Page 158 of Tarnished Tyrant (Zhukova Bratva 1)

"This isn't because you cheated on her," Elise snaps.

“I—”

Elise laughs bitterly. "Save your breath. I saw it with my own eyes, okay? You broke her heart, and I hate you for it."

I grit my teeth. "Then why did you call?"

"Because you're the only person I could think of who can help."

"Get a phonebook and find a doctor. I’m told they have those, even in Oklahoma.”

"She won't go! I've been telling her, but she swears she's fine."

"Maybe she is."

"If you could see her, you'd know she isn't," Elise argues. "Something is wrong. I don't know if she picked something up overseas. Maybe on the plane. I don't know if it's a virus or what. But something is wrong and it's getting worse. That's the only reason I called you. I’m desperate."

Giorgos is still watching me with a gleam in his eyes I don’t like. An idea strikes me suddenly…

Could he have done this?

If the Greeks outright assassinated Belle, I'd know. But if they played the long game, if they poisoned her bit by bit… I'd be surprised, but not shocked. People have gone to stranger lengths to keep a deal together in our world. Maybe Belle was an obstacle Giorgos wasn't comfortable living with.

"You said she's not eating?"

"Hardly a bite," Elise sighs. "She's sick all the time and really pale. And she hasn't been sleeping well. Nightmares, I think.”

Fuck. It could be anything. Poison is a coward’s game, and I know nothing about it—intentionally. I do my killing face-to-face

I drag a hand through my hair. I’m one day away from completing this deal. From securing the future I set out to secure when I was a broken little boy staring at his mother’s corpse.

I let Belle distract me once. I can’t do it again.

But if she’s being poisoned because of me…

“Please, Nikolai.” Elise’s voice breaks. “I don’t know what else to do.”

“I’ll call you right back.”

I hang up and pull up my web browser as Arslan appears at my side.

“What’s goin’ on?” he asks. “You look tenser than normal.”

“Business.”

He looks over my shoulder. “What is—where are you going?”

I ignore him. “Can I trust you to handle shit here?”

“Handle what?” he hisses. “You can’t exactly tag in a substitute for your own goddamnwedding,Niko.”

“I’ll be quick,” I say. I see a flight to OKC leaving in the next two hours. I buy the ticket hurriedly. “But I have to go.”

Arslan grabs my arm. “Slow your horses. Who was that on the phone? What in the hell is going on? I need more than this. I need to know—”

“All you need to know is that I’m making it your job to keep everything from falling apart while I’m gone. I’ll be back. Don’t fuck it up.”

Before Arslan can say anything else to stop me, I turn and leave.

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