Page 8 of Dice & Dekes

The arena is pretty empty today, which means that we can hear the screaming as soon as we exit the elevator near Dante’s office. And it needs to be said that the man shouldn’t even have an office here. He’s retired. But that’s a memo he still hasn’t gotten. The insulation’s good enough that I can’t make out the words, but someone is getting their ass kicked.

I hope Dante’s the one getting chewed out. That’ll save me some effort when my turn rolls around.

“Maybe we should wait?” Viktor suggests. He comes to a stop in the hall about fifteen feet from the door.

“What, are you scared of him or something?” I pause with my hand on the door and turn to glare at him. “If you’re going to be scared of anyone, it should beme.The sooner we get this marriage annulled, the sooner we can forget it ever happened.”

Viktor shuffles closer. “I’m not scared. I just don’t want to be in the same room as whoever’s yelling. My head is killing me.” He rubs his temples for emphasis.

I ignore him and push the door open anyway. The screaming gets louder when we step inside. One of Dante’s assistants is sitting at the desk out front, trying to make himself look small. If he slides any lower on that chair, he’ll end up on the floor.

I walk right past him toward the door behind him. Through the glass, I can see Julie and Dante arguing. The glass must be reinforced—knowing Dante, it’s probably bulletproof—because I still can’t make out what they’re saying. Julie is going to town on him, though. I don’t know how that woman puts up with him. Sure, he’s hot in that Robert DeNiro sort of way and rich as King Midas, but there’s more to loving a man than that.

A man needs to be a good listener. He needs to pay attention to the little things. He needs to be committed to being a life partner. He needs—

“I wouldn’t go in there if I were you,” the assistant warns.

“Are you kidding? This is the perfect time to go in there.”

“You married the wrong twin!” Julie screams.

I push the door open.

“Hi.” I raise a hand. “Wrong twin here.”

I keep the door open for Viktor, who’s still lingering in the front office with his hands held over his ears like a little kid.

Julie crosses her arms. “Perfect timing. I just saw the photos from last night. What the hell happened?”

Viktor finally shuffles through the door. Now that my hands are free, I punch my fist into my palm. “I’d like to know that, too.”

Dante darts behind his desk, using it like a shield. “Remember your contract!”

I take a step forward, still warming up my fist. “The part about not punching you? I remember. I just don’t care.”

“Viktor, control your wife,” Dante barks.

Behind me, Viktor snorts. “What, like you were controlling yours before we walked in here? I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works, boss.”

Julie chuckles. “You’re a smart man, Viktor. That makes one of you.”

“Nice.” I, too, nod my approval to Viktor. “That was good. You had my back. I like that.”

He holds up his hand for a high-five. After some consideration, I grant him one. Consider it positive reinforcement for when we team up to bully Dante into solving the problem he made for us. Viktor beams.

It’s kind of… cute? Especially with his blond hair still rumpled from sleep. Against my will, I remember how he looked this morning, when he was all pecs and firm arms and sleepy bedroom eyes.

With my scent all over his abnormally huge hockey hands.

Ugh, this fucking hangover. I’m clearly delusional. I whirl back to Dante and glare at him. “Fix this.”

“Fix what?” Dante asks.

Julie lifts her hands in the air. “I think she means the part where youmarried the wrong twin.”

Viktor points at Julie. “You said that before. How does that work? Who wassupposedto get married?”

Dante sighs. He pulls out his chair and settles into it with the kind of groan that old guys do when their joints are going downhill. “It was supposed to be Knight. I thought it would be cute to throw a surprise wedding for him and Sofia. Like a photo op with my people only so I could control the narrative. You know, to kick off the season with a classic Vegas wedding.”

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