Page 105 of The Rogue's Curse

“And I smell your human paramour on you every night, and you on her every fucking morning,” he said, still holding Nikko’s fist firmly. Nikko was a capable warrior, but he hobbled himself by not drinking from the vein often. He also tended to let his ego erase his understanding of his place in the court. “Forgive me for stealing twenty minutes of satisfaction. If you’d like to start comparing work schedules, by all means, let’s discuss it. Tell me how good your arithmetic is, Nikko. While you sleep with your pretty soulmate every day, I work to protect this court. How many days are in one hundred and seventy years? Multiply that by—”

“All right,” Nikko huffed. The tension went out of his arm, but Paris didn’t let him go. Fear flickered through Nikko’s eyes, and Paris let it rest, giving him ample opportunity to ponder his immediate future. Finally, he released the other man and watched the relief wash over him. Nikko swallowed, carefully lowered his fist, and stepped back.

“They’re killing people. Regardless of whether my name is on it, I can’t sit back and let it happen.” His eyes were full of genuine anguish. “They pushed an article to the paper saying I was linked to burning down 21 East, and suggested I might be responsible for a bunch of other disappearances, most of which we know were Shea’s doing.”

“And?” Paris said. He threw up his hands in frustration. “Nicolas, there are all of three dozen people outside of this court who even know you exist in Atlanta. And anyone who actually knows you knows that you are far too much of a saint to hurt anyone who doesn’t deserve it.”

“They’re trying to draw me out,” Nikko said.

“Did it take you the entirety of the last two days to figure that out?” Paris said. “Of course they are. Lilah Whitlock hates your guts.”

“And if she’s hunting another one right now?” Nikko said.

“We will deal with her,” Paris said.

“When? How many bodies are you going to let pile up?” Nikko shook his head. “I’m going out there myself. I’ll find the bitch and cut her head off.”

“You will do no such thing,” Paris said.

Nikko scowled at him.

“If you go on the hunt for her, I will hunt you down personally,” Paris said. Before Nikko could protest, he said, “We cannot afford to be reckless now. You speak so carelessly of Misha Volkov, and he is working himself nearly to death to give us a killing blow against Shea.”

“We could have had the killing blow a month ago if you had let—” Nikko caught himself.

His blood went cold. “Finish that sentence.”

“If you had assigned me up top with you,” Nikko said.

Paris let out a barking laugh. “Nicolas, in all your self-righteous temperance and restraint, you would have killed Carrigan Shea? When Sasha fucking Morozov, Dominic, and I did not?”

“Maybe,” he said.Despite his proud posture, he avoided Paris’s gaze. He didn’t believe what he was saying, but that didn’t make it any easier to hear.

“I kept you back because I trusted you to deal with the rest of his court, and I was right,” Paris said.

“Anyone could have done that,” Nikko protested.

He simply nodded. “Well, it’s done and in the past where we can gaze upon it in horror and not change a fucking thing. We know where they are now, and we need three more days to prepare our attack. If you lose your shit right now, we could lose our shot at Carrigan Shea.”

“Not if I kill him,” Nikko said.

Paris pinched the bridge of his nose and contemplated how angry Olivia might be if she discovered her handsome blonde lover was chained in a basement beneath the compound where he couldn’t do anything stupid. “Nicolas, in case you forgot, you serve this court.”

“You left Eduardo for not taking action,” Nikko said.

Paris bit his tongue, closed his eyes, and counted to ten in silence. “Eduardo ignored the problem and let it get to this state. I am only taking my time because I know we will not get a third chance to kill Carrigan Shea. And while I admire your tenacity, you cannot kill his entire court by yourself,” he said.

“I only—”

“If you truly cannot see things my way, and your conscience cannot bear it, then get the hell out,” Paris said. Nikko’s eyes widened. “Do it tonight. Pack your things, say your goodbyes, and get the hell out. But if you leave, you leave this city and never look back. And if I cross your path and you jeopardize our chance to kill Carrigan Shea, I will kill you myself, brother or not.”

Nikko stared at him in silence for a long, terrible stretch. He knew Nikko well enough that he had no idea which way the man would go. He could be a self-righteous prick, even if his intentions were usually good. There was a solid chance he’d pack his things, grab Olivia, and go.

“Three days?” he finally said.

“Three days,” Paris said quietly. “Nicolas, I would not justify myself to many people, but your moral fiber is admirable, even if it makes you a proper pain in the ass. Over the last year, I find myself wanting to be more like you rather than less.But if we run headlong into that barrier carrying nothing but our consciences and a helping of brute force, we will absolutely fail. Shea has had time to recover, and he now has a powerful Night Weaver on his side. We know this. Do you understand that?”

“I hate the idea of him hurting someone else,” Nikko said quietly.

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