Page 108 of Tarnished Tyrant (Zhukova Bratva 1)

“Retribution? For what?” I bark. “I don’t owe you shit. This deal is being made on the promise of future profits. I’m not in debt.”

Giorgos shakes his head. “Not to me. But you are to my sister. Regardless of how you feel, you’re as good as married. ‘Til death do you part and all that. But it is more likely death will part you and your little Belle if—”

I jam my gun against Giorgos’s temple yet again. “Watch your fucking mouth.”

He releases a shuddering breath. “I hope you are a man of your word, Nikolai. I hope you won’t kill me after you swore you wouldn’t. But whether you do or you don’t, too many things have been set in motion. I’m not making a threat. Merely offering a warning.”

My finger itches to pull the trigger. Maybe killing Giorgos now would put an end to the whole thing.

Or maybe it would start a war and see me fighting on two fronts.

I lower my gun and step back. “To offer a warning of my own: next time you threaten me, I’ll blow your fucking brains out.”

Giorgos is still shaking when Arslan and I turn and walk away.

25

BELLE

When I show up for work, I’m not even sure I have a job.

Nikolai fired Roger after he attacked me, and I work for Roger.Workedfor Roger, anyway. So that means I no longer have any business at Zhukova Incorporated. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

And any chance of Nikolai taking me seriously and setting me up with a new job probably went out the window around the same time he fucked me against his office wall.

But I couldn’t tell Elise any of that.

How was I supposed to phrase it?Sorry, Baby Sister. Duct tape your shoes again. Big Sis just lost her job and whored away her chance at another one.

No chance.

So I made coffee, ate some toast, and left for work like it was any other day. Maybe if I go through the motions and drum up enough denial, I’ll still receive a paycheck at the end of the week.

But the moment I step into the lobby of Zhukova Incorporated, Bridget stands up from behind the front desk.

“Excuse me,” she calls, waving me down. “Hello?”

She sounds as snotty as she looks, her voice clipped and short. I’m sure she’s thrilled to be able to kick me out of the building. She’ll call up Stan or whoever the daytime security officer is to escort me out, waving all the while like a princess in a parade.

“Yes?” I smile back broadly. Not even perfect, modelesque, flirty Bridget can break through the fortress of denial I’ve built around myself.

“Mr. Zhukova told me to inform you that a car is waiting for you downstairs.” Her lip is curled as if the news she is delivering is especially distasteful.

I don’t understand why, though. If anything, she should be thrilled that Nikolai is sending me back to the airport. I’m sure I have the next flight out to Oklahoma City.

“A car?”

She barely resists an eye roll. “That’s right. A car. Like, the kind with four wheels.”

“I should go now?”

She stares at me like I’m stupid. “Ya. You should.”

I hesitate, waffling back and forth between sprinting down the hallway and barricading myself in the conference room or going downstairs to see where Nikolai plans to send me.

I decide on the latter.

“Okay. Thanks,” I mumble.

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