“That doesn’t mean anything.”
“In our world it does. In our world, you don’t always get to be with the girl you love. I won’t.”
My interest piques. He’s never been so open with me before.
“Why not?”
“Because she doesn’t belong to me.” Defeat invades his eyes.
“You don’t strike me as a man who would let that stop you.”
“I’m not. But on this occasion, I had to. Sometimes you have to choose your battles wisely.”
I consider his words as I mull over everything that happened tonight, and how it made me feel. I can’t allow anyone to have control over my emotions the way Anastasia does. I just can’t. “Maybe that’s what I’m doing.”
“I don’t think you are.”
“Why not?” I’m really interested to hear what he has to say.
“I came across something I thought was odd at first, then I realized it wasn’t.”
“What did you come across, brother?”
“The change of ownership details for Sidorov Developments.”
Shit.How the motherfucking hell did he find that? That was hidden pretty much in the same way everything else was hidden and I got Gytha to mask the ownership like Uther did with the oil company. I clench my back teeth and slow my breathing. Finding that means he knows a chunk of my plan he shouldn’t.
“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”
“Is it Zakh?”
“I think you know the answer to that.”
My heart tells me I can trust him but I’m not used to trusting anyone outside my circle.
“Then what about it?”
“It belongs to you. To my knowledge, we were supposed to form a partnership of shares. The whole marriage contract was based on that. Uther was to get shares in Volkova Inc. and you’d get some of Sidorov Developments’. But all you left the man with is the clothes on his back. You took his daughter so he’d have no way of arranging another marriage, you took his position in the Bratva, and now you own the vineyard/oil field too.” He gives me a pensive stare. “Apart from what you knew about the vineyard, I suspected there was more going on between you and Uther when you demoted him. It didn’t make sense given his years of expertise. But now I know there’s more. You came for vengeance on him too, didn’t you? Not just our father. Am I right?”
I haven’t known Zakh for that long, but from what I know about him, I’ve gathered that he wouldn’t be asking me a question like that if he didn’t already know the answer.
“Yes.”
He looks me over. “Was it Uther who killed your mother?”
“It was.”
“Why haven’t you killed him yet?” He speaks respectfully, as if giving due regard to my mother.
“All in good time. I’m sure you understand death is too easy for some villains.”
“I do. Does Anastasia know?”
“No.” I drag in a breath and clench my jaw.
I’ve gone from feeling like I can’t talk about the past with her because Uther is her father, to not wanting to hurt her even more than Uther has. The people she loves lied to her, including Viktor. She already knows I’m the devil, but maybe I don’t want to be the man to break her heart even more.
“If all of that can happen to you and you can still love her, that has to be worth something.”