Kole’s father takes another large drink of wine. “No, you just coddle it until it’s letting millions of dollars worth of omegas loose into the world.”
The shift is subtle, but I sense the way that both Illya and Luka tense. Alexei talking back to Mikhail this way must not be normal. At least, not in public.
He continues after another gulp. “I should have made sure thedurakwas dead along with his mother.”
My heart stops. His…mother?
Luka and Illya quietly curse next to me before I hear Kole’s deadly voice in my ear. “Whatdid he just say?”
“What are you talking about?” Alexei asks sharply. “You always said you had nothing to do with her death.”
“Why do you care, Alexei?” Mikhail smirks into his glass. “Youalways denied being in love with my mistress. But why else would you have been so soft on the boy?”
It’s like we’re not even here as Mikhail and Alexei continue their conversation. Kole’s father is much more…argumentative than I would have expected, given the situation.
Too argumentative.
My eyes dart down to the wine in front of us, the same alcohol that Mikhail is draining from his glass. One glass of wine shouldn’t be enough to inebriate him to this degree.
Someone must have tampered with it.
“That is it, he diesnow.” Kole swears, and I can’t even tell him not to. There’s no way for me to say anything and have it go undetected.
Alexei’s eyes darken as he takes a step forward, but his voice is quiet. “Why?”
A malicious grin takes over Mikhail’s face, but he doesn’t have a chance to answer before the door to the kitchen bangs open.
Fuck.
Kole.
fifteen
Kole
Red tinges my vision as I storm into the dining area from the kitchen. If my father had my mother killed…all this time, I thought Alexei had something to do with it.
“Ni—Nikolai!” Mikhail Vasiliev looks at me like he’s seen a ghost.
My father’s guards keep their hands on their weapons. “Holy shit, I think he gotbigger,” one of them mutters.
Somehow, I am not hit with a bullet, nor am I stopped in any way as I rip the comm out of my ear and stalk up to the man I called father. Wrapping my hand around his neck, I push himagainst the wall. His chair falls to the wayside, and Alexei steps carefully out of my path of destruction.
The man I used to be so afraid of stares at me with wide eyes, before they wildly look around the room.
“Stand down,” Alexei gives the order to my father’s men, and surprisingly, they listen. “I would like to see how this plays out.”
“Kole!”Lisichkacries out, the accent that I love so much falling back into her voice. “Sugar Bear, you were supposed to wait!” Her heels click on the tile as she walks to me. Then she huffs, crossing her arms. “Well, I suppose itismore fun this way.”
Father’s eyes nearly bug out when they land on Jo, the reality of his situation sinking in. “You—” he chokes out, but I squeeze his throat tighter.
“It’s mighty nice to meet you, Mikhail,” her grin is sharp and cutting, “I’m Jo Harding, Destroyer of Alphas.”
A laugh of disbelief leaves Alexei, and I turn my head to snarl at him, holding my father in place even though he struggles against me.
“Alexei, if you get in our way, we will kill you,” Luka’s voice sounds behind me, and Alexei scoffs.
“Why would I get in your way? You’re doing the hard part for me.”
