Page 78 of Kings of Cruelty

My shoulders slump, and I lean heavily against Nikolai. “No,” I admit. “And she has the babies.” I can’t help but snort. “Pandora, and Ares, andKratos.”

“He named his kids that?” Nikolai asks, sounding bewildered.

I nod. “I’m naming my own child, thank you very much. I don’t care how drugged up I am when the time comes.”

“Our child will have a good Russian name,” Konstantin says, then he sighs. “I do not like this line of business either. We will talk with the Pavones. But we need to be even more careful. We need more leverage. My father won’t be appeased for long.”

“I’ll make friends with Vanessa,” I say reluctantly. “She’s nice enough, I guess, and she covered for me.” I force a smile. “And she knows about babies, so maybe that’d be nice.”

“Talk to Pavone, then,” Nikolai says. He brushes his lips against the top of my head. “And we’ll… figure the rest out.” He sounds relieved, and I realize that he and Yuri aren’t acting when they say they didn’t want to do this. “We’re with you, Kotya. You know that.”

I rest my head against Nikolai’s shoulder, and my eyes land on James’s severed limbs. I can’t help myself: I burst out laughing.

“What?” Yuri asks.

I point at James. “No. Just… us. Having this conversation. Here, with James’s parts.”

Konstantin glances at the body. “At least it is only his parts. I would not tolerate his screaming.”

I snort. “Yeah.” I take a deep breath, grimacing as the stench of his blood invades my senses. “You need a shower. And I need to rest. I’m fucking exhausted.” I look directly at Konstantin. “No locking me away. No reducing me to your mistress. I’m in this as deep as you are now.”

Konstantin nods. “All right. We will get through this. Together.”

“Together,” I agree.

Things are about to get a hell of a lot more dangerous, but I can’t help but feel… relieved.

And I’m really, really glad I don’t have that skeptical part of me telling me, “I told you so.”

TWENTY

Konstantin

I stepout of the shower, all the blood safely down the drain. I wonder if I should have been more bothered by the blood and the violence—but my thoughts are firmly on Sierra.

There’s a bruise on her face, one she doesn’t seem to be aware of. When I’d seen it, I’d known I would pay it back twenty-fold on that man.

Well, that’s all paid now.

I wrap a towel around my waist and go back to my bedroom, but I stop short.

Yura, Nikolai, and Sierra are all on the bed, naked, and making out. Sierra is kissing Yura while Nikolai works a mark into the skin of her shoulder right beside her scar.

They’re beautiful, and I know I should be jealous to see Sierra with other men, but once again I’m only filled with joy—and lust.

“Do you not have beds of your own?” I ask, amused.

“Not beds that fit all four of us,” Sierra breaks away to respond, her gaze sweeping over me. “Are you going to join us?”

Nikolai smooths a hand through her hair, then glances at me. “Yeah, Kotya. Are you gonna join us, or are you off to the couch?”

I drop my towel and stride over to them. “You start without me, in my bed, then suggest I sleep on couch?” I scoff and grab Sierra’s ankle, dragging her down the bed and away from the other two.

“Hey!” Nikolai protests. “We had her first.”

Sierra rolls her eyes even as she leans up for a kiss. “Like you haven’t shared before,” she says. “But god, Kotya, you take forever in the shower. I was starting to think we’d be done before you ever got out of there.”

Yuri sits up and waves to me. His hair is still damp, so it lies limp against his head. “Didn’t they teach you how to shower in five minutes?”

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