Page 20 of The Payback

I roll my eyes and press the towel against the cut as it continues bleeding. “It’s business.”

“There’s no reason not to mix business with pleasure, nephew. She is a trade, but she’s also your wife. Besides, the sooner you two produce a child, the stronger the alliance will be.”

“Oh, they mixed business and pleasure last night, all right,” Nik says around a chortle, covering for me for some unknown reason.

Silence descends, and I throw the towel at him, momentarily feeling like we’re still teenagers being assholes to the adults in the room.

He deflects it effortlessly, sending the fabric fluttering to the floor—stupid government training.

“Um, hi,” a soft voice comes from the kitchen entryway. My eyes snap up from the towel to my bride. She’s still sleepy-eyed, swallowed by my white button-up shirt and bare from the hem to her pretty pink toes. Elsa crosses one foot over the other and laces her fingers together in front of her.

“Good morning, Elsa,” I say.

She peeks up at me, her long sooty lashes framing her almond-shaped eyes most alluringly before looking around at the other two in the room. “Morning, everyone.”

Sergei and Nik greet Elsa, and I beckon her closer with a crook of my finger. Nik reacts oddly with a grimace, but I ignore him. I only have eyes for her right now.

I pull a mug from the cupboard as she gets closer. “Coffee?”

“Please.”

When she’s next to me, I tug her into my arms the way I wanted to earlier and take her lips with mine, all too aware of the eyes on us. I pull away and look down at her when she sighs.

“Morning.”

The cutest fucking giggle leaves her lips, and she shyly smiles at me. “Morning.”

Is this her, or is this the character she’s playing? It drives me mad not knowing for sure, but what strikes me most is that Iwantto know.

Nik’s cup lands on the counter a little too hard, making Elsa jump. Either she is a fantastic actress, or she really is this nervous. Resting a palm on her lower back, I turn to the machine and pour her coffee.

She busies herself with fixing it how she likes, and I turn towards Sergei and Nik. They’ve been watching the exchange with vastly different expressions. Nik looks furious, like he might cross the marble island and wring my neck, while Sergei looks so fucking smug and satisfied that he “arranged” this match.

“What happened to your hand?” she asks, taking my injured palm between her soft hands and turning it side to side to inspect the cut. “Where’s your first aid kit?”

“Under the sink,” Nik replies when the silence stretches a little too long. I’m too consumed with the feel of her soft skin against mine, rough with calluses and scars.

She grabs the kit, pulls out an alcohol swab, and dabs at the cut, never once showing discomfort at the blood still seeping from the wound. She mutters about stitches and sighs in frustration when I shake my headno.

“Fine, but don’t let this get infected, or you’ll lose the use of it for longer than you’d probably like.”

“Need my hands in working order, do you?” I tease.

She keeps her attention on my hand, but a faint smile lifts her lips. She puts some ointment on the cut and places a series of butterfly bandages to keep it shut. Then, in a complete show of overkill, she wraps it with some gauze and tape, leaving me with minimal usage.

When it’s all done, she lays a soft kiss on top of the bandage, and somehow, it feels better already.

“I made a good choice for you,” Sergei says as he watches the exchange.

Right.Because my uncle was in contact with Peter Lee, Elsa’s “cousin,” to negotiate the whole thing. Too bad Peter is an Interpol asset like me, and he was reading off a script with an agent by his side in case he said something stupid.

Elsa dips her head and puts a few feet of distance between us. Understandable as a new bride in a new place among unfamiliar people, but unacceptable to me.

“An excellent choice, Uncle,” I say, trying not to grit my teeth as I get the words out. Marriage was never in the cards for me—not while I lived this life—but here we are.

Sergei nods, sliding his eyes towards Nik. “We need to talk.”

Nik moves to stand, but I halt him with a single gesture. “Anything you two have to discuss, you can discuss here.”

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