“I made you choose,” he snarls. “I forced your hand. But I never, not once, betrayed you. I was honestabout how I felt. About what I wanted.”
“I didn’t lie, either,” I protest, my voice wobbly and weak. The exhaustion of the day is catching upwith me and all I want to do is close my eyes. “When we had s*x… that’s when I was most honestwith you. And with myself. It felt good to be with you, but I don’t live just for myself. You understand
“Don’t tell me what I understand.”
“Your loyalty is to the Bratva,” I continue, “and mine is to Elise. I had to do what was best for her.”
His jaw clenches and shifts. Nikolai understands loyalty. He lives by it. He’ll have to understand this.
“My loyalty is to the Bratva, you’re right,” he says. “And today, my men died because of your lies.Because I
