Curious.
Father’s eyes bulge out, and I let off his windpipe a little. “You traitor!” He spits at his former right-hand before turning to Jo. “And you! You murderous little bi—” Not wanting to hear his vitriol against my omega, I tighten my hold again before turning back to Alexei.
“Explain. You were also using this as an opportunity to overthrowOtets?”
Alexei considers me for a moment before nodding. “It does seem that perhaps we could have been on the same team this entire time.”
“What exactly are you getting at?” Illya asks, his tone rightfully suspicious.
“And what did he mean about you being in love with my mother?” I growl, my hand tightening around my father’s neck.
“Fellas,” Jo cuts in, looking around at all of us. “Why don’t we have some men babysit Mikhail here in the back while y’all figure out what to do now that you’ve found yourselves tryin’ to take over the same crime family?”
If anyone else had suggested it to me at that moment, I might have torn their head clean from their body. But coming from mylisichka,who I would give my very soul to the devil for?
It is the best damn thing I’ve ever heard.
“That,” Alexei lets out a sigh, “is an excellent idea.”
Two tables have been pushed together, and now Luka, Illya, Alexei, Jo, and I sit together, our plates empty. Father is being held in the back by Sam, one of Illya and Luka’s men, and one of Alexei’s men.
With all of our guards at the ready, the room is tense, but it’s not as tense as itcouldbe, considering we seem to have a common goal with my father’s right-hand.
Alexei will need to answer a few questions before I let him leave here alive though.
Like what the hell my father meant about him being in love with my mother.
“Who else do you have with you?” Alexei asks, and I hesitate to tell him about West and Hayden, who are nearby for backup.
“My other two mates,” Jo lifts her chin defiantly, throwing caution out the window.
I suppress the urge to facepalm.
“Other…two mates?” He frowns, looking between the four of us. “So you have six total?”
A growl raises in my chest at the implication.
Jo snorts out a laugh while Illya and Luka raise their hands in front of them, stumbling over denials and explanations.
“We would never—”
“It’s not like that—”
What,nowthey think Jo is not good enough for them?
“You should be so lucky to have an omega like mine.” The snarl leaves me, and then mylisichkais sliding off her chair and into my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing a kiss to my jaw. My hands slide around her waist, and even though I can’t scent her with the blockers she has on, her mere presence calms me considerably.
“They didn’t mean it like that, and you know it,” Jo tuts, shifting her hips as she gets comfortable. She turns to Alexei. “No, the Vasiliev twins are not a part of my pack. We just needed a reason to set up the meetin’ with Mikhail to distract him—”
“Hold on there,Sestrenka,” Illya cuts in, and my alpha settles even more when he calls her “sister” in Russian. “We must not give away all of our secrets just yet.”
My omega rolls her eyes. “We’re obviously all on the same side here, but sure, go on.”
Luka gives her a look, then turns to Alexei, who is now looking at us with a perplexed expression.
It seems that neither of us want to lay all our cards on the table.
Luka and Illya do not say a word.
