Page 50 of Midnight Wedding

A heavy silence falls over the table. More than one of the men present stares at him with open hostility. He must realize his error because he turns a bright red and sinks back into his chair.

“I’m going to assume you didn’t just suggest killing thepatron’sbaby,” Tigran says.

“Of course not,” Michael whispers. “I’d never. I wouldn’t.”

“Why the fuck not?” Sevan spits suddenly. He glares at me. “Ricky’s dead. What’s one dead baby in exchange for saving our lives? I respect thepatron, but come on. He married some random fucking Russian girl, and now?—”

Tigran stands and draws his gun in one fluid motion. He aims it at Sevan’s head, and nobody moves.

“If I were in charge of this meeting, you’d be dead right now,” Tigran snarls.

I’m touched by Tigran’s reaction. He doesn’t like Lena and probably agrees with Sevan more than he’s letting on, but my brother’s a good man. He knows when to be loyal.

I get up from the table. Sevan watches me, jaw working. He’s clearly terrified but also too angry to control himself. “You lost a club today. A couple of your people were badly injured. I understand that you’re angry.”

“The war’s going to be bad,patron,” Sevan says. “I know she’s your wife, but this Brotherhood comes before anything else.”

“We care about family, don’t we?” I stare at him, but I’m talking to the table. “We value loyalty, honesty, and blood, isn’t that right? Lena’s carrying my child. She’s my blood now. I put my ring on her finger, said the words, and made her my wife. It’s not ideal, but Garen could have found another way to resolve this. Instead, he went straight to killing.” I lean in close to Sevan. “You crossed a line.”

He pales slightly. “Patron. No disrespect. I just?—”

I grab his ear. He yelps in shock as I rip my knife from the sheath at my hip and slice down in one easy motion. Skin parts and cartilage slices. His warm blood rolls down his cheek as he screams.

I toss the severed ear onto the table and wipe my blade on Sevan’s shirt before returning it to my sheath.

“Someone shut him up,” I say, returning to my place.

Razmik and Michael drag Sevan to his feet, shove a napkin over his bloody face, and drag him out back.

I sigh and crack my neck. All things considered, one maimed cousin isn’t too bad so far. Everyone’s looking at me, but their expressions are changed.

I didn’t want to hurt Sevan, but the stupid fuck wouldn’t shut his mouth. He gave me a very convenient gift though.

Now everyone here understands: Lena is staying. She is my wife. And I will not tolerate dissent.

“I’m asking for a month,” I tell them. “I understand this war is my fault. I’m the kind ofpatronthat takes responsibility for his own actions. I want one month to come to terms with Garen or to sufficiently ruin him. If that doesn’t happen, I will step down.”

Tigran stares at me in surprise. I notice more than a few curious frowns around the table. But nobody stands up to beg me to reconsider.

“I accept those terms,” Uncle Narek says, and all the others murmur their agreement.

“Then it’s unanimous. One month of your undivided loyalty. No second-guessing, no questioning my decisions. You will all kill when I say kill. You will all burn when I say burn. I will finish this mess with Garen, or I’ll walk away in shame.”

I leave the room after that. I’m surprisingly calm considering I just might’ve knotted my own noose. Tigran catches up with me out on the street as I head toward my parked car.

“What the fuck was that back in there?” he says, sounding frustrated.

“I can’t win this fight if everyone’s second-guessing my every move. I need them on board.”

“You’re hamstringing yourself? There’s no fucking way you’re ending this war in a month.”

“I’ll figure it out.”

“Arsen.” He grabs my arm. His grip is tight and there’s a note of desperation. “If you walk, they’ll kill you. There can’t be a living formerpatronwandering around. You’d be too dangerous.”

“I know that.”

His eyes soften. He releases his grip. “They’ll ask me to take your place.”

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