Page 22 of Reign

Again, our similarities strike a chord. Family can be a bitch.

I’m starting to see his predicament. I sit back in the chair and let out a big exhale as I realize I was right, he’s not going to kill me. It’s starting to sound like heneedsme.

“So why come to me like this. Why not just kill me?”

When he smiles it looks like pure evil.

“Because I think we can help each other. I may have completed the hit on Daniella’s parents, but –”

A gasp from the doorway causes us to turn at the same time. Isabel is in the doorway in one of my gray t-shirts and navy-blue panties.

Nothing else.

Eleven

Libby/Daniella/Isabel

“WHATDID YOU JUST SAY?” I whisper so deadly, I wonder if Nikita’s aware of how much danger his life is in right this moment. Suddenly, it’s too hot in here and I feel my sweat begin to stain Cas’s shirt.

When Nikita glances at Cas to intercede, Cas shakes his head, his lips tight.You made this mess. You clean it up.

“Look atme, you motherfucker!” I launch myself at Nikita in the chair, hellbent on drawing blood, so focused on revenge that I forget I have almost no clothes on. I’m pounding on his chest, my knees on either side of his lap, before I feel strong arms wrap around my waist, dragging me backwards.

“Isabel,” I hear someone say but all I want to focus on is Nikita’s blood.

“Libby,”the voice says harshly, and I realize it’s Cas. He’s gripping me tightly to his chest, trapping my arms by my sides. Enveloped in his embrace, I feel myself start to cry and I paint his white shirt with my tears. He cups the back of my head with his hand and peppers kisses in my hair. “Shh. Princess, it’s going to be okay.”

Is it?I wonder not for the first time.

I feel him pull me onto the loveseat with him and drape me across his lap but instead of calming me, it makes me feel claustrophobic and I push away from him, barely able to breathe through my constricted lungs.

Flashes of my parents’ faces scroll through my mind as Cas says to Nikita, “I’m about three seconds from gouging your eyes out of their sockets, Orlov. There’s a blanket behind you, throw it over here.”

This man just admitted to murdering my parents and forever altering the course of my life and Cas is worried about him seeing me in my underwear? Rationality hasn’t been a strong suit for me lately and it doesn’t look like it’s going to make an appearance today, either.

“Forget my fucking clothes! I’ll strip naked if you give me some goddamn answers.”

Nikita’s eyes darken with lust just as Cas says, “She doesn’t mean that.”

I turn my icy gaze at him. “You don’t speak for me.” Giving Nakita my full attention, I start peppering him with questions. “Why did you kill my parents? How did you even know them?”

I’m desperate for the rest of the story.

“Dominic can fill you in on those details later. I’ve come to make a proposition.”

I study him from my seat on the couch as he returns the same amount of scrutiny on me. I follow his eyes as he drags them up my bare legs which are tucked underneath me and over my hip. Cas’s t-shirt is baggy enough that I know he can’t make out any of my features, although he got an eyeful last night in my dress. I can feel Cas vibrating with fury as Nikita and I assess one another. Having the attention of both of these men on me is making me heady and I grab onto that feeling with everything I’ve got.

I uncurl my legs and lean forward on my elbows. Both men watch my every move. “So, let’s hear it then.”

I’d make a deal with the devil if it meant ending this for good.

“I want Mateo out of my life. He’s been given too much leeway because of his connections. His ties to my family in the Bratva are making it impossible for me to gain any leverage on restoring my position. As long as he knows I know his secret, I’m a threat to him and he’ll hunt me down.”

I catch his words and there are more questions hovering in my periphery but Nikita gets up from his chair and comes to sit on the coffee table directly in front of me, scrambling my brain. I’m not able to focus on anything except this Russian Adonis right in front of me. My eyes are locked on his and my nerves are on high alert.

“Touch her and I’ll end you in this living room, Nikita.”

He disregards Cas’ threat as if he were nothing more than a gnat circling in the air. His large hand reaches out slowly to cup my face, his eyes not leaving mine, making sure I’m witness to his defiance. He’s dangerous in a different way than Cas. I’ve always felt Cas’s undertone of goodness. His regret for the lives he’s taken and the family he was born into. I don’t sense any of that with Nikita. Although I’m still sure he’d never prey on a woman, I feel no remorse, no guilt, no shame, in his energy. I’m ashamed to admit that he’s intriguing and the danger he emanates is acting as a mild aphrodisiac.

---