Page 61 of Lord of Justice

I finally whisper, "Don't make me cry. The makeup artist will gut me like a trout if I mess up my mascara."

Both of his hands cup my face carefully and he gifts me with a real smile. The light slides over his face through the half-drawn blinds, and for a moment, I can see myself reflected in his black irises.

I look like someone in love.

I whispered it to him last night, when he was asleep. My cowardly confession because I didn’t know if I could say it when he was conscious.

As he leans down, he murmurs, "Will I ruin your makeup if I kiss you?"

"No," I grin, a little giddy. "She used the non-smear stuff."

Andrey's thick chest moves slightly in what I've come to recognize is a chuckle as he puts his mouth against mine. "Every kiss with you is dangerous,” he whispers to me. "If I indulged myself in your lips whenever I wanted to, I'd fall into you and never come back out."

Oh, holy shit. I am not prepared for something of this magnitude.

"That is the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me," I say, a little shaky. "Even more beautiful than when they told me it was Free Pie Night at Millie and Steve's."

He draws back and lifts one brow. "Was it? I am only telling the truth."

Onlythe truth, says my husband. He doesn't understand that it's more than his truth. It'severythingto me, that it's possible this marriage could be something more than convenience and optics.

"C'mon." I take his hand, blinking back a few irritating tears. "Let's go make you the Supreme Chief Justice."

"That's not a correct term," he says.

"It is now, Your Honor."

Chapter Twenty-Nine

In which one of the most vicious criminals in New York becomes a Supreme Court Justice. We all enjoy the irony.

Andrey…

"Trofim, what happened?" Iris stops short outside my new chambers at the sight of my puffy-faced Second. The hives are particularly bad this time, creeping up his neck and a few angry-looking ones on his cheek. He reeks of calamine lotion and resentment.

"It's just a little skin issue, Mrs. Morozova," he says, gazing at me reproachfully.

"I have a really good dermatologist." She gently pats his arm and I'm surprised at how much I don’t like it. "I'll text you his number. And sometimes, you can use hypnosis for chronic flare ups. My friend Frieda did it and it was really-"

"Darling, perhaps we can discuss Trofim's repellent skin issues after my swearing in ceremony."I kiss her temple. "I understand the governor is getting impatient."

"Oh! Sorry." Iris smooths my lapels, the feel of her hands on me is grounding. "You have a very judicial air about you." She goes up on tiptoe, leaning in close. "But to be really honest? You look like asnack."She lightly snaps her teeth at me and I groan. If I have to do this ceremony with an erection, I'm certain it'll kill half the audience. The elderly lawmakers can't handle that kind of shock.

We're escorted to the Great Hall in the center of the building. It's a two-story space, Neoclassical architecture with marble columns lining the front and back of the hall. There's a raised dais in front where Governor Stone will conduct the ceremony. Someone, Jessica, I suspect, has gone overboard with flower arrangements, and the stage is covered with them.

The hall echoes with a hundred different conversations, speculative whispers, and everyone turns to stare when I take Iris's hand, helping her up on to the dais.

The swearing-in ceremony has received so much attention that every seat is filled, with guests spilling between the granite pillars and out every exit into the hallway.

The head of the Capitol police is a smart man inhis sixties who's seen everything. He requested a meeting with me regarding security issues and sighed after a couple of minutes when it was clear I wasn't going to address any direct threats because of my position in the Morozov Bratva. "Can you send over your head of security? I'll coordinate with him." Smart man. He knew his officers couldn't cover the entire building without backup from my people.

So, standing on the elevated portion of the Great Hall, I see both his guards and my Bratva security roaming around together. Trofim catches my eye and winks. He, too, finds it amusing.

My family is all here, taking up the best seats, of course. Uncle Maksim and Aunt Ella are sitting in the front row. He nods at me and smiles proudly.

Did… Did Uncle Maksimsmile?It must be a trick of light. My parents are sitting next to them. Mother is already tearing up and searching her purse for tissues, my father pulls out his handkerchief and hands it to her. Looking back at me, he slowly, deliberately mouths,We are so proud of you.

A Marshall formally calls the ceremony to order and the four sitting judges make their way into the audience, taking their seats on the front row, a solemn murder of crows in their black robes. It's appropriate, since Elana's entire being shakes with the desire to murder me. It seems she didn'tenjoy our little gift of Ramon's head in a box at all. Because it was found in her judicial offices, it required a formal investigation, which is the precise opposite of what she wants. I suspect there was a lot of scrambling on her side to make sure the investigation led to a dead end.