scum Richard put his hands on you.”
“Oh.” A rush of something hot goes through me and for some reason, it’s not disgust.
My husband said he’d protect me and he did. Even when I completely erased him.
“That’s not all, Lia. Richard was the Bratva’s mayoral candidate and Sergei isn’t happy that he died. If he finds out it’s an inside job, he’ll consider it a betrayal.”
“Does he…does he suspect Adrian?”
“Yes, and he put Vladimir on the task to bring him down. That mule fucker won’t stop until he proves that Boss is behind it. Igor, who never forgave him for tossing Kristina aside for you, is also plotting his demise so he can put his eldest son in Boss’s position.”
“But…but…isn’t he the most valuable asset to the brotherhood? Sergei wouldn’t abandon him just like that.”
“He would.”
“But why? Adrian is the pillar of that stupid brotherhood. They can’t simply cast him out.” I’m so enraged on his behalf. He gave those assholes his youth and his life, yet they have the audacity to do this to him for someone as insignificant as Richard?
“They sure can. Richard’s death allowed the Lucianos to push their candidate forward and that’s a clear act of betrayal.”
My heart skips a beat at the mention of Dad’s last name. My biological father—the reason why Adrian approached me in the first place. “But he didn’t do it to benefit the Italians.”
“True, but that’s what it’d look like to Sergei and everyone else.”
“Shit.”
“Shit, indeed, Lia. So don’t waste any more time.”
“I don’t plan to.”
Yan hesitates, running his hand through his hair as he watches me from beneath his long eyelashes.
“What is it, Yan?”
“I heard you that night, you know.”
“What night?”
“When I was shot.”
“Oh.”
“You knew that man.” He lowers his voice. “You know him.”
“Yeah,” I murmur.
“Ah, well, fuck. One more complication.”
“Are you going to tell Adrian?”
“Of course not. He’ll take it out on you.”
“But Kolya said Adrian suspects you and thinks you got shot as a ploy.”
“He has no proof to go with it and he doesn’t act without that. I’ll be fine. Just focus on yourself.”
“Thank you. I’m so glad I have you.”
“Me too. Or else my cause of death would’ve been boredom.”
I smile, then peek at him. “Can you do me one more favor?”
“Now what?”
I suck in a deep breath. “Tell me all about the time I was Winter.”
Becoming whole depends on me and me alone. Only when I put all the pieces of my life together will I be able to take the next step.
Whether it will build or destroy us, I have no clue.
9
Adrian
The overstimulation of my mind stops me from processing anything.
Or perhaps I’m processing so much that my brain cells are burning faster than I can form thoughts.
Ever since I witnessed Lia kissing her lover, I’ve been seeing a mist of red. Dark fucking red.
Rage red.
And I couldn’t blow it by killing the fucker because she was protecting him.
Again.
She just regained her memories and stopped asking me to call her by another woman’s name, but the first person she went to was him. Her lover.
Fucking again.
I slam my fist against the table and revel in the shock that reverberates through my arm. At least the pain distracts me from murderous thoughts about her.
About him.
About everyone.
It’s temporary, but it’s better than nothing.
The fact that she got on her knees for the first time, told me to fuck her mouth for the first time, made things even worse.
While I enjoyed the feel of her hands on me and the way I used her mouth to the point of eruption, the gratification ended at that very moment. Because now, all I keep thinking about is how she only did that to shield him. To distract me from following after him.
I knew that at the time, I did, but I had to take her mouth, had to punish her.
And the need for more is still pulsing through my veins.
Maybe this was her plan all along—seducing me so she can distract me.
“Do you want to call it a night, Boss?” Kolya asks from his position on the sofa.
Leaving the surveillance monitors, I stand up and stride to the window, releasing a heavy breath as I stare at the dark garden outside. “I want his location, Kolya.”
“Yes, but watching hours upon hours of public surveillance will probably be a waste of time. He knows how to cover his tracks and always wears a mask and a hat. We only got his profile and it’s impossible to get a facial identification from