Page 175 of Tarnished Tyrant (Zhukova Bratva 1)

There’s silence on the other end of the line.

“I’m not going to sign my life away to your sister for any deal. The wedding is off.”

He snorts. “Is it that bitch from before? What was her name again? Xena won’t like this.”

“This is about no one but me. I don’t want to marry your sister. I never did.”

“You’re going to take down our entire deal for a bitch on the side?” Giorgos scoffs. “I never thought you’d be so weak.”

“Save that insult for when you’re ready to die,” I growl. “I can end you if I choose, Giorgos. My threat stands. If you turn on me, I’ll kill you long before you have the chance to reap the benefits.”

“I’m not the one you should be worried about,” Giorgos sighs. “Watch your back, Nikolai. You’vebeen warned.”

Then the line goes dead.

43

BELLE

I dismiss my alarm before it even rings. It’s the middle of the night, but I’ve been awake for hours.

Back at home, I could hardly keep my eyes open long enough to drive home and crawl into bed after a shift at the bar. Now, I’m wired. Every time I remember I’m in Nikolai’s house, it’s a dump of adrenaline straight to my veins.

But I won’t be here for much longer.

I slip out of bed, shove my phone and a change of clothes into my purse, and then pad across the hall to Elise’s room. Her door is unlocked. I push it open and step into the darkness.

“Belle?”

I see Elise propped up in bed, her face glowing from her phone screen. I don’t know why I’m surprised.

“Why are you still awake?”

“Why are you lurking into my room like the boogeyman?” she retorts.

“Fair enough,” I sigh. “But it’s because we need to be quiet.”

She pauses whatever is on her screen and reaches over to flick on her lamp. I stop her before she can. “No. No lights. No one can know we’re awake.”

“Belle?” she whispers nervously. “What is going on?”

“We’re leaving.”

“But… but we just got here.”

“It doesn’t matter.” I rifle through the drawers in her room and shove as much of it as I can into my purse. Nikolai bought her new clothes and I want to take as much of it with me as I can. God knows where my next paycheck will be coming from. “We need to get out of here.”

“But… but…” she whimpers. “Don’t get mad, okay? But I’m the one who called Nikolai. I told him to come and get us. I’m the reason we’re here.”

“I know.”

Elise hesitates. “You know?”

I nod. “Nikolai told me the night he showed up. He said you were scared for me.”

“I was. I am,” she says.

“And I’m sorry about that. I should have taken better care of myself. I was just—”

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