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I could only hope Nyx’s influence would help Nerine to drop her guard. The shield she wore around herself could only protect her so far. She needed companionship and friendship, something Andraius had gone out of his way to prevent these past five years. He enjoyed isolating her, making her believe she had no one. He believed if he broke her, he’d have a weak, compliant wife to do his bidding. Except what he received was a woman who chose seclusion over companionship and a public facade of unapproachableness.
“I need you to be my eyes and ears whenever they meet.”
I held Andraius’s stare, letting him know I believed my involvement in this was pointless.
He needed me too much to flip out on me. He knew it as much as I did.
“These are duties our men already handle. They give you a detailed accounting of her activities whenever she is out and about.” I paused and added, “Or does this have to do with Simon Drakos?”
Andraius believed his alliance with the Drakoses would truly cement his power over the Angelos Organization. Then he’d no longer have the specter of his predecessor’s achievements haunting him.
Too bad, he’d yet to figure out that Simon Drakos only tolerated him.
“Of course, it has to do with him. I want you to make sure Nerine doesn’t fuck up all the progress I’ve made with Drakos by pissing off his wife. I need that deal signed, and Drakos is soft for Nyx. I want Nerine to keep her happy.”
I resisted the urge to shake my head and clock this moron. He had no clue about the players of the world.
Anyone with a grain of sense would know Drakos wasn’t a man led around by his balls. From the first moment I encountered him, I understood the only way Nyx could influence anything with him was if someone targeted her. Then all hell would break loose.
Outside of that situation, the couple kept their boundaries.
Nyx liked to dabble in things that she’d rather her husband not get involved in.
The fact that Andraius hadn’t picked up simple cues would make it so much easier when we executed our plan in a few months.
“Why would she endanger this relationship?” The coolness in Theo’s tone came out in his standard unemotional way, but the flash of annoyance in his silver eyes screamed he’d had enough of the digs against Nerine.
The time and distance hadn’t lessened his guilt and anger for not being here when everything had gone down. And every slight against Nerine added fuel to the fire.
“My wife is stubborn and prefers challenging me at inappropriate times. I wouldn’t put it past her to offend Drakos’s wife to spite me.” He shook his head. “Of Angelos’s four daughters, I ended up with the standoffish, cold bitch of the group. What are the damn odds? I’d wonder if she had a pulse if she didn’t have that viper’s mouth. I hope she gets pregnant soon. It’s like fucking a venom-filled whore with ice in her veins.”
Motherfucker.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
I continued to count backward in my mind until I calmed down enough to focus without seeing red and then asked, “How do you want us to manage Nerine, sir?”
“You two grew up with her. I’m sure you can get her to let her guard down and convince her to be nice.”
“We aren’t nice men.” Theo’s deadpan tone almost had my irritation leveled out enough to smile. “And we barely knew her. We ran in different circles.”
“No matter. You aren’t strangers to her. She will be comfortable around you. You can report her activities and, at the same time, spy on the Drakoses while you’re at it. It’s a win-win.”
I released an exasperated breath, noticing Andraius narrow his gaze at me but keeping his mouth shut.
“This is a waste of our time. I’ll put a new group of my best men on her. They won’t lie. They grew up around her, too. Theo and I have better shit to do than babysit an errant wife.”
Andraius slammed his hand on his desk. Guess I pushed him too far.
“You will do as I say. I want her watched. She has her current team wrapped around her finger. They do everything she tells them, and I don’t believe they are reporting everything she does. I know she’s taking something to keep herself from getting pregnant. They lie for her.”
“My men don’t lie,” I pushed back, matching his ire and daring him to insult my soldiers again. “As I said, they know the consequences. I’ve already agreed to switch out her team.”
Loyalty to my people remained paramount in my world. They put their lives on the line for the family daily, and I refused to let anyone insult them.
Fuck this asshole.
