AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I look askance at her.
“Nick.”
“Ah, of course.”
She wraps her arms around herself like she doesn’t know what to do.
I go to the kitchen and open a bottle of pinot noir. I pour a glass and carry it to her. “Please have some, Mads.”
She stares at it for a moment. Finally, she lifts her hand, it’s shaking when she takes the wine glass.
I could crack Natasha’s head open for doing this to Madison. The miserable bitch!
She takes a sip. Ponders it a few seconds, and then downs the whole glass.
When I see Sergei, I’m going to rip his lard ass a new one for not informing me that Natasha was in town. The fat fuck probably gave her this address.
I take her empty glass to refresh her drink. While I’m in the kitchen I notice her collapse onto the sofa and flop back onto it, staring at the ceiling.
As smoothly as possible, I deliver the second glass of wine and deftