Page 120 of Desperate Actions

But fuck them.

I did not marry her for that reason.

I don’t need Viper Enterprises to succeed. Being a billionaire in my own right means her father can’t accuse me of that at least.

I sigh and ponder what my next move will be with the man.

Personally, I would not care if he kept on hating me. But Aella would.

She does.

Even if she hasn’t acknowledged it yet, I know how important family is. And I want her to be happy.

Always.

For her, I’ll make peace with her old man.

I think about it as I head to my own office.

I work a few floors away from my father and uncles, and that’s entirely by choice.

While Uncles Adrik, Marat, and Josef—along with my father—run the bulk of Volkov Industries, I choose a different battlefield.

Instead of corporate boardrooms drenched in power plays and political maneuvering, I scout brilliance.

I track promising inventions, disruptive technology, and ambitious startups, give them the push they need, or sometimes, acquire them outright. It’s what I did for Aella.

And I have no plans of stopping.

Adapting to civilian life after years of combat? I thought it would be impossible. That the chaos of war had rewired me permanently.

But it turns out business is its own kind of war—strategy, risks, high-stakes negotiations.

I thrive in it.

I just never expected my morning to start withthiskind of battle.

Connor Callahan and Balor Cruz are sitting in my office, and neither of them looks happy.

“Good morning,” I say, already bracing for whatever the hell this is.

“Not fucking likely,” Connor mutters, scrubbing a hand over his face like he’s had one hell of a night.

Balor, standing beside him, hands me a tablet without a word.

I take it, frowning at the paused video on the screen. The image is grainy, but the street looks familiar.

A sick feeling settles in my gut.

“Watch the video first,” Connor says. “Then we’ll talk.”

I don’t sit. I hit play, and the second the footage rolls, I recognize the place.

The Vipers’ Den.

Jersey City.

A well-fortified club, it serves as one of the main operations for Angel Fury—the Enforcer and my new father-in-law—along with his two partners: Luc Batiste, the Council, and the most unhinged motherfucker of them all, Angel’s cousin, the King of the Vipers himself, Nico Fury.

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