I know I have to tell her the truth, but I hate how much it makes my stomach roll. “I have one very good reason, and it’s not that, bonita.” I wipe away a stray tear as it trickles down her cheek. “Because I love you, Natalya.”
Her eyes widen then, brow pulling together in an adorable frown. “That’s not possible,” she murmurs.
I keep hold of her. “I think I’ve loved you for a long time, even if my actions screamed the opposite.” My chest aches at the look on her face. It’s utter disbelief. “I’ve been a fucking idiot all these years, and I want you to understand that I know I need to spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
Her lips purse together as she searches my eyes.
“If only you would give me that chance.”
She pulls away from me and turns her back. “Would a man who loved me really have blackmailed me into giving up my virginity the way you did?” She asks.
I hear a rumble from around the corner and before I know what is happening, Mikhail Gurin has me pinned against the wall, eyes alight with murderous rage. “I’m going to fucking kill you, Morales. I don’t care who the fuck your uncle is, but you are a dead man.” His hands grip my throat with such strength, I know I won’t last long until he’s clawed the life out of me.
Natalya gasps, eyes wide behind her brother as she tries to process what just happened.
I believe he will murder me without a second’s hesitation just from the look in his eyes as I make eye contact with Nat, hoping she can talk some sense into her brother.
Nat rushes forward. “Mikhail, put him down!” She claws at his huge arms, trying to free me as the pressure around my neck becomes almost too much to bear. He’s strangling the life out of me and if I don’t do something, he really will kill me.
I find the strength to kick upward and catch the huge Russian bastard right where it hurts, forcing him to release me just long enough to get away. Scrambling around him, I go to stand on the other side of the room. Distance from him is the only thing that will save me.
Natalya follows me. “Are you alright?” The concern in her voice and those beautiful chestnut eyes only increases the pathetic hope that she might feel the same way I do.
I nod in response, drawing in long and gasping breaths of oxygen into my lungs. “For a moment there, I thought I was a goner.”
She places a hand on my arm, drawing my eyes to her. “You almost were.”
The unmistakable clicking sound of a gun being cocked behind us makes both our eyes widen as we spin to face her brother. Mikhail is looking at me as if he’s out for blood as he levels the gun right at me. “No one blackmails my family and lives to tell the tale,” he growls. “There’s no reason I shouldn’t sink a bullet into your skull right now.” His nostrils flare as he steps closer. “You defiled my baby sister over it and there’s no way I can let you live after that.”
He was eavesdropping on our conversation for God knows how long and Nat mentioning me blackmailing her to give up her virginity was the last straw. Of all the ways I thought I might die, this wasn’t it.
Despite being a part of this crazy criminal world since I was born, I’ve never stared death in the face like this.
“Mikhail, put the gun down,” Nat urges, holding her hands out in front of her as she stares at him with wide eyes. “There’s no need for violence.”
He growls and his dark eyes move away from me and onto her. “Don’t you dare defend this snake. I heard everything. He’s been blackmailing both of us, and I won’t stand for it.” His nose turns up as he looks at his sister with disgust. “How can you even come to his defense when he blackmailed you into sleeping with him?”
I look at her then, wondering the same thing, and that same stupid hope ignites. Even now, while I’m staring death in the face, all I’m hoping is that she loves me too, deep down. That she wants to try to make this work, even if all the odds are stacked against us.
32
NATALYA
Because I love you, Natalya.
Elias’wordsrepeatover and over in my mind like a broken record as I stare down the barrel of Mikhail’s gun.
It took me by surprise and I’m still not sure if it’s a trick or real, but I know I feel the same and right now I’m watching as the two men I love most in this world are facing off against each other.
Mikhail followed us and eavesdropped on the conversation. Clearly, I wasn’t very convincing earlier, and he suspected something was up. Now, I’m standing next to the man who just professed his love for me as he stares down the barrel of my brother’s gun.
“Mikhail, put down the gun,” I repeat for the second time, trying to inch next to Elias in an attempt to shield him from my brother.
Mikhail isn’t stupid, but he’s also fueled by uncontrollable rage and easily angered. He heard me when I said Elias blackmailed me into sleeping with him and that’s not something he’ll ever forget.
Mikhail’s dark eyes move to me for the second time. “How can you defend him?” He shakes his head. “Why don’t you want him dead?”
I step a foot in front of Elias, but I’m not blocking him yet. That would require me moving in front of him and I don’t want Mikhail to see what I’m planning yet. “It’s complicated, brother. Why don’t you put down the gun and allow me to explain?” I try.