Sergei was outside of the bathroom. Again, I hated the way he looked at my wife. I made a note to look into a replacement bodyguard for my wife. I wouldn’t kill Sergei for having a little crush, if that was even what he had. I wasn’t a fool. I was very much aware of the bonds that formed between wives and bodyguards. They were always around each other. They became friends and for some, it turned into a relationship.

Not all husbands liked their women fucking the help, though. For me, it wasn’t Sergei’s social standing that was the problem. I simply didn’t want him or any man touching my wife.

She belonged to me.

I’d taken her virginity. All of her firsts, and every encounter after that all belonged to me.

I wasn’t going to give her up.

Back at our table, I nodded for the waiter to bring out our dinner. Staring at Aurora now, her lips swollen, her hair a little disheveled, she looked everywhere but at me. The fire no longer in her eyes, but now, I wanted to talk.

“Your father had nothing to do with the attack. He didn’t send those men.”

Her gaze landed back on me, exactly where I wanted them. “Oh.”

“Yes. It would seem the men who attacked the party had formed what they felt was an elite group of soldiers.”

“I don’t understand.” Her frown was cute.

“To put it simply, the soldiers that worked for your father, and the other Capos, decided they didn’t like taking orders. They formed their own group, considering themselves the best of the soldiers. They weren’t, which is why they were let go with ease. We don’t make it a habit of driving out our best soldiers.”

“Why attack the party?”

“They didn’t like the Bratva connection. They attacked the party as it contained the two of us.”

“They were intentionally going to kill us?” she asked. “They attacked and hurt people. Killed people because of us.”

“Our marriage is a peace treaty. It is what stops the streets from running red with blood. They hoped to kill us to void the peace treaty, or to make us believe they’d attacked, voiding the treaty and starting up a street war.”

“Why are you telling me all this?”

“You wanted conversation. You asked what I’d been doing this week. This is what I’d been doing.”

I’d never talked work with anyone outside of who I dealt with.

Aurora sat back. “Does that mean there are more soldiers out there? No one would attack and leave themselves vulnerable, would they?”

“You’re right. They recruited more soldiers who were not happy with the alliance, as well as people, mostly ex-military men, who are not good at taking orders. They created a small army within a matter of weeks, if not months.”

“So we’re in danger right now as we’re having our meal?”

I nodded. The truth was, even without the small army, I was in danger every single second of my life. She didn’t need to know that. So far, the dinner was going well.