Page 122 of Sinful Betrayal

“You should be grateful it’s not your neck,” he snarls.

“Enough,” my father growls, appearing behind Akim.

I freeze as I watch him step over the threshold into Anton’s house. There’s nothing but cold fury in his eyes, and I know he’s not here for a friendly catch up.

“What do you want?” I fold my arms over my chest to try and hide the fact that my hands are shaking.

He shouldn’t be here. If he somehow learns that Anton’s mother is nearby, there’s no way he would leave here without sending Anton a message.

“You need to come with us. Now.”

I glance nervously over my shoulder, trying to weigh my options.

Does my father have more men waiting outside ready to storm the place? If he hurts Maria, Anton will never forgive me, and I wouldn’t expect him to. I would never forgive myself either.

I need to protect her. But I also need to protect my baby.

“It wasn’t a request, Nina,” Akim scolds.

I frown. “What are you planning?”

“That’s none of your fucking business?—”

Igor holds up a hand to silence Akim.

“I won’t ask you again, Nina.” His voice is chill as ice.

“I’m not coming with you. The deal is off.” I tighten my hold on my bags and start to head for the door when my father lunges for me, wrapping his hand around my neck and slamming me back into the wall.

I grunt at the impact, and my eyes start to water as I fight to breathe.

I grip his wrists, sinking my nails into the faded tattooed skin, but that only makes him tighten his hold on me.

“That’s not your decision to make,” he growls, his hot breath hitting my face. “The deal is done when Anton Koslov is dead.”

Akim is sneering as he watches on, pure delight on his face as black dots start to dance in front of my eyes.

He’s going to kill me.

“N-No.”

“You’re proven yourself to be a liability, Nina, and you need to be dealt with.”

28

ANTON

I usedto consider myself a smart man. Having a younger brother like Nikolai, I was naturally forced into the role of being the level-headed sibling, the one who always weighed both sides of a situation before making any sort of decision. It’s something Alexei has always valued in me too—the ability to be objective. To take a step back and remove emotion from the equation.

But it turns out it only takes a smile and a great pair of legs to have me losing all ability to think rationally.

Was I really so blinded by her beauty that I couldn’t see Nina for who she really was?

Igor Ivanov is her father.

I slam my glass down on the bar so hard I’m surprised it doesn’t shatter, and the bartender takes that as his cue to pour me another.

There’s no way my cousins are going to let me get away with fucking up so spectacularly.