Page 168 of Anton

That sounds very strange coming from me. It’s a good thing my brothers do not know. Not yet, anyway. I can already imagine what they’ll say.

My gaze locks on Mikhail and Arkady, who, much to my disappointment, have not returned to Russia. I’m this close to buying them one-way tickets myself.

After Konstantin and I spoke about Thora at the hospital, I realized they weren’t here to kill her. So why the hell are they still here? And why are they sitting in the conference room with me and my brothers as though they’re part of our business?

Mikhail leans back in his chair with all the arrogance our maker wasted on him, while Arkady lounges beside him, wearing that lazy grin that only makes him more punchable. From the head of the table, Konstantin looks between us, but before he can begin, Aleksei pins me with a glare.

“What took you so long? We were all waiting.”

“Thora needed me.”

Nu ty mudak. You’re an idiot.

Why did I say that out loud?

Aleksei clutches his chest. “Aw. Did you hear that, Kirill? She needed him.”

Instead of giving either of them my time, I focus on Konstantin, but he’s already fighting a laugh.

Wonderful. This will be a joyous day.

Kirill leans forward and fixes his attention on Aleksei. “I might need to write this down and put it in a memory book.”

Aleksei nods solemnly. “You should. He’s come such a long way. Remember when he told me I’d lost all self-respect for buying Fiona flowers?”

“You did lose your self-respect,” I tell him. “But probably long before that.”

Aleksei scoffs. “And you blew up a man’s car because he wanted to take her to dinner.”

Shit. How did they find out?

“What’s your point? He sent her a smiley face text. He was basically asking for it.”

Arkady chokes on a laugh, while Mikhail grins and folds his arms across his chest.

Kirill shrugs. “You’re right. That was reasonable. I apologize. The smiley face changes everything.”

“Zamolchi.” Shut up.

“Why should I? This is actually fun.”

“It is,” Aleksei agrees. “And look how defensive he’s getting. It’s cute.”

“I am not defensive.”

“He was never defensive before,” Aleksei says to Kirill, ignoring me completely. “Do you remember when we were defensive?”

Kirill nods. “He mocked us for days.”

“Weeks, actually,” Aleksei corrects.

I lean back in my chair and let them have at it because none of it matters anymore. “Say whatever you want. I don’t care.”

I glance between my brothers, my thumb tracing the ring box in my pocket. Inside is the round diamond engagement ring I bought this morning so I can ask her properly this time.

“I finally understand why you would all die for them.”

The room goes silent, every pair of eyes landing on me.