Page 57 of The Enemy's Defector
The good and the bad.
Because neither ever lasted forever.
24
NIKOLAI
On the first morning back home, I rolled over to kiss Katerina as she slept in.
“I’ll be back soon.”
She replied with a noncommittal murmur I couldn’t understand and tried to kiss me back. Instead of reaching my lips, she sleepily rubbed her mouth against my shoulder.
I smiled, satisfied that I’d worn her out last night. Her nervousness was a palpable negative vibe I couldn’t miss, and if tiring her out with sex put her in a lazier mood, then I’d call that a success.
I got up, not eager to leave her in bed but impatient to do my duty. Maxim had told us to relax and settle in, but that wasn’t an easy order to follow. For Katerina to relax here as my wife, I had to present my case for my family and organization to welcome her. And that campaign had to start now, not later.
By the time I got dressed and headed downstairs, I missed breakfast. Maxim seemed to be more of an early riser since he’d taken over for Father, so that wasn’t saying much.
The cooks smiled at me and offered to make me more, and I looked forward to a warm plate made to order. It’d been a long time since I could be granted something like that.
“I didn’t expect to see you so soon,” Maxim quipped.
I sat and shrugged. “There’s a lot to discuss.”
He nodded, glancing at Damon and Saul as they entered the room. Saul greeted me and gave me a little shit about staying hidden for so long, but both of them sat and it looked like we’d have our first meeting now.
“Youmarriedher?” Saul asked when Damon inquired about Katerina.
I waited to reply until our plates were delivered and set out for us. Then I asked the cooks to send up trays to my wife.
Mywife. I wondered how long it would take for me to get used to being able to say that.
“Did you marry her because of that arrangement?” Damon asked, seeming confused and not accusatory.
I shook my head. “No. I didn’t even know about that.”
Maxim laughed once. “Neither did we. Anastasia came across it when she was trying to make files about all the Mafia princesses for me. It seemed that Anton found copies of the document too, and he reached out to us.”
“But Katerina refused,” I finished for him.
“I’m damned glad that she did,” Damon said. “If she hadn’t, I never would’ve met Lucy.” A rare smile changed his face and I was happy that my twin could be so content like this. Of all of us, he seemed the least likely to be married.
“Grandmother’s got to be pleased about this development.” I pointed at Damon. “You’re married.” I pointed at Maxim. “You’re engaged and have a baby on the way.”
He shook his head. “Sloane and I got married.”
I grinned as Damon added, “And Lucy is pregnant.”
Saul scoffed, shaking his head and teasing. “What the fuck is in the air around here? You’re all married and waiting on kids.”
“Whereas you’re still sleeping your way through the city,” Damon replied.
Saul shrugged, not taking it as an insult as he resumed eating.
While they ate, I filled them in about all that happened. My captivity wasn’t much to describe. They’d all been in that position before. They knew what it was like. Making sure to inform them of the important details, like the fact that none of the captors were recognizable with ambiguous accents and wearing masks, I gave them as clear of an account as I could.
When I came to the part about Hayden, I slowed down and explained why I had gotten so hopeful, that what he talked about seemed like clues that we’d be able to use in this investigation to figure out who had ordered Father to be poisoned not once, but twice.
