Page 36 of Twisted Cage

Our eyes lock in a quiet standoff, neither of us relenting. I’ve held power in this family for too long to cower to Nikolaj, and he rides the confidence of knowing that he is second only to his brother Vlad.

“I have fifty men arriving in”—he glances down at his watch—“less than ten minutes and then we leave.” He flips his laptop closed and pulls an extra gun from his drawer. I know he already has one at his back and another strapped to his ankle.

“We?”

He doesn’t look at me, just continues to prepare. “Yes, me and my men.”

“What about your meeting tonight with the governor? He flew back just to meet with you. You good with him thinking you just fucked off and didn’t give a shit?”

“It’s family. He’ll understand.”

“And I’m not family? Blood never mattered between us before, but now it does? I was good enough to spend three months tearing apart Paris looking for her through every connection she had while going to school there. I was good enough to go yesterday, the first time we actually had a potential sighting, but today, no? What the fuck’s going on, Nikolaj?”

He shoves a hand through his dark hair. “You locked yourself up in that fucking crypt again,” he bites out.

“What the fuck does that have to?—”

Sharp, hard eyes flash and settle into a glare that has made many men at Nikolaj’s mercy piss themselves in fear.

I am not many men.

“Since we lost her, if you’re not in that fucking crypt, you’re leaving a swath of bodies in the wake of your fucking rampages. You’re out of control. And when you’re not, you’re distracted and off-balance. Angry.”

Grigori’s eyes flicker in my direction. The bastard.

I hate that Grigori saw me spiraling. I’ll never be able to forget what he witnessed. Nor will he. But that is a problem for another day. Today, I need a win. I need this. After all, I’m the one who drove her away to begin with. Now Nikolaj wants to steal it from me.

My fists clench at my sides and my teeth grind, together surpassing a snarl. “You’re goddamn right I’m angry. There’s no ‘we lost her.’ I lost her!”

“Fine. How can I count on you to not lose her again?” His voice has gone deathly calm, the picture of control while I have none.

In two strides, I have my fingers locked around his neck and he has a gun to my forehead. “Fuck you, kid.”

She belongs to me. She always belongs to me. Even if she never lets me touch her again and we bury what happened between us… she’ll still belong to me.

Fuck.

I let go of his neck, but he never wavers with the aim of his gun.

“If you fuck this up, Malikov… I swear, I won’t think twice before putting a bullet in your head myself.” He drops his weapon, laying it flat on the desk between us. “I’m trusting you one last time. Now fuck off and get our girl.”

15

NIKOLETTA

I spot the pinched expression on Faith’s face, the worry bracketing her mouth, and know exactly what has her on edge. Leaving the babies alone. When Elijah and I get back, I nod to her as confirmation that I’ve done it. I activated reinforcements, calling for help the only way I can. Not knowing when they’ll arrive adds to anxiety already thrumming through us from what Elijah did to Regan last night. Faith’s intuition screams at her to stay with those babies.

Her every instinct thus far where they are concerned has been spot-on, so I have to trust in this.

I reach for her, giving her a quick, hard hug. “Regan and I can get the dishes tonight, go up to Lexi and Alex. I’ll be up soon.”

We’d spent endless nights talking into the wee hours when Lexi and Alex were first born. She hammered me with endless questions about my life as a Bratva princess to keep herself awake while she nursed. She’d had the benefit of distance listening to these stories, but soon, the buffer will be gone. Best to enjoy some quiet time now.

Mafia families fight a common enemy or enemies who conspire against us from beyond our massive gates. Our family is no different, but it is the war my father set in motion on the inside keeping us balancing on a knife’s edge at all times.

My father hates his wife and covets his lover, mine and Nikolaj’s mother. Elena hates him right back. She definitely hates me because hearing my name—the same as my mother’s—never lets her forget that marrying her pussy was a business deal, not desire. Vlad, the child between them, hates anyone he sees as a threat to his birthright.

A fact he never lets his half siblings forget.

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