"What makes you think that?" I say.
"Because you get this look on your face," he imitates me. "Very scrunched up with concentration as if you're trying to solve the world's problems becausesurely, you're responsible for them all."
Nikandr and his brother Andrey join us, looking strikingly similar with their blond hair and towering size. I suspect they've pulled a trick or two on unsuspecting girls in the past.
"Violet, a pleasure to meet you at last." Andrey leans down to impersonally perform the three-kiss greeting, ignoring the growl rumbling from Roman's chest. Nikandr, on the other hand, is perfectly happy to enrage my husband, grinning at him as he gives me a more lingering greeting.
"It's a pleasure to see you both," I say.
"I understand that we'll be flying to St. Petersburg for your wedding celebration," Andrey says. His sharp brown eyes are already searching the room with a shark-like intensity that tells me he's about to pin someone down and terrify them.
"I'm excited to see such an important part of your lives," I say. "My sisters, Rose and Iris, are thrilled for the trip, too. Though, if there's tattooed men and a never-ending platter ofblinis,they'd go anywhere."
After they wander off with Tania, there's a blissful moment of silence, just Roman and me. "Speaking of getting out of here quietly," he murmurs, "why don't we do the same thing?"
"Have we been here long enough?" I query anxiously. "I don't know the proper amount of time or some of the customs attached to this so –"
"Surprisingly, everything is perfect," Roman says, squeezing me lightly. "We Russians don't believe in things going smoothly. Ever. So, I'm sure some emergency will happen very soon, which is even more reason to get you alone while I can." His hands slide down to my ass and squeeze it lightly as I glare at him. When he takes my hand, though, and leads me toward the elevator doors, I happily follow.
Roman…
Ten days ago…
I sat behind The Chad's desk. Colin, that miserable fuck, was currently bleeding out on the floor at Gordi's, but I wasn't willing to let him die.
Yet.
I'd asked Violet if she wanted to know what happened to Jack and her mother, or the woman she called the Cruise Director from Hell, and she shook her head violently. "Just tell me they can't hurt Rose and Iris ever again."
"You have my word," I said.
However, there was unfinished business and now that we've taken over Pinnacle Ventures, there's an employee I need to fire.
There was an anxious knock on the door and I cleared my throat, "Come in."
Larry's simple-minded, eager grin needed to be punched off his face, but as senior management, that was beneath me.
"Close the door."
M- Mr. Morozov I–" The look of horror when he realized it’s not Colin behind the desk was very entertaining. He obeyed me, letting out a sad little croak, his body swaying.
"Larry," I said, tapping my fingers against the mahogany desk. "Your performance here at Pinnacle Ventures has been substandard. Well, actually, your efforts as a friend and a human being have been substandard, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to terminate you."
Larry was so caught up in the moment that he didn't notice the plastic sheeting spread out over the floor, because there's a very nice Moroccan rug that I wanted to keep blood-free. I pulled out my Ruger, the silencer already screwed on. I aimed at his chest.
"Wait, wait, wait! Wait!" Larry's hands went up in a desperate, appeasing gesture. "Violet's so kind, she'll never forgive you if you –"
He dropped to the floor with a thud as I pulled the trigger, his blank eyes staring up at the ceiling. I clicked the intercom, "Ivan, would you have the cleaning crew come in here, please? Larry spilled something."
***
Obshchak –The bookkeeper for the Bratva
Epilogue
In which Roman and Violet finally get their wedding, and their happily ever after.
Violet…
