Page 99 of Midnight Wedding

“What do you want?” he asks, not looking at me. He stares down at the table, barely restraining his rage.

“You know already.”

Before he can respond, the waitress comes over with our coffee. I drink half of it down, savoring the heat on my throat. I’m awareof the men staring at us, and I wonder how many of them would pull the trigger right now. How many of them want me dead? They were loyal to my father, and instead of sticking with me, they chose to follow Garen and Sona. Can I ever trust any of them again?

Those worries won’t help anything. If I want to integrate the Brotherhood, I have to be willing to take a risk. Tigran thinks they should all die—but blood doesn’t wash away blood. It only makes the stain worse.

“She’ll cut off my fucking balls,” Garen says very softly. “You know what she did on our wedding night?”

“I really don’t want to hear about your sex life,” Tigran says.

“Your aunt is a clever, nasty woman. The night we got married, she held a knife to my sack and told me she’d slice them off if I ever betrayed her.” Garen smiles to himself like that’s a fond memory. Sounds pretty fucked up to me. “I think she’d do worse if I gave in to you.”

“Gross,” Tigran says.

“You don’t have any other choice,” I tell him. “We both know you’re lost without her. Sooner or later, I’ll win the war if she’s not the one running it.”

“Don’t underestimate me,” Garen says, his fingers pressing hard into the table. “Sona’s smart. You’re right. But I’ve been in this business a long time.”

“I agree, you’ll make my life hard, but we both know you won’t win. Sonamighthave had a chance. But she likes getting her nails done too much.”

Garen cackles. He sits back, shaking his head. “Told her to go someplace new. Told her to vary her habits. She wouldn’t listen.”

“End the fight. Come over to my side.” I lean toward him, holding his gaze. “We’re a family, Garen. I know you don’t like what happened with my father and you’re pissed about my wife. But we’re stronger together. End this and I’ll release Aunt Sona.”

“I need concessions,” he says and nods subtly toward his men lurking nearby. “They won’t accept less.”

“We’ll come to an arrangement.”

“No reprisals. No killings.”

“So long as they obey.”

He rubs his forehead and tugs at his hair. “What a fucking mess.”

“Just think, Garen,” Tigran says as he stands up. “If you give up now, you won’t ever have to worry about running the show. You feel out of your depth now? Imagine if you were fuckingpatron.” Tigran laughs as he walks toward the door.

“Take a few days,” I tell Garen and follow my brother.

We manage to leave the diner without getting shot in the back. That’s a win as far as I’m concerned.

Tigran’s good mood evaporates once we’re away from that place. He walks closer to me, hands behind his back. “Sona will never forgive this,” he says, glancing over his shoulder. “Even if Garen’s honest, she’ll make trouble the second we release her.”

“If you’re about to tell me to kill her?—”

“You’ve already made your position on that clear,” he says, frowning at me. His hand grabs onto my forearm. “But you have to get leverage. Something that’ll keep her in line.”

“That’s Garen’s job.”

“She already cut his nuts off years ago, even if his actual balls are intact. We need something else.”

Tigran’s right, even though I don’t like it. Sona’s not going to accept any deal I make with Garen. Even if we come up with something suitable for everyone, she’s going to be a pain in my fucking ass the second we release her.

But that’s a problem for later. The clock is ticking and I need to be done with this before I run out of time. Garen had better give me a good plan—and he’d better do it fucking soon.

Or else maybe blood isn’t the worst solution after all.

Chapter 35

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