Page 93 of Tarnished Tyrant (Zhukova Bratva 1)

I arch a brow. "So you're saying one of your men decided to spend his evening watching me and my… my accountant for fun? Under threat of death?"

"My men are loyal, but I never claimed they were bright," he says with a shrug. “Besides, I stand to lose a lot if you’re dead, Nikolai. We’re allies.”

“Tenuously,” I remind him. “Things can change.”

“But some things don’t,” he says. “Which is how I know this was the work of the Battiato mafia.”

“How the hell do you know that?” Arslan asks.

“Who else has more motive to decimate the Zhukova Bratva? They did it once before.”

“And then I brought my family’s legacy back from the brink,” I growl. “I’ve been the king of this city for years now. This deal would carve that in stone. So the timing of this attack is a little convenient, wouldn’t you say?”

Giorgos nods. “I agree. They try to kill you just as you and I are finalizing our agreement.”

I feel Arslan look at me. Giorgos is making a good point.

“They want to destroy the deal and keep us both from gaining more influence,” I say, talking through the theory.

“It makes sense,” Giorgos says eagerly, relieved to no longer be the prime suspect. “They want to be the top dogs. And you don’t have an heir.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Neither do you.”

He holds up his hands. “That wasn’t a threat. If you recall, our deal provides you with the means to continue your family line.”

Arslan snorts. “Talk about your sister that way in front of her, and she’ll gut you. The bitch is crazy.”

“Crazy, maybe,” Giorgos agrees. “But she’s strong, too. And beautiful. And she comes from a powerful family. If you don’t want to make an alliance with us, someone else will.”

I step forward, my fingers drumming on the table near a glistening steak knife. “Are you threatening to align with the Battiatos behind my back?”

Giorgos eyes the knife and then looks back up at me, a nervous smile on his face. “I want to work with you, Nikolai. I have no plans to break our deal. But if you don’t respect the agreement… well, you’d do the same thing in my position.”

He’s not wrong.

But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

The thought of Giorgos and the Battiatos coming together against me… fuck that. I was born in the dirt, and I fought and clawed my way up from obscurity. I’ll die for what I’ve built.

More to the point, I’ll kill for it.

"Your family has a rich history," Giorgos continues. "And I, for one, have always liked an underdog. I would choose you over the Battiatos any day. I did choose you. As a partner for me… and my sister."

There's no misunderstanding him now.

"You want me to swear loyalty to your sister."

He shrugs. "She's a proud woman. She won't marry you if there are any other women in your life. And if she doesn't marry you, the deal falls apart. I'm sorry, Nikolai. But I know you understand."

Arslan is looking back and forth between the two of us like he's at a tennis match, waiting to see who will score.

I clench my teeth in irritation. The Battiatos have thrown a massive fucking wrench in the works, and I have no choice. It's either lose Belle and marry Xena, or risk those fucks coming for what’s mine.

I know the priorities in my life.

The Bratva always comes first.

"Our deal stands," I say simply. "You hold up your end, I'll hold up mine."

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