Page 132 of Thorns of Lust
Holding her close to my chest, my niece gave me a grin, melting my heart. She’d be a beauty one day, melting men’s hearts.
“You have such a way with kids,” Isabella remarked. I smiled, keeping my eyes on my niece. “You look gorgeous, Tatiana.”
“You said black-tie event,” I answered dryly. “I listened.” My eyes darted back in the direction where I left my brother with Illias, but I couldn’t see them from here. “Why is the Konstantin scum here?”
Okay, maybe that was a bit too bitchy. I was ready to follow through these feelings he stirred inside me but there were certain things I couldn’t get over. The killing of an innocent woman was one of them. I had to draw a line somewhere.
“Tatiana!” she scolded on a hush, her eyes darting around us to ensure nobody heard that. The kitchen staff hired for this occasion paid us no mind. “Vasili wants a truce with him.”
I snorted. “Why?”
Isabella let out a heavy sigh. “Well, apparently he’s a worthy opponent and Illias threatened a turf war. Taking back the territories that used to belong to Konstantin’s mother. Of course, Vasili wouldn’t allow that but he doesn’t want anyone in the family getting caught in the crossfire.”
“So what?” I growled softly. “How is Vasili going to settle the score? Let the dark devil kill one of our brothers?” A guilty wince crossed Isabella’s face. “You know something,” I accused.
She shook her head. “Not really. Vasili said the only way to come to terms with Konstantin was to let him kill one of his brothers… or by marriage.”
Illias had another thing coming if he thought I’d agree to any damn agreement that he’d negotiate with my brother. I made it clear to him it would be a conversation he’d have to have with me. Nobody else. I’d be nobody’s pawn.
I snickered. “Well, good luck to anyone trying to take out my brothers. They’ll be dead by morning. And there is nobody to wed. Alexei and Vasili are wed and Sasha is on his way to the altar any day now. So there’s that.”
Isabella’s eyes lowered, the unspoken meaning lingering in the air. Marietta’s head slumped to my shoulder and her face pressed against mine. She was falling asleep as I rocked her back and forth.
“Vasili promised me a long time ago he’d never arrange a marriage for me,” I clarified when Isabella kept looking at me like I had forgotten I was no longer married. Or that Illias tried to arrange for my hand. “Nobody on this planet will make me marry anyone. I’ll be nobody’s puppet.”
We couldn’t trust Illias as far as we could throw him. You’d have to be stupid not to see it. The man wouldn’t be the Pakhan for so long and from an early age because he was easily fooled. I’d have to hope that Vasili knew that even better than me.
Isabella was about to answer when her eyes darted past me. I followed her gaze to the back of the hallway where Konstantin and my brother entered Vasili’s office.
Konstantin’s eyes found mine and held my gaze with a knowing smile as he shut the door.
For the first time in my life, I doubted whether my big brother would keep his promise.
But I’d keep mine. I would never agree to an arranged marriage.
FORTY-THREE
KONSTANTIN
Ishut the door to Vasili’s office to Tatiana’s glare and Isabella’s worried eyes.
Heading towards the desk, I sat down in a chair in front of Vasili’s desk, leaning back with one elbow on the armrest and studying him. He kept his expression masked but he was worried.
About many things… but most of all war with me… and Tatiana.
He’d be an idiot not to pick up on the sizzling tension traveling through the air when Tatiana stood next to me. And Vasili wasn’t an idiot. But the bottom line was that Tatiana was my woman and, therefore, my responsibility.
I tapped my finger lightly against my thigh. Vasili asked for this meeting, to find a way to come to a mutual agreement for peace. Fuck if I planned to make it easy on him.
A clock ticked. Noise from the guests buzzed from the other rooms. Tension built until we could both taste it in the air. It pulled like a rubber band, ready to snap at any moment.
“Tatiana is not the arranged marriage kind of woman.” His words cut the silence like a knife. My gaze found Vasili’s. The statement wasn’t a surprise. That woman did what she wanted, whenever she wanted. “And she seems on some path to revenge now.” I cocked my eyebrow. I thought she kept her search for the chip a secret. “She thinks I don’t know, but she’s been searching for clues. I don’t think she’s ready for the next step.”
Ready or not, here I come.
For the last few weeks, I’d had to deal with Omertà business. Sofia Volkov was on the move again. Except, every time my men got close to her, she disappeared. It was almost as if she was toying with us. Or waiting for something to happen. She was spotted in Moscow, in Paris, then Rome, even Japan. The psycho bitch was as slippery as an eel. She was wanted by the Kingpins of the Syndicate, by Cassio and his gang, by the Omertà, yet none of us could fucking find her.
But now I was back in New Orleans.
