The Deep End

Chapter 30

"Why would you betray me like this, betray the family like this?" He questions, his jaw clenched as he tries his best to keep his temper in check.

If he truly expected me to comply with his demand then he knows me even less than I thought he did. Or maybe he underestimated my feelings for Polina.

"You would've killed her after you used her as bait to lure her father out. You put a gun to her head and made it clear how you felt. I did what had to be done." I reply calmly.

"She's the fucking enemy, Lorenzo!" He shouts, unable to hold it back any longer, not denying my accusations. "She's the reason why I lost a son, almost lost two and Nolani! The three of them almost died because of her!"

He's starting to sound like a broken record and it's becoming exasperating. I have a world's worth of patience but I'll only repeat myself so many times.

"I told you she's the reason the Bratva was so easily dismantled. She handed over every bit of information she had. She betrayed her own family for us. We would probably still be hunting them down if not for her."

I get why he's angry and I expected it but he's not listening.

He pulls his gun from its holster and presses it against my throat, a scowl on his face. "And yet we still don't have her fucking father and you've let her go!" He clenches his jaw, his chest heaving with anger as a vein in his neck throbs. "I should end you right here on your fucking knees like the traitor you are."

It's always the same thing. Traitor. I'm so fucking sick of it.

The smirk I've been fighting finds my lips. "I'm a traitor now am I?"

"What else should I call you, Lorenzo?" He spits venomously. "You've done nothing but shown everyone that you've lived up to your name."

"If it were Nolani, would you have handed her over?" I arch an eyebrow at him but he remains silent and I let out a dry laugh. "It's okay, you don't need to respond because I already know the answer."

"Unfortunately for you the roles aren't reversed and you are a traitor, whether you lost your fucking mind and fell in love with the Ivanov girl or not." He growls, pressing the gun further into my throat. "How could you betray me like this? After the shit that family has put us through and then you have the balls to disrespect me in front of all of my men as if it's nothing. You chose her over your family, you chose to be a traitor instead of remaining loyal and you know what happens to traitors."

I sigh in annoyance as I watch his finger graze the trigger. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, it won't end well but we both know out of the two of us I'm the leveled headed one so the possibility of me pissing you off and you killing me are exceedingly high."

He studies my face for a minute, reading the meaning behind my words as I reveal one of my many secrets. His eyes flick around the nearby houses, searching, and he quickly jerks the gun away.

"I'm not a traitor." I assure him. "Polina had no choice in what she had to do, just like you and I haven't had a choice with some of the things that we've had to do. She's more than made up for it. If you can think straight for two minutes of your life you would be more worried about getting back to the states where Luís is because he's the one hiding her father. Vincenzo hacked his cameras and they revealed nothing but he said he may not have cameras where he's holding him, which is highly likely."

He digs his palms into his eyes, an easy tell of agitation for him and heaves a heavy sigh. When he pulls his hands from his face his eyes look tired, he looks worn down from stress, like he's got the weight of the world on top of him and his grip is slipping. He has no idea I plan to take that weight from him.