Page 46 of Black Ledger

The tension was a live wire. Any sudden movement, and everything would explode.

I held my breath. My bow was ready. Why didn’t I have my gun on me?

Someone was going to die.

Everyone was tense except Severin, who simply stood there, hands in his pockets, smiling at the Chicago boss.

What the actual fuck?

No fear at all. He was a puppet master playing with everyone’s strings.

Then the Chicago boss laughed and lowered his gun. “Oh, I knew I’d like you, cousin.”

Cousin?

“Nikolai, let me introduce you to Xeniya Morozova.” Severin gestured to me.

“Ah, the Morozov girl. Your reputation precedes you.”

I… what?

What the fuck had just happened?

Chapter Twenty-One

Xeniya Morozova

Age 19

We were back at Zeta—Severin’s fraternity house—and thank God I could change between the archery range and the frat party, because I would have been miserable in that cotton-candy dress. Instead, I was now in a black strappy dress—much more my style and much more comfortable.

Nikolai and many of his men were also at the Zeta house party. It turned out Nikolai was Severin’s second cousin, the son of Aleksandr’s cousin, who happened to be the Bratva Pakhan in Chicago. Nikolai was one of their top brigadiers and negotiated trade deals. He also had the signature Volkov blond hair that Severin lacked. And now that I looked at him closely, he did bear a strong resemblance to Mikhail. Nikolai and Mikhail weren’t that far apart in age, either. Mikhail was twenty-five, and Niko was twenty-eight.

I spent most of the night talking to him because as soon as I’d gotten to the party with Kaz—he had driven Veronika and me—Severin had glared at me in my tight black dress and left the room. I had no idea why. So I spent time with my brother, my sister, Kaz, and Niko, who were fairly entertaining. Veronika openly flirted with Niko, pissing Kaz off to no end.

Who needed TV when you could watch this level of drama play out in person?

“Someone is staring at you,” Niko said.

I blinked at him and took a sip of my vodka. “What?”

“That stereotype of a frat boy in the corner has been staring at you all night.” Niko pointed with his glass.

My gaze tracked to where he had pointed, and I found Chad Holloway leaning against the wall, drinking out of a red Solo cup, his eyes dissecting me like I was a dead body and he was a medical examiner. I suddenly felt the urge to pull my tight skirt down.

How much was it revealing?

I swallowed.

But maybe I should go over and talk to Chad. What could it hurt? He was my study partner, after all. So I did just that.

“Hey, Chad, what are you doing at a Zeta party?” I asked.

He shrugged. “It seemed like a fun idea.” He swayed slightly, his words slurred, and he leaned one shoulder against the wall for support.

I leaned my shoulder against the wall next to him, facing him. “You okay?”

“Of course I am,” he slurred.