
His smile is chilling. "Adriano Dante is fiercely protective of what he considers his. And despite your betrayals, he still considers you his."
Understanding dawns. "You're going to use me as bait."
"Smart girl." He reaches out to touch my cheek, and it takes everything in me not to recoil. "The enforcer of the Dante family, rushing headlong into danger to rescue the woman he loves. It's almost poetic."
"He won't come alone," I say, trying to sound confident. "Alessandro would never—"
"Alessandro doesn't need to approve," Ivan interrupts. "You think Adriano will wait for his brother's permission when he learns I have you? When he hears what I'm doing to you?" His fingers tighten on my jaw. "Men like him are predictable in their chivalry. It will be his undoing."
I know he's right. Adriano will come for me and walk straight into Ivan's trap.