48. Chapter 48

Dmitri

Armani and Apollo Moretti have decided to interrogate me. I'm honestly surprised it's taken them this long to pull something like this. Offering me a drink under the pretense of separating me from my wife to pry is a smart move, even if it's quite predictable. At least their booze selection is impressive. If I'm going to have a glass, I want it to be a good one. I'll just double-brush my teeth before climbing into bed later.

Jade wanted to go to sleep early tonight, still worn out from the stellar fuck fest we engaged in today, but as much of a workout as it was, I couldn't go to bed at seven if I tried. Ivan is with her, though, working on his laptop while she sleeps unless she's convinced him to hold her. Either way, she's safe, and I'm just a few floors away.

I'm also not tied to a chair and being poked and prodded with weapons for information, but I'm being grilled about my history and my intentions nonetheless.

I thought I made myself clear before, but I don't mind continuing to prove myself. Jade deserves people who care about her well-being enough to sit me down and investigate me. I'll continue to answer their questions without complaint.

Nico is here as well, but I've already gained his approval. Honestly, I think he might just be here for the drinks, though he refuses to get drunk until we have the Karina situation handled for good. With him casually sitting nearby and Anatoly standing in the corner—on guard even though I haven't asked him to be—Apollo and Armani attempt to invade my mind with their words rather than their fists.

"How many women were you with before Jade?" Armani demands.

He's mostly stuck to questions with a similar context; who I was before Jade. Apollo on the other hand, he's more interested in who I plan to be now that I have Jade.

Swirling the gin in my glass, I level Armani with a look. "I didn't count."

The tattooed man scowls in response. "Isn't that just fucking lovely."

Nico snorts, showing interest in our conversation for the first time tonight. "Armani, I'm not sure you should be the one judging body counts."

I hold back a laugh. The rumors about Armani being a bit of a slut are true then. It makes sense, I've watched men and women looking at him before, and they seem to like what they see.

"We're not talking about me," he shoots back, huffing at his brother. You'd think after a few hours, they would run out of steam, but it hasn't happened yet.

"Who gives a fuck about sex?" Apollo drawls, shaking his head. "You've never loved a woman before her, correct?"

My response is immediate. "Hell no."

I'd say except for my sister, but we both know that's not the kind of love he's referring to. There's no one who's ever even come close to Jade. Not in the way she makes me feel, not in how her beauty captivates me, not in the way she drives me to be a better man, nothing. No one can touch the way Jade has engraved herself in my heart.

"And what about Ivan?" Armani asks, curving up an eyebrow. "Has he been in love? Perhaps recently, and with my little sis?—"

"Ivan is off limits," I warn, cutting in. "Your conspiracies about him and my wife hold very little interest to me." There's a slight smirk that draws up his lips like he's proud of getting even a small rise out of me.

"And what about that one?" he questions, nodding toward Anatoly. "Do you trust him as much as you trust your brother? He spends a lot of time with Jade, too, doesn't he?" Armani doesn't think Jade has a romantic interest in her guard, he just wants to know if I think Anatoly wants her.

The Morettis are fiercely protective of their own, and it's the only reason I'm tolerating this line of questioning. If anyone else were speaking to me in this way, I'd have their head for implying my wife to be anything but undyingly loyal. That isn't what he's trying to get at, though, so I'm able to remain calm.

"Anatoly," I call out casually, getting his attention. "How do you feel about my wife?"

Without flinching, he replies, "Protective."

"And when you look at her, what do you see?"

"My Koroleva."

"And?"

"And the mother of the future Pakhan."

Turning back to Armani, I lift a brow. "Satisfied?"

"Depends on what Koroleva means," he grumbles.

"Queen," Apollo translates for him, a rare smile painting his face.

Armani relents, sighing before taking a deep swig of his drink. "So you're all here to stay, then?"

"For a bit," I say cautiously. "We'll stay as close as we can for as long as we can, but chances are, we'll move into a separate house in the near future."

Instantly Armani is guarded again. "Why would you move out?"

"I'm sure you can guess," Apollo drawls.

Scrunching up his nose, Armani's lips twist in disgust. "Seriously?"

"How do you think she got pregnant exactly?" Nico questions boredly.

Unwilling to make his anger build, I shift the conversation only slightly. Still on topic, but away from mine and Jade's sex life. She'd blush so hard if she were here, mortified by the idea of her brothers hearing anything about us in that regard.

"Privacy is a bit of a concern for us," I inform them carefully. "We'll be new parents, and Jade is nervous to do anything wrong when it comes to the twins, so we'll stay here for quite some time, I imagine. She'll be happy to have your father's help. But eventually, space will be necessary. Dante suggested building a place on this property, and I'm amenable to that, but it will ultimately be up to Jade."

