Page 73 of House of Lies
If Kaz allows him to live, he won’t only come after me. He will also come after Kaz. I should feel remorse for saying those words, but I don’t. Mattia must die, and I don’t care who kills him. Not anymore. I failed, so it’s time for someone else to try.
“How would you like him to die?”
“What?”
My hands shake uncontrollably, and my mind is spinning.
“How would you like him to die?”
“I wish there was another way.”
“But there isn’t. So, how is it going to be?”
“His death won’t change anything that happened. It will only be more bloodshed, but what’s done is done.”
“I’m already at war. Bloodshed is inevitable.”
He is. He started a war when he kidnapped Mattia, even before he killed Ermanno. There’s no turning back.
“This is why you should consider returning home as soon as possible.” I make one last futile attempt to persuade him.
I see him contemplating, standing closer to me. I hold my breath, waiting. But he returns to the chair instead.
“I will return home, but you’re coming with me. There’s nothing you can say to change my mind.”
There’s still a spark of anger inside me, and he lights it up.
“So, I’m coming back with you as what? Your slave? Your whore?”
He utters a string of Russian words that I don’t understand. It’s a rough, unfamiliar language, but it sounds strangely beautiful coming from him. I raise an eyebrow, waiting for him to calm down. His jaw twitches, and his knuckles turn white.
“Would you mind repeating that in English?”
“I’d rather not, no.”
I wrap my hands around my body, rubbing my arms. I hiss, drawing Kaz’s attention to me. It hurts like hell.
“You’re the most stubborn woman I have ever met, Caelia. I’ll give you that. It used to amuse me, but it’s no longer funny. You’re hurt. You’re in pain,” he states, standing up. His tall, lean figure overwhelms me. “You need to stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
"Like, I’m going to hurt you.”
“Excuse me for not being able to read your mind.”
“You don’t have to read my mind. You’ve spent months with me.”
“And I’ve seen what happens when you lose your patience.”
My words aren’t fair to him, but neither is what he demands of me. I thought I was done. There was no fight left in me. But he has a way of bringing out the worst in me.
Blood drains from his face.
“Since you mentioned it, can we talk about that?”
“I’d rather not. I don’t want to talk about it. About any of it.”
It’s more of a reminder that just because he’s not Mattia doesn’t mean he’s that different. He takes slow steps toward the door, his hands in his pockets. His suit is creased from sleeping in it. I observe him as he glances back at me. There are dark circles under his gray eyes, and there is no sign of color on his face. He rubs his eyes and turns away.