Page 49 of Iron Crown

They liked to callmedramatic, but Vasiliev was quite theatrical himself.

Pots. Kettles. They’re both as black as the color of my true love’s hair.

Andres Lutkus, whom I had heard them call Blink, was there as well. The two had drinks in hand when I stepped through the door. They looked at me, then at each other.

I did not have to tell them that everything had gone completely sideways.

“You saw Cosima Durante?” Jericho asked quietly.

I nodded. “Would it surprise you to hear that she didnotaccept my olive branch?”

Blink chuckled, and the ice in his glass clinked as he casually swirled it around.

“I am not at all surprised.” Blink took a loud sip before putting his glass down. “But I am glad that you tried, anyway.”

Then he leaned forward in his chair, extending his hand out to me. “I’m Andres Lutkus, by the way.”

I looked at it, suspicious at first.

What had Kira called him? A mentor? A friend?

“Aye, I’ve heard,” I shook his hand, not returning the favor of my name, because he already knew it.

“I’ve obviously heard a lot about you,” he said cryptically.

“I’ve heard absolutely nothing about you until today.”

“I figured my protegee would confess to you, sooner or later.”

“Blink has been a great advocate for your wife, even after she ran away, leaving us blind,” Jericho said casually. “When she was no longer able to carry out her duties as our financier and spy, Blink insisted we keep her on board.”

“Your solution was unacceptable,” Blink said, narrowing his eyes.

“Unacceptable?” Jericho tsked. “No, you found my solution unpalatable.”

“What was your solution?” I asked, taking a sip of the drink they’d given me.

It was more vodka.Figures…

Jericho looked at me, his eyes slowly blinking as he tilted his head. It was a gesture that asked me if I truly did not comprehend…

Anger flared up in my chest when I realized that hissolutionwould have been to have her killed.

Blink picked up his glass again. “I told you she’d be indispensable.”

Blink smiled, but there was something off-putting about it. It never reached his eyes. Hell, the smile barely moved past his lips! Like his face was made of plastic. Like he was one of those animatronic people at a creepy amusement park ride.

“My wife is not to be used,” I said quietly, though I had lost all conviction. “And none of you will harm her.”

It was a statement laced with the acid of threat.

“No, but it’s clear, Eoghan Green, that you are our best bet to change the underground in New York. We tried with just the bratva. But in three years, you made three times the progress with Green Fields Enterprises,” Blink stated flatly, like he was reporting the news. “Picasso has an anchoring effect on you.”

“My wife is my North Star.” I nodded. “Even if she is not by my side, I am guided by her.”

The two of them stilled. From the corner of my eye, I saw them exchange a look. They must have decided not to pursue that line of thought, though, since they both continued drinking.

I drank. The alcohol gave me clarity within the fuzziness of my brain. My mind slowed to something coherent, unlike the swirl of fast-paced thoughts that threatened to overwhelm me.

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