Chapter 19
Dmitri
Cara is on me the second we step through the door.
Her lips crash into mine as soon as I shut the door, her arms winding around my neck. She kisses me like she needs air, desperate and needy.
She still has no idea what she does to me.
I pick her up by the back of her thighs and carry her over to the couch, setting her down on my lap as our kiss deepens.
We’ve taken it easy since Italy so she could heal.
That time is over.
Cara unbuttons my white dress shirt, lowering her head to kiss my neck and exposed chest.
I draw in a deep breath as I tilt my head back, my fingers gripping her hair. Every touch ignites more heat within me. My body reacts immediately as she moves against me.
Cara shoves my shirt open, her fingertips trailing down my muscles as her lips rejoin mine.
I slide my hands up the back of her shirt, causing the material to ride up as I hold her flush against me. “You taste sweet.”
An amused smile crosses her lips. “I wonder why.”
I’ve eaten more sweets today than I have probably all year, but I’d do anything for her. Sacrifice myself for her. Kill for her. Eat way too much damn cake for her.
Whatever she wants.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, milaya,” I whisper to her as I cup her face, my eyes roaming over her lovely features that caught my attention the day we met.
Cara’s eyes fill with awe as she curls her fingers around my wrists. “I love you.”
The corner of my mouth curls up. “I—”
A loud knock slams against the door.
Immediate frustration pulses through me as I glare at the door. “Who the fuck is that?”
Cara climbs off me, to my disappointment, and adjusts her hair and shirt.
I don’t even bother buttoning up my shirt as I storm over to the foyer and throw open the door, ready to berate whoever interrupted us. The guards let them up so it must be someone we trust.
“Andrei?”
Andrei stands there breathing hard, like he ran the last block. “Shit. Sorry. I was nearby and figured I would just come by and talk to you in person rather than over the phone.”
“It better be important.”
Andrei glances down at my open shirt and flashes a sheepish grin. “Oops. But yes, of course it’s important.”
I roll my eyes at him and turn away to stalk back toward the living room, hearing his footsteps following behind me.
“Hey, Andrei,” Cara greets him as she sits on the far corner of the couch, trying to look casual.
“Hey, Cara,” Andrei says as he nods to her. “Sorry for dropping in like this, but I need to talk to you both.”
“What is it?” I ask him, remaining standing as I turn to face him.
“You and Sean have been digging through Ferro’s background and the rest of the Italians linked to him. So, I started digging into another family to try to find any clues or information about who else was in that farmhouse,” Andrei explains.
“Who?” I question him. We all thought digging through the Italians’ business would grant us some answers.
“The Suyunovs,” Andrei replies. “They have just as much reason to hate you two as the Italians. Maybe even a little more.”
“I haven’t heard anything about them or from them in a while,” I tell him with a shrug. “I figured they backed off after the wedding fell apart.”
“More like disappeared,” Andrei says.
I look over at Cara whose face fills with shock. “What do you mean they disappeared?”
“Artur is missing,” Andrei replies. “My men have searched the whole city, and we haven’t seen any sign of him.”
I exhale slowly as I start to pace around the living room. “I wish that comforted me. I’d like to think that they fled back to Russia, but…”
“You’re not stupid,” Andrei finishes. “That’s not a coincidence. Their disappearance has to be strategic.”
“What about Annika?” Cara speaks up as she stands from the couch. “Where is she?”
“We haven’t found any sign of her either,” Andrei tells her.
Cara chews on her bottom lip as her eyes drop to the floor, her silence adding even more tension to the room.
I walk closer to her, my hand grazing her arm. “What is it?”
Cara shakes her head, her brow creasing in uncertainty. “The thought crossed my mind a while ago, but I thought it was crazy. Maybe it isn’t…”
“What?” I ask her as I tilt her head up with a finger under her chin.
Cara meets my gaze, her eyes clouding with uneasiness. “Do you remember how I said I think that the person who kicked me in the stomach was a woman?”
The realization hits me like a punch to the chest. For a moment I forget to breathe. “You think it was Annika?”
