Page 157 of Tarnished Tyrant (Zhukova Bratva 1)

Giorgos comes at me with his hand extended. I grip it and we shake, but tension ripples between us. We haven’t seen each other in weeks. I’ve only met with him once after I got back from Iceland, and it was curt and to the point.

“Big day,” he remarks.

“No. That’s tomorrow,” I tell him. “This is the rehearsal dinner.”

He smiles thinly. “You don’t have to remind me. Xena would have my balls if I hosted her wedding in this dining room.”

“Too late. I think she already has them.”

Giorgos’s smile falls. Whatever brief moment of levity we could have enjoyed, I’ve just killed it. Good fucking riddance.

“We both agreed to this deal, Nikolai.”

“If only I could forget.”

“And I still have other options,” he adds.

I turn to him, eyebrow arched. “Do it and see what happens.”

But Giorgos knows this already. I made it clear to him at our last meeting that if he partners with the Battiato mafia, I’ll kill him before he can reap the benefits. I’ll do it with my own bare hands, too.

And if it brings on war with the Battiatos? So be it. It’s been a long time coming, anyhow. I’ve been on a collision course with the motherfuckers who ruined my family since the day I was born.

His mouth tightens into a grimace. “Then here we are.”

“Here we fucking are, indeed.”

I look past him into the room. I don’t see Xena. She’s probably waiting to make a grand entrance. She suggested the two of us plan a speech for when we walk in together, but I told her I’d rather choke. She took that to mean “no” and said we should arrive separately. Thank fuck for that.

I’m about to peel away from Giorgos and go hunt down another drink when my phone rings.

The name on my screen takes me by surprise. I have to read it twice. But both times, plain as day, there it is.

Elise Dowan.

I’m answering before I can even consider whether it’s a good idea or not.

"Nikolai?" Elise whispers so softly I can barely hear her. "Is this the right number?"

"It is if you want to talk to me."

She sighs. "I didn't know who else to call. I swiped your number from Belle's phone."

I grip the phone so tight I hear the casing crack. Giorgos lingers nearby, that nosy bastard. I turn away from him so he can’t eavesdrop. “Where is she? Does she know you're calling?”

Elise snorts. "No. She'd be… well, it wouldn't be good if she knew we were talking. She'd be mad."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have called."

"Just listen to me first. Please." I can tell it takes real effort for Elise to beg. The strain in her voice is obvious.

"I’m listening. But I won’t be for long, so hurry up and out with it.”

"She's sick," Elise blurts. "Ever since we got home, she's been getting worse. She can't eat, she's exhausted. It’s getting bad.”

Something stirs in my chest. Something I refuse to name or acknowledge.

“She can’t blame me for everything that goes wrong in her life,” I growl.

---