Where the Snow Falls (Seasons of Betrayal #2)(70)

They played games with her thoughts, making her think someone was there, someone could hear her, if only she screamed just a little bit louder, maybe.

But no one came.

She didn’t realize how hard she was crying until that was all she could hear.

Just her own breaths.

Her own sobs.

Her own fingers dragging across the floor …

Her sounds were so loud that she didn’t hear the voices echoing from behind the door until whoever it was, was beating on the wood.

“Violet … krasivaya … I’m right here, yes? It’s fine. Violet!”

She heard Kaz’s voice through her panic, shredding away those fears that had been eating her alive. She managed to slide away from the door when he ordered her to, and then wood gave way to more darkness.

But there was light.

From phones. And a flashlight, it seemed.

Violet only saw Kaz coming for her.

And the darkness went away.





It was never supposed to be this easy.

Kaz knew it the moment he had gotten into the building, ready to kill everything in sight if it meant getting to Violet before anything could happen to her. Sure, a few people died, and Rus even took a bullet in the shoulder, but they had ultimately been able to get Violet out without much harm.

Besides the black eye that was making him want to do murder, she was no worse for wear.

Too easy.

Vasily had been nowhere to be found, and despite sending men over every inch of the Black Hall, there was still no sign of him.

Kaz was more frustrated than ever, not liking to leave Vasily in the wind, especially after what he had just done to Violet. His father wasn’t one to back down, and Kaz was sure this wouldn’t be the last he saw of him.

But for now, he had Violet—and that was all he needed.

In the back of the Escalade, Violet stretched out across the seat, her head in his lap as he gently stroked her hair. He didn’t ask her to break the silence, leaving her to her thoughts for the moment. He wasn’t sure of what all had happened in that place, but he wasn’t going to rush her to tell him—Vasily was going to die regardless. The details would only let him know how bloody to make it.

He didn’t take them back to his place, and once he was in the mood to deal with it, he was getting rid of it entirely, a task that should have been done long before now.

Instead, he took her to one of the many gifts he had bought her for the wedding.

The mansion was meant to be a surprise he would show her once he was free long enough to show her, but as of now, it was the best place for her to be since no one knew about it.

As they drove through the gates and up the mile-long driveway, Kaz thought of everything he would have to handle the moment he stepped foot off the property.

Vasily was at the top of his list, and whether his father wanted to admit it or not, he wouldn’t stop—not until he was dead and in the ground.

Then there was his burgeoning problem with the Italians. After his show of force, war was imminent, and nothing was going to call the Italians off him now. But Kaz knew that was inevitable. Even if not for Violet, Alberto would have wanted to make an example out of him regardless.

Sometimes, all it took was a spark, and Kaz had given him one.

But as the SUV rolled to a stop, and he had the back door opened as he helped Violet out of the car and held her in his arms, he didn’t care.

The only thing he cared about at that moment was his wife.





Violet buried her face in Kaz’s jacket, tucking her arms in around his sides, and decided she liked it there just fine. She didn’t care who was watching because, right then, she needed her safe place.

Kaz, from the moment she met him, had been that place.

“I called him a f*cking idiot,” Violet mumbled.

Kaz tensed briefly, but then his arms tightened around her frame. “Vasily?”

“Yes.”

He made a sound that came off somewhere between appreciation and concern, however he managed it. “I can’t say I’ve ever heard someone call my father that and live to tell about it.”

Violet scowled. “He hit me.”

Kaz didn’t respond, but his disgusted grunt was more than enough for her to know he was pissed and ready to kill.

Peeking over his shoulder, Violet found the place where they had finally arrived. The large mansion sat atop a slightly raised hill, looming high above everything around it. Victorian pillars framed the marble entrance, the paved walkway giving way to a stone path shortly before the stairs.

Violet blinked, unsure of what she was seeing.

“Who lives here?” she asked.

Kaz drew her impossibly closer, turning them at the same time but keeping her tucked into his side. His hand tangled into her hair, tipping her head to the side enough for him to press a kiss to her mouth.

“We do—will—as of now,” Kaz said quietly.

Violet just stared at the mansion, taking in the little details and the empty driveway. Glancing behind them, she found cars parked behind their SUV, and men standing at the vehicles, waiting and unmoving.

Some she recognized from the wedding.

Others she just knew—like Ruslan.

“Ours?”

Kaz smiled down at her. “What kind of husband would I be if I didn’t give you the house of your dreams, hmm?”