“She’s hated me since the start, and her father has hated you since you called off the wedding,” Cara tells me, the words rushing out of her as fast as they filter through her mind. “She never said a word when she was down in that basement with me. Maybe she didn’t want me to realize who she was.”
“The Suyunovs are as slimy as they come,” I mutter bitterly. I can’t believe I ever considered working with them. “We can’t rule out the prospect of them being involved with Ferro. They probably hate me more than the Italians.”
“But why would they disappear?” Cara asks.
“Either they don’t want to end up like Ferro or they’re planning something,” Andrei replies as he crosses his arms. He then sighs, his body deflating a little. “I was na?ve enough to hope this began and ended with the Italians.”
“We all hoped for that,” I tell him. “But Cara is sure that she heard other people at the farmhouse. There’s no telling how widespread this could be.”
“I’ll keep looking into the Suyunovs then. No one can truly disappear without a trace nowadays,” Andrei says as he pulls out his phone. “If they’re still lurking around the city, you two need to be careful going out and about.”
Cara frowns. We can’t even plan for our wedding without worrying about something bad happening.
I wrap my arm around her shoulders to pull her against my side, feeling the weight on her that she can’t hide. “We can still plan the wedding. We just don’t go anywhere alone.”
Cara sighs. “I have a dress fitting this week.”
“And I’m guessing you still don’t want me to come along.”
Cara’s features sharpen. “No, you can’t come. It’s bad luck.”
“I don’t think you guys need more bad luck,” Andrei comments.
“Exactly,” Cara says as she twists her body to face me. “I could…I guess I could ask my father if he’ll come with me. Would that make you feel better?”
Sean and his men are better protection than a few of mine.
“I’ll reach out to him tonight and make sure he clears any plans so he can accompany you,” I tell her.
The sides of her mouth turn up a little. “Thursday at eleven o’clock sharp.”
I nod to her before looking over at Andrei. “If you find anything else, let me know. If the Suyunovs are lurking around, we need to take them out before they move on us.”
“Luckily, the Suyunovs shouldn’t be as big of a threat as Ferro and his men,” Andrei points out.
“We’ll see about that,” I murmur, unable to ignore the uneasiness spreading throughout my chest.
The Suyunovs vanishing overnight puts a knot in my chest.
What the hell are they planning?
If Cara is right about Annika being there, then this mess runs deeper than we thought. Deals made in the shadows. People pulling strings we can’t even see yet.
Ferro might be dead, but he was never the whole problem.
“Be careful,” Andrei warns us before heading out of the penthouse, leaving Cara and me alone once more.
It’s safe to say that the mood has changed since he showed up.
“I really think it was her, Dmitri,” Cara says as she stares at the ground, no doubt with uneasy thoughts racing around in her head. “What other woman would hurt me like that? It felt…personal.”
I frown as I watch her hands gravitate to her stomach like she needs to shield herself even now. I hate that I wasn’t there to protect her. For weeks, I was running around in circles while they starved her and beat her to the brink of death.
“We’ll find out the truth,” I promise her as I pull her into my arms, my fingers combing through her hair. “We’ll find every single person who hurt you and make them pay.”
Cara claws at the back of my shirt, gripping me like she’s afraid that she’ll be ripped away from me at any moment. “I just want to plan our wedding and keep our baby safe. That’s all. I’m tired of the schemes and the fights and the bloodshed. I’m just so tired of it, Dmitri.”
Pain pierces my heart as I hear the exhaustion in her voice. She wasn’t supposed to go through so much. It seems like no matter how much I try to protect her, she still suffers.
What if our child experiences the same thing?
“I will figure this out,” I promise her as I rest my hands on the frame of her face. “For both of you.”
Cara leans forward and rests her forehead against mine. We stand there for a few minutes before I check the time on my watch.
“I’ll call in some men to guard the area around the flower shop before our appointment,” I say. “Better safe than sorry.”
Cara nods in understanding, but I can see the disappointment flicker across her face.
Wedding planning is supposed to be just for us. Not us, my men, and possibly our enemies too.
But this is how it has to be for now.
Soon this will end, and I don’t plan on letting fucking Ferro win from the grave.