Page 122 of Lethal Legacy

He should take the hint and leave it there.

But nobody ever accused Nicky of being smart.

“Or is it,” he says slyly, “that you just can’t stay away from that hot au pairyou hired? Never pegged you for the type to fuck the help, Roman.”

I shoot Dimitry a brief look, but it’s unnecessary. He’s already moved to take my place next to Ofelia.

Twisting the ass end of Nikolai’s silky tracksuit bottoms high enough to make his voice squeak, I push him silently ahead of me through the crowd. His men are a moment too late to stop me, and by the time they wise up, my own have them well in hand.

Dumb fucks.

“That gun in your pants is in my hand now,” I murmur in Nikolai’s ear as I thrust him off the main road and into a side alley. “And if you think I won’t use it on you, fucking think again, Nicky. I’ve got plenty of reasons already. All I’m looking for right now is a good excuse.”

I spin him around and thrust him up against a brick wall. Two of my men have taken up guard at the end of the alley. “Get back to the float,” I order them sharply. “I’ve got this.”

“Boss.” One of them starts to argue, frowning.

“Fucking go,” I snarl. “If this is a distraction and my family suffers, you’ll pay for it. Understand?Go.”

They do.

“Now.” I get right up close to Nikolai’s face. “What the fuck do you think you’re playing at, Nicky?”

“What?” he whines. “I was just making a joke, Roman. I didn’t know you were so worked up over your nanny.”

“You seem to have an unhealthy fascination with my au pair, Nikolai. Why is that?”

He spits to one side. I slam him harder against the bricks, and he scowls. “There are a dozen agencies you could have hired a nanny from. Instead you hired some illegalblyatfrom a café. Who also just happens, apparently, to speak Russian. It’s a weird coincidence, you have to admit. Inger certainly thinks so,” he adds with a sly expression.

“Ah.”I fucking knew it.“So Inger has you doing her dirty work, now, Nicky?” I drop him to the ground and let go of him. “Taking orders from a woman? Tsk, tsk.” I wag a finger in his face. “I wonder what Yuri will think of that?”

His face tightens. “Inger and I just care about Mikhail’s children. About making sure they’re safe and that they get what they’re entitled to.”

I almost laugh aloud. “If Inger gave a single fuck about the kids, she’d have been here for the past two years, and for the fourteen before that. She’s never given a fuck about who I hire to look after her children, so I don’t know why she’s suddenly taking such an interest now. As for making sure they’re safe?” I crowd Nikolai until he’s hard up against the wall again. “Are you honestly questioning my ability to do that?”

I can see the fear in his eyes, but for once, he doesn’t back down. “You didn’t keep my brother safe,” he says. “Mikhail died—and you did nothing to stop it.”

For a moment I’m actually too stunned to react.

Then I punch Nikolai twice with full force, direct to the face.

He slumps to the ground, his nose bleeding profusely.

“How fucking dare you.” I’m so furious my voice shakes. “I yelled at Mikhail to get out of the driver seat the minute the ignition didn’t turn over. A dozen men heard me, and not all of them together could hold me back from pulling him out of the burning car. Mikhail was my goddamnbrother.I’d have given my own life for his a hundred times over rather than lose him.”

“Ah, yes,” Nicky sneers, holding his nose. “The famous story of how you took a bullet for him. But that bullet worked out pretty well for you, Roman, didn’t it? Just like the raids seven years ago that put my father in prison. From Miami backstreets to a Spanish penthouse in less than twenty years. That must be some kind of fucking record.”

“Do you have a fucking death wish, Nikolai?” I stare at him, trying to work out what the hell is going on. “Where the fuck is all this coming from?”

He stares back at me, his mouth working, eyes darting this way and that. “I know you’ve got something going on in that software facility,” he says finally. “And there’s no way you started Hale without some kind of backing. After Otets went to prison, our business was shattered—so where did the money for Hale come from? And now you have Mikhail’s children, hisheirs,locked up in your penthouse under your so-calledprotection.”

His tone has become more injured as he’s gone on, and when he speaks again, it’s with the petulant, spoiled tone that has always set my teeth on edge.

“You and Mikhail always shut me out. When I was younger, I didn’t understand enough to ask questions. And then at first, when you palmed me off with Pillars, I was too happy to actually have a part of the business that it didn’t occur to me to complain. But I’m Yuri’sson.I’m Mikhail’s brother.You’re not even family, Roman. And now you’re running an entire business in secret, and you don’t even trust me enough to tell me what it is. You control Mikhail’s legacy, not to mention his children. Put yourself in my shoes, Roman. Wouldn’t you be suspicious, too?”

His voice is a petulant whine by the time he finishes, and he stares sullenly at the ground. The raucous sounds of the parade are beginning to fade into the distance. The midday streets are quiet, all the shops closed, residents out watching the spectacle.

I could kill him now, and nobody need ever know it was me.

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