Page 138 of Mafia Obsession

“Sandrine is not yours,” I say, voice low, but unwavering. “It’s been five years. Whoever you were dating, whatever you believed she felt for you, no longer exists. I’m here with a compassionate offer of closure, Kirill. Give up this quest.”

I look up and see the new bid amount.

Shaking my head, I wave the paddle and keep talking. “I had no hand in what occurred five years ago, but I’ve reviewed Thomas De la Vega’s journals. I saw nothing that would suggest missing money or blackmail material on your father. There is nothing left for you to claim as a debt.”

After I up my bid again, Kirill leans closer and presses the cold and metal barrel of a gun into my groin beneath the table.

“You misunderstand,” he says in a lower register. “This was never about money. Or a debt. Don’t make me take yourwifeas leverage. Iknowwheresheis.”

“You tried that once. And you failed,” I say, and raise my paddle.

“Stop fucking bidding,” he says through clenched teeth. “I won’t fail next time. This is your city. I respect that, Ares. But Sandrine belongs in Chicago with me. Ineedher by my side when I take my place as pakhan.Seven million!”

Sayingheneedsher gives me pause. But I follow through with the bidding to keep him pissed off.“Eight million!”

After gasps from the gallery, I look down at the less distinguished bidders on the lower level. They’ve all turned their attention to Kirill and me on the dais.

“If you even think about touching Lourdes, I will kill you, Kirill. Don’t make me do that. I broke my back to end a war with the fucking Irish. I don’t want one with the Bratva,” I say evenly, letting the gun stay pressed into my dick. “I respect your position as heir to the brotherhood. You have a city to run. Go home, Kirill. Find someone else. You will never see Sandrine again.”

He withdraws the gun and curses under his breath. His expression is calm out of nowhere despite the turmoil that must be raging beneath his skin. “Do you love that wife of yours?”

I still. Any flicker of emotion would betray misplaced feelings. I won’t place a bigger target on my wife’s back.

“No,” I say firmly, though my hesitation possibly gave me away.

“Ten fucking million!” he barks, aiming a savage grin at me.

“Sold!” A gavel falls, and applause breaks out from the seats below the dais.

“Congratulations, Kirill.” I place the paddle on the table.

He knows he can’t win against me. Not this time. Even killing all of my guards didn’t weaken me.

“Thanks for upping the fucking bid.” He shakes his head and then speaks into his phone.

My gaze lingers on him. “If you take either Lourdes or Sandrine, it will cost you much more.”

“We’ll see.” Kirill drains his glass, stands up, and looks at me with pity in his cold eyes. “It’s a shame you don’t know how to love, Ares. It’s a good balance when you’re impossibly cruel.”

Without another word, he goes to the admin corridor to complete his transaction. I stare after him. His words about love balancing out the cruelty we must inflict hit deep in my chest. I’m a mess of adrenaline, coiled tightly by the emotions I keep denying. A love I won’t allow myself to feel.

My gaze drifts briefly toward the canvas on the stage being moved off an easel. Something about the composition and thelayers of color feel oddly familiar, though I can’t immediately place why.

I leave the dais and then the auction house without a backward glance. In my Bentley, I instruct the driver to go straight to the penthouse, then I call Daria.

“How did it go?” she asks, her voice measured.

I lean back, fingers tightening around the phone.

“I think Volkov got the message,” I say, letting the words drop deliberately. “My showing up to face him signaled my investment in keeping Sandrine out of his grasp. It’s been five years. He’ll move on.”

Would I move on if I felt that way about a woman? Am I miscalculating a dangerous man?

“Does he know she has memory loss?” Daria asks.

It makes me look at the phone. “I don’t know. He didn’t ask me how she was. Or hinted he knew that she’d been hurt and in an institution all this time.”

“Why didn’t you tell him?”