Page 78 of Savage Reign

I don’t let him finish. Grabbing the front of his shirt, I slam my fist into his face.

“Fuck!” He presses a hand to his bloody nose. “I said I’m sorry.”

Anger courses through me, and I press my fingers to my temples. “Keeping Sofiya safe was your only job. How the fuck did you screw it up?”

He glares at me. “She snuck off when I was distracted by Igor. I told her not to wander off outside without me, but she doesn’t listen to instructions all that well.”

“Watch your fucking mouth,” I spit, my face inches from his. I suck in a deep breath and step back from him, attempting to calm my nerves. “And what the fuck do you mean you were distracted by Igor?”

“He stopped by with paperwork for you. What was I supposed to do, blow him off?”

Since when does Igor swing by to drop off paperwork? But I don’t have time for this right now. I only have one priority, and she’s waiting for me upstairs.

I shake my head. “You ask me for more responsibility but can’t even handle the most basic fucking job.”

He sneers. “I’m not a babysitter, Nikolai. If you wanted her under lock and key, you should’ve put her in a cage.”

I grab him by the collar and shove him into the wall with enough force to rattle the frames nearby. “You think this is a joke? Say something like that again, and you’ll find out just how expendable you really are.”

I release him and take a step back, breathing hard. He doesn’t know when to back down—he never has. I used to think that fire would make him invaluable once he matured, but now it feels more like a liability.

“I don’t offer second chances, but I’m giving you one because of our history. If anything happens to Sofiya again on your watch—if she gets so much as a fucking paper cut—there won’t be a next time. Do you understand?”

His gaze drops to the floor, a defiant curl to his lips. “Yes, pakhan.”

I run a hand over my face, trying to tamp down the frustration simmering in my gut. “Don’t make me regret the decision to trust you.”

He glances away for a moment before forcing himself to meet my eyes again. “I won’t.”

I watch him leave, tension rolling off his back like steam. Emil is arrogant and headstrong—a lot like Sergey was.

I’ve killed one brother in this lifetime. I’d prefer not to kill another.

CHAPTER

THIRTY

SOFIYA

My eyes flutter open,sunlight streaming through the window like an unwelcome guest. A pounding headache greets me, and my ankle throbs. But I notice something else unexpected and not entirely unpleasant: the heat of a body beside me.

I turn to be greeted by Nikolai’s sleeping form. For a moment, I wonder why he’s in my room before realizing I’m in his.

Memories trickle into my consciousness: getting lost in the woods, the cold rain cutting through me, the sharp pain in my ankle, and Nikolai, my unlikely savior, carrying me up the stairs into his room. And then the bath. Oh god, the bath.

Beyond Liza, Roman, Daria, and Alex, I can’t think of the last time someone actually cared enough to fuss over me. But Nikolai did. He hovered like a mother hen, ignoring the doctor’s reassurance that I’d be fine, ensuring I was comfortable and didn’t need anything.

The doctor said it was nothing serious—a rolled ankle—and that I’d be fine with some rest and ice. But that didn’t stop Nikolai from insisting I sleep in his bed as if keeping me close was the only way to make sure I stayed safe.

Now, in the light of day, I feel stupid. Running off was reckless, exactly what Roman and Liza wouldn’t want me to do. But I was desperate to escape Nikolai’s hold, knowing full well how much harder it was getting to resist him.

He’s the cause of my family’s misery, and yet I’m here, feeling all sorts of fucked-up things for him.

Nikolai Zhukov isn’t just under my skin—he’s in my veins.

And the scariest part is I’m done fighting it.

With Nikolai still sleeping beside me, I take in his unfairly chiseled jawline, the sexy stubble that shadows his face, and the way his dark hair falls across his forehead. It makes him look softer, less like a big bad mafia boss. It’s a side of him I really, really like.

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