Chapter 6 - The Trap Closes
By dawn, the penthouse felt entirely different. The lines between enemy and ally had completely dissolved, replaced by a dangerous, mutual obsession. But in the world of organized crime, passion was a luxury no one could afford for long.
While Alexi slept heavily beside me for the first time in months, I slipped out of bed, pulled on a silk robe, and walked quietly over to his private desk.
If my cover was blown—if Dmitri already knew about my father—then my time in Moscow was running out. I needed the master ledger. The encrypted flash drive containing every financial route, every laundering network, and every political bribe the Ivankov syndicate operated.
My fingers flew across his secure terminal.
Access denied.
A secondary password prompt blinked on the screen. A biometric lock.
"Looking for something?"
I froze.
I turned around slowly. Alexi stood leaning against the doorframe of the bedroom, shirtless, his dark hair messy from sleep, holding a cup of black coffee. He didn't look angry. He looked profoundly disappointed.
"You never stopped looking for the files, did you?" he asked quietly.
"I have a job to do, Alexi."
"Your job was to spy on me. To destroy me." He set the coffee cup down on the table with a dull thud. "And yet, last night, you lay in my arms."
"One doesn't cancel out the other," I said, my voice hardening as I reached slowly for the small dagger hidden in my garter belt.
Before my hand could touch the steel, Alexi moved with terrifying speed. In a blur of motion, he crossed the room, pinned my wrists above my head against the wall, and trapped me in place.
"Do you really think I didn't know?" he whispered, his face inches from mine, his eyes blazing with dark fire.
I stopped struggling. "What?"
"I knew who you were the second you stepped into my ballroom three weeks ago, Esme. Or should I say... Francesca Marchetti?"
My breath caught in my throat. "You... you knew?"
"Of course I knew," he said, a grim smile touching his lips. "Giovanni thinks he is the only one who plays long-term games. I wanted you inside my house. I wanted to see what the great Marchetti syndicate would send to break me."
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"And instead?" I challenged, my pulse pounding in my ears.
"Instead, you saved my life, fell into my bed, and proved that your loyalty belongs to no one except yourself." He loosened his grip on my wrists, letting his hands slide down slowly to hold my waist. "Your father thinks he's using you to destroy me, Francesca. But he just handed me the most dangerous weapon in his family."