"And if she never wants to leave?" Apollo asks.

"I don't think Jade will ever want to leave your family," I answer honestly. "But she does eventually want to be in the west with me. She has family to meet there as well. She'll be free to visit whenever she likes, and we'll schedule more than enough time with all of you. My territory is already a Moretti safe zone—our marriage cemented that."

"So when Matteo wants to move out there with you, you'll allow it?"

It seems Nico has the same inkling that I do. Matteo may just pick leaving with Jade and me over staying with his family. It'll be a touchy situation to handle when the time comes, but of course, I wouldn't tell him no.

I doubt Matteo will ever be someone I'm close with, not in the way that I can see a future friendship between Apollo and me, or even in the same way my strange relationship with Nico developed. But Matteo is Jade's first best friend, brother or not. If he wants to come with us, it'll be for her, and I can never deny my wife anything.

"I won't turn him away," I reply diplomatically.

Before the questioning can continue, a red light flashes from Apollo's watch, and a quiet alarm begins to beep from it. Silence blankets the room, and I automatically understand that something is wrong.

"We have visitors," Apollo announces coldly, jumping up from his seat and tossing his glass aside. He doesn't flinch as it falls from the table and shatters onto the ground. Pulling his tailored suit jacket away from his hips, he pulls out his pistol at the same time that I stand up.

"Anatoly, go check on Jade and Ivan," I command, but he's already heading to the door to do just that. "Don't let her out of your sight until I come get you."

"Heard," he growls, not at me, but at the situation.

"Armani, go get everyone else. Make sure they're awake and on guard," Apollo instructs. "Nico and Dmitri, you're with me."

We don't hesitate to follow him, knowing the property guards have sent him a location. Apollo doesn't wait for his father, jumping into action with Nico and I as his only real backup. I wouldn't be waiting around for instruction, either. Heirs have to step up when things like this happen, and we've been waiting for this for long enough.

Not too far from the front gate, we find a swarm of guards, all surrounding a small figure poorly disguised in black—guns drawn. Her frame is small, meek almost, but her face can't hide the venom that's coursing through her.

From the picture Dante showed me, I know exactly who this is.

She's exactly who we've all been waiting to take out.

Karina.

My blood starts to fucking boil as we approach, a sick disgust swelling in my gut. The temptation to execute her right now without permission is so strong. The fact that Bruce isn't by her side is the only thing keeping my finger off of the trigger. We might need to use her to find him. Fuck, he might even be here.

"Finally decided to show yourself?" Apollo asks, voice hard and cold.

Karina smiles at him, and I know she can't be here alone. No one has that much confidence while being surrounded by wolves if they don't have an escape plan.

Instead of addressing him, she brings her eyes to me, attempting to appear alluring. "Dmitri Morozov," she purrs. "How's Mom?"

I know what she's doing.

She's confirming she had contact with Nina—that she helped her mess with me while on the island. That's fine, I was already suspecting the two of them crossed paths. I'm not sure why Karina would think this could rattle me in some way.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" I ask in return, my gun leveled for a perfect shot between her eyes, and my hands are lethally steady. "You'll be going to the same place, after all."

Karina tries to remain unaffected, but she can't hide that small flicker of fear in her eyes. "Where's your coward boyfriend?" I demand, sneering down at her while she tries not to tremble on her knees. "Did he send you here to die for him?"

Her fearless mask fully slips, but she tugs it back into place. "He's going to kill all of you. And then, I'm going to burn this place to the ground with that slut Jade still inside of it. She deserves to be fucking incinerated!"

Try as I might, I don't understand Karina's delusion that Jade is some kind of scheming harlot. Insistence from Bruce, perhaps. Maybe he sold her on the idea of torturing Jade because of the way she "looks at him" or something even more ridiculous.

"Get her inside," Nico barks, angry with the insult to his sister.

Fury is radiating through all three of us, but we can't pull the trigger. It's not our call to make, it's Dante's. Jade may be my wife, but she's his daughter, and she was stolen from him. He missed out on damn near eighteen years of her life, and he should be the one to kill who's responsible for it.

Bruce, though, whoever gets their hands on him first is going to eat him alive.

The guards manhandle Karina, dragging her off of the ground and hauling her up to carry her inside. Typically, business would be handled anywhere else. A warehouse, a barn, the middle of the woods… but we don't exactly have the ability to move right now.

"I want half of you combing the property," Apollo instructs with a harsh demand to the guards. "She's not alone."

"I'm getting Jade to the safe room," I tell him once Karina is struggling too hard to hear. "I'll send Ivan and Anatoly down."

"She won't go," he deadpans. "She won't hide from this."

Curling my hands into fists, I ignore his words, even though he's probably right.

"I'll be back."

This ends tonight.

All of it.