Page 8 of Emerald Vices

“I didn’t do it just for you,” he rasps low. “He’s just as much my boy as he is yours.”

Twisting around, I catch his gaze. Half his face is drenched in shadow. I can see only one silver eye glinting down at me.

“You’re right,” I acknowledge, placing a hand on my stomach. “He’s ours. Just like these babies.”

4

ANDREY

“Nat!” Misha protests as she tries to smooth the shaggy bangs out of his eyes.

“You need a haircut,” she scolds affectionately. Remi whines as if to agree. The dog woke up a few hours ago and since then, he’s remained squarely between Misha and Natalia.

“I like my hair like this.”

“It’s getting in your eyes.”

“That’s the point.”

She laughs. “Who’re you trying to impress, huh?”

As Misha goes on the defensive, I continue down the hallway before either one of them notices I’ve been observing them. It’s good to see both of them smile. Which is one of the reasons I’ve taken to dropping by every hour or so to check on both of them.

The other reason being that Natalia seems to be doing better—but for how long? Everything is going to catch up with her eventually, and I want to be close by when it does.

I continue down the hall to my makeshift office, which, up until a few hours ago, was a guest bedroom. Shura is standing in front of the queen-sized bed waiting for me when I walk in.

“What’s going on?”

“The Halcones are circling,” he says ominously.

I stiffen. “They’ve made a move?”

“They’re trying to infiltrate your clubs to push their own supply.”

“You’re fucking kidding me.”

“I wish. Security from Silver Moon and Maria called this morning. Two different sets of men raised suspicions at each, but they only managed to hold on to one guy. The others got away.”

I own a fuckton of property in this city, and the clubs that Shura just named are far from the most glamorous of it. Only one person alive would start a guerilla war against me by sneaking into Maria.

Unfortunately for me, that person is my brother.

“That mudak,” I growl. I’m already imagining all the ways I’m going to torture Viktor before I end his miserable existence.

Maybe he was informing on me, too. Just like Yelena. Or maybe the defection is recent. A petty act of retribution.

“We need to act, ‘Drey,” Shura urges.

Squaring my jaw, I nod. “It’s time to bring in the reinforcements. If Slavik is successful, then Bujar, Cevdet, and Luca have as much to lose as we do. We need to shore things up before there’s any risk of any of them turning on me. Schedule a meeting as soon as possible.”

My second nods and leaves. As he slips through the door, I spy Dr. Abdulov hovering in the hallway. I wave him inside.

I stationed the good doctor—rather forcefully—in a guest room on the property. Until I’m sure Misha and Natalia are fine, I want them under near-constant medical care.

The fact Dr. Abdulov is clutching his clipboard against his chest like a security blanket makes me think my instincts were correct.

“What’s wrong?”

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