Page 57 of Savage Crown
“It was the only way, Jesse,” I said. “Anastasia Romanov must die so all her shit would die with
her. Now everybody will know I’m alive, including Leo. He and the Romanovs will come for me, for
us.”
“And we’ll be ready for them.”
I glanced up at the ceiling in frustration. “The only way I can stop them is by taking my
inheritance.”
“What?”
“I’d learned that my father had left me everything. If I take over the family business, no Romanov
can hurt you.”
“You want to run a Bratva family? What about Tino Bellomo’s son? What about Tino Bellomo
himself? He runs Chicago.”
“I’ll take the business elsewhere then. Kentucky could use some Russian guns.” I chuckled.
He didn’t share my humor. “Sia. You can’t joke about this. This is serious shit. Is this really what
you want?”
“No. But I don’t see a way out of it. I can’t let you die because of me, Jesse Savage.”
“What about what we’ve planned? What about being free?”
“How can faking my death stop the Bratva from having their revenge on you?”
He sighed. “Maybe if we can stage that you and Rasputin killed each other, and you’re both
dead…”
“Nobody is going to believe this unless…we got some help, from someone who could vouch for it,
someone the family trusted.”
He squinted at me for a second. “Your grandma. You think she can play along?”
“I don’t know, but it’s worth the shot. Maybe Tino Bellomo can do something about it, too.”
A smile stretched his lips, and he kissed my hand. “It means we’re going to Chicago after all.”
I reached a weak hand for his face. Touching him soothed and eased my pain, helping me to relax
and think clearer. “It doesn’t matter where we’re going as long as we’re together. Being Anastasia
Romanov, the future Bratva Empress, or Daniella Melono, the Italian nobody, isn’t what’s going to set me free. Fear was my cage, but with you I’m no longer afraid.” I touched his chest right on his heart.
“It’s your love, Jesse. That what has already set me free. That is all that matters.”
“I don’t give a shit what you call yourself or what you choose to do with your life. I’ll always be
here with you, every step of the way, loving you, fighting for you, protecting you.” He kissed me.
“You’ll always be my Sia, baby girl.”
