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“We’re glad to have you,” I tell him. “Are you…”
“Alone?” Nikolai waves a hand. “I know. It’s sad, but I thought my men might enjoy the casino more.”
“Your men are out there now?” I say.
“Yes… is that a problem?” He’s got a shit-eating grin, almost like he’s begging for a quick, brutally efficient punch to the face.
“Of course not.” I try to match his smile, but there’s no way I look like that much of a monster.
Before I can walk forward, Mikhail touches my arm and lowers his voice so only I can hear. “I’ll head out to the casino and make sure they’re not causing a fuss. The last thing we need is your name linked with theirs.”
“Good thinking,” I say.
“Your brother doesn’t value my company,” Nikolai says when I walk over, gesturing at Denis and my other man to wait at the door.
I sit opposite Nikolai. “My brother knows how this works.”
“You’re a lucky family,” Nikolai says. “Many a dynasty has been wiped out when a father suddenly dies.”
“Mikhail and I are a team,” I tell him. “We always have been.”
“Hmm,” Nikolai says.
I smirk, leaning back, pretending I don’t want to rip his throat out. I killed two men responsible for trying to take my woman, and Mikhail messed up the third.Thisis the man truly responsible.
“So, why did you want to meet?” I ask.
His expression flickers, the worm. I know he’s thinking of last night’s failed scheme. I know he’s thinking about the fact he hasn’t heard from his man. He’s wondering,Is Dimitri playing me? Is this real?
“I’m curious about the upcoming wedding,” he says after a pause.
“Long way to come for curiosity.”
“Can you blame a father?”
“I suppose not,” I say. “Except we have two more weeks.”
“The way you say that, Dimitri… I’m sorry, but some might think my daughter’s not good enough for you.”
Thisis what my father wanted, I know, when he arranged this. This was the whole point. He wanted me to have to grovel in front of Nikolai. He knew how much I’d hate it. It’s a final fuck-you from the grave.
I know I’m right when I see that glint in Nikolai’s eye. I know that he and our father probably talked about this specific moment, the time he’d be able to rub it in my face. I grin and rest my forearms on the table, looking at him straight in those glinting, excited eyes. “We’ll have to see how that goes.”
He flinches, looking shocked. “See how… the arrangement goes?” he says, scoffing like the idea is ridiculous. “I think I’m confused.”
Oh, he’s confused, all right. I’ve been confused, too. My woman has helped me to see that. I am Dimitri Sokolov, and just because my father was an evil man doesn’t mean I have to be. “We have a pledge arranged for the day after tomorrow,” I say, thinking quickly about what needs to be done. “I’m sure everything will become clear then.”
“A pledge?” he says, eyes narrowing. “To swear you in? So soon after the funeral?”
I place my hand on my chest, expressing all the grief a person can feel for my poor, deceased father. I wonder how convincing I look. “I wouldn’t have called for it, but my men have insisted. Of course, you want your daughter to marry the Pakhan, don’t you, Nikolai? You want her to marry the boss?”
He flinches, giving himself away, then takes a handkerchief from his pocket and dabs his forehead. “Excuse me, Dimitri. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but I have hyperhidrosis—excessive sweating.”
“Oh, I thought I was making you nervous.”
He forces a laugh. “No, you’re right. You’re right about the pledge, too. Mila will be a Bratva queen when you marry her. Yes. Good thinking.”
“I’m sure you’ll want to attend, then,” I say.
