Page 184 of The Villain We Tempt

Ronan

Lol, what’s your beef with Laz?

Drago

Yeah, isn’t that her dad’s friend?

Achilles

Fucker doesn’t need to be here.

I snort.

To the casual observer, Achilles' weird animosity toward Wren Antonov’s father’s buddy would make no sense. ButIhappen to be fluent in “broody Achilles”, and I’m pretty sure I knowexactlywhere this is coming from.

To back up: Achilles is currently at Greenwich Hospital, after driving Yelena and her friends there with a barely breathing Wren. That’s what had Galina bolting white-faced from my grasp with barely an explanation.

I don’t blame her. Her friend nearly died tonight.

Wren’s going to be okay. But she rolled up to the hospital with a 0.34% blood alcohol level, which is nearly high enough to kill a full-grown man, never mind a nineteen-year-old college girl weighing a hundred and twenty pounds.

Achilles has just officially brought our group chat up to speed, but I’ve been getting details from him privately over the last couple of hours.

Galina has been completely unreachable.

Which, again, I totally understand.

I know she’s not checking her phone, but I switch to our DMs and send her one more all the same.

The Ghost Prince

I’m here for whatever you need, baby.

Still no reply. I get it.

She’s got other things to worry about right now aside from her favorite masked stalker.

While I wait, I amuse myself considering exactly why Achilles is so butt-hurt about Wren’s dad’s friend being there.

One of the reasons Galina, Yelena, Wren, and Lucia are all friends in the first place is because theirfathersare all best buddies who go way back. But while the rest of them found partners years ago, got married, and had kids, Laz Kislev, who runs the Kislev Bratva, stayed a bachelor until recently, when he married Wren’s ex-boyfriend’s mother.

It barely lasted a few months. Word is, they’re in the middle of getting divorced.

Anyway, I’m willing to bet money that Achilles has his panties in a twist about Laz’s presence because Laz is, one, very friendly with Yelena and her friends, having known them their whole lives, and two, a criminally good-looking motherfucker.

Add “good looking older guy” to “being overly friendly and familiar with Yelena De Luca” and you get “cartoonishly overprotective and possessive Achilles.”

I mean, that’s just basic math.

I’m also lowkey amused that Achillesstillhasn’t just come out and said he and Yelena are a thing. But I guess they have their reasons for keeping it quiet.

…I mean, it’s not like I’m over here shoutingmysituation from the rooftops.

I frown, dropping into the leather chair by my bedroom window.

The thing is, Iwantto shout it from the rooftops.

I want to tell the whole fucking world about Galina. I want to glare into the face of every fucking man I walk past with her, so that they know she’smine.