Page 59 of Tarnished Tyrant (Zhukova Bratva 1)

Elise doesn’t hear him, but I catch his dark gray eyes in the rear view mirror. A shiver races through me at the thought of what could have happened if he hadn’t helped me get inside that club.

And what could have happened if he hadn’t spotted Elise. Not just to Elise—but also between us. For a second, I’m back on the dance floor, his body rock-hard against mine, the music pumping around us and drowning out the rest of the world.

I felt blissfully free. And I was ready to do anything with him, for him.

“I make my own choices,” Elise blubbers, pulling me out of my thoughts. Her anger has turned to tears now. “You’re not my mom.”

“I’ve only known you a couple days and you’ve made that crystal fucking clear, kid,” Nikolai says.

He hasn’t said much of anything the whole drive, so I’m surprised to hear him speak up. It’s also nice to have someone else to defend me. Not just from the verbal attacks from my barely-teenaged sister, but also in the club.

I’ve never been attracted to the “macho” guys. To men who liked to pound their chests and face off with other men to see who was dominant. But watching Nikolai take down that chain-wearing pervert for grabbing me? Someone hand me a paper fan and let me swoon.

The effect isn’t lost when he’s standing up to my baby sister on my behalf, either. My face feels flushed, and I purposely avoid looking in the rearview mirror lest he see the obvious lusty thoughts in my eyes.

Elise seems confused for a second that there’s anyone else in the car. But then she sees Nikolai and leans forward, straining her seatbelt. “What was that, fucking—fucking Bruce Wayne?”

“Watch your mouth,” I warn her.

She hisses at me, “Oh, I get it. You’re pretending to be my mom and this billionaire asshole is going to be my new dad?”

“That billionaire asshole is the reason you weren’t raped tonight, Elise!” I squeeze my eyes closed and take a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t… You just scared me tonight.”

If Elise has any understanding of the danger she was in, she isn’t showing it. She ignores me and turns back to Nikolai. “I thought you were her boss.”

“Client,” I correct her. “I work for Roger.”

She snorts. “Okay, so is that why you’re trying to fuck my sister?”

“Elise!” I gasp.

“Why else do you think he helped you, Belle?” My sister looks at me like I’m stupid, her eyes bloodshot and heavily lidded. “He came in and scooped me up like a toddler because he thinks you’ll fu—”

I slap a hand over her mouth. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence.”

I wait a few seconds before pulling my hand away.

“—ck him,” she says quickly, narrowing her eyes at me in a challenge.

I groan and drag both hands down my face, but I hear Nikolai chuckle from the front seat. I snap my attention to him. “What on Earth is funny about this?”

“I’ve scared people a lot tougher than your sister by just looking at them sideways, but she isn’t scared at all. It’s impressive.”

“It’s embarrassing,” I correct, glaring at Elise, who is once again holding onto the Big Gulp like she might be ready for round two. I reach over and twist her hair back away from her face. “It’s embarrassing for both of us.”

Elise doesn’t get sick, but the nausea keeps her quiet until we make it back to the Zinc, thankfully.

Nikolai parks at the back of the building. “There’s a back entrance we can use so we don’t have to carry her through the lobby.”

“I’m sure that wouldn’t look great, you carrying a drunk teenager into your business,” I say.

Nikolai shrugs. “My reputation has handled worse.”

I’m not sure what that means, and I don’t think I want to ask.

Nikolai gets out and comes around to the backseat. And even though Elise can barely form a sentence, she reaches over and locks the door. “No!”

“Elise,” I argue, grabbing her arm and unlocking the door, “he’s going to help you get up to bed. You need to sleep this off.”

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