Page 160 of Nemesync
“The Pakhan is just a busy man, and shouldn’t you be too?”
“Yeah whatever,” Niko replied, brushing me off.
“Are you trying to piss him off?” I asked, smiling.
He just nodded before sauntering over to Elijah, eyeing him up and down. “Elijah, you look so... hot when you’re all focused like this. It’s a shame you’re missing out on the day we had, just to make a list of people you want to kill.”
Elijah’s expression remained stoic, but a faint smirk played on his lips. “Just wrote your name on it.”
Nikolai chuckled and returned to my side, “He’s joking, he loves me.”
“Remember my text, Nikolai? Do you want me to do it?”
Nikolai laughed and nodded, “Do it, Elijah Volkov. Touch my tongue and fingers.”
I nestled beside Elijah, feeling a subtle shift in his face. His shoulders fell and his hand went on my back. He pushed his laptop away; and drew me closer to him.
“Ohhh, aren’t you so sweet. You’re taking a break from world domination for Little Z.”
Elijah didn’t care at all, he wrapped an arm around me, pulling me even closer. “Sometimes, Moretti, you need to establish priorities.”
“I love when you talk like that, I’m all fluttered.”
He shot a pointed look at him. “Careful, Nikolai.”
Nikolai raised an eyebrow, still smiling, “Stop threatening me, you bastard.”
Our conversation took a more serious turn when Nikolai brought up the man from the café. Elijah asked him with a dark expression, “Did you deal with him?”
Was it me, or it sounded like, “Oh did you kill him?” I don’t know, maybe I’m just misinterpreting so I burst into laughter. “Oh, come on, Elijah, it was nothing. You can’t be serious.”
Nikolai, however, maintained a calm and serious expression. “I couldn’t, Elijah. Too many eyes around. But I wanted to.”
“Psycho minds at work?” I chuckled, earning an amused glance and a nod from Niko. Elijah’s hand went even lower on my back, tightening his grip there.
The discussion shifted to Brian. I shared the information I had gathered for the last few weeks; I studied a lot of videos provided by her to find people who may be involved in some of the recent murders. They listened to me, taking in that I was still working on finding true intel and if I wasn’t sure, I won’t give them names.
Nikolai turned to me, sighed and suggested, “I’m bored. How about we hit a club tonight? Drinks, no guards tonight and Benny’s excellent company, just us. It’s been a while since wewent out together. What do you say little Z? But not ours, a new one near the end of the city.”
“I’m up for it.”
Elijah, less excited, sighed, “You know I’m not a fan of this kind of place.”
Niko grinned. “Come on, Eli, we may have a blast tonight.”
Eli looked at us, contemplating the idea. “Fine, but just for a little while.”
“Are you planning on just sitting beside me and looking at me having fun, Volkov?” I asked, turning to him.
He nodded, “Exactly.”
What do you wear when you go out with the leaders of a dangerous alliance? With no guards because they hate it?
Fuck.
I want to be pretty, to feel good, to be attractive without feeling disgusting. I took a deep and long breath as I surveyed the limited wardrobe options. One dress hanging in the closet caught my eye – short, silky. It was a dress I hadn’t worn often, but tonight felt like the perfect occasion.
Exiting the room ready, I found Elijah already ready, and the sight of him made me momentarily forget my surroundings.
