Page 111 of Tarnished Tyrant (Zhukova Bratva 1)

Maybe Roger got in a good swing yesterday without me realizing. A concussion would explain why I can’t seem to make heads or tails of this situation.

He nods. “I said I’d take care of you. That’s what I’m doing. We’ve got work to do.”

“In Iceland?” Elise asks.

“I’m building a new hotel there,” Nikolai explains. “A five-star hotel and resort. I need to oversee things.”

Elise spins towards me. “But what about Roger?”

“Roger is—”

“Not important.” I sense a tinge of fury in Nikolai’s voice. “He isn’t her boss anymore. I am.”

I do my best not to gasp, disguising the sound in a cough. But Elise spins to face me. “What?”

“What what?” I ask innocently.

She narrows her eyes. “You lost your job?”

“Your sister quit,” Nikolai says. “I offered her a job. She works for me now.”

I can tell Elise senses something is amiss. She’s looking from me to Nikolai and back again, trying to make sense of it. I’d like to join her in that endeavor.

What the McFuck is happening?

“Yep,” I say with a pained smile. “And now, we’re going to Iceland, so… go get your suitcase.”

Elise hesitates for only a second before she walks back to the car. The moment she’s out of earshot, I spin around to Nikolai.

“What the hell?”

“You’re welcome.”

“You’re wel—?” I huff in frustration. “You never offered me a job.”

“I said I’d take care of you.”

“I thought you meant sexually!”

He gives me a devilish smile. “Is that all I am to you? A sex toy?”

I close my eyes in anguish. “We never discussed this.”

“You needed a job. Now, you have one. So again—you’re welcome.”

“I don’twantthis one!”

He shrugs. “Okay. Then walk into the airport and buy two tickets for Oklahoma City.”

Heat rolls down my back. “I can’t.”

“Oh, right. I’m sure your company paid your way down here, didn’t they? Do you think Roger is still feeling generous after I beat him to shit on your behalf last night?”

I grit my teeth. “I didn’t ask you to do that.”

“No, but without me, Roger would have taken what he wanted from you and you’d still probably be in the same position today,” he says. “But instead of feeling ‘sexually taken care of,’ you’d be—”

“I know what he planned to do to me,” I snap. “I don’t need the visual.”

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