“Gavril, please don’t,” I plead.
Massimo may try to force me to marry someone I could never love when I’ve fallen hard for someone else, but I’d never want him dead. I love my brother, despite everything.
Gav looks at me with a madness that scares me as I approach him. “He’s my brother. I can’t lose him.”
He bares his teeth like an animal. “The son of a bitch tried to tear us apart.”
I place my hand on his arm, trying to get through to him. “He did, but he’s my family. My blood.” I realize at that moment that Gavril can’t understand that because he doesn’t have a family like mine. “I won’t forgive you if you harm him.”
Massimo spits out blood. “Save it, Camilla. He’s a psychopath. That’s the kind of man you want to be with.”
My chest hitches as I glance between the two of them. “He’s not a psychopath. He’s the man I love, and you are going to have to accept that.”
Gav tenses at the declaration that I love him and it’s not exactly how I wanted to tell him, but it just slipped out.
“You’ve known the rules since you were a little girl, Camilla.” Massimo straightens, blood still spilling from his nose. “Marrying a man of your choice was never an option for you.”
Gav pushes the gun harder against his head. “Make it a fucking option, asshole.”
I yank at his shirt. “Let’s all cool down and discuss this like adults.”
His beautiful hazel eyes are blazing with a purpose I’ve never seen before. “This isn’t a discussion. He will call of your wedding and announce that we’re together. Simple.”
It feels like my heart is going to explode, as I never believed Gav would want to be with me long term. “Are you sure?”
He nods, glancing back at Massimo. “So what do you say, Morrone?”
Leo is on edge, his finger on the trigger of his gun as his hand shakes. “Don’t give in to him. I’ll shoot him dead.”
“If you shoot me, your brother dies before your bullet hits me.” Gavril doesn’t even look at Leo. “And I am confident I can move out of the way of your bullet.” He glances briefly at Leo. “And then you will be Don. Are you ready for that, Leo?”
Leo’s throat bobs as his eyes dart between Gav and Massimo, and then he lowers his gun. “Fuck.” There’s no way he’s ready to take charge, but I wonder if he would really kill my brother after I begged him not to.
“So, what do you say, Massimo?”
Massimo glares at him with a hatred I’ve never seen before in his eyes. “I say you are a fucking asshole.” He nods. “But I’ll call off the wedding.”
“Good.” He digs his free hand into his pocket without taking his eyes off of my brother. “I’ll need you to sign this legally binding contract.”
My brother’s mouth falls open as he stares at the contract. “You really have covered all your bases, haven’t you?”
“I’m no amateur.”
“You’re a professor. Who were you before?”
Gavril shrugs. “That’s for me to know and you to contemplate.”
Massimo snatches the contract out of his hand and walks toward a rotten wooden table. “Got a pen?”
Gav pulls a pen out of his pocket and chucks it for Massimo to catch.
After a few minutes of silence, Massimo finishes reading it and shakes his head. “You’re one clever son of a bitch, Nitkin. I’ll give you that.”
I wonder what the contract says, but decide not to say a word right now. The tension is finally diffusing.
Massimo signs the contract and returns to stand in front of Gavril, shoving the paper into his chest. “You’ve got what you want. Now put the fucking gun down.”
He glances over the paper to ensure my brother did indeed sign and then nods, lowering his gun and putting it into a holster attached to his belt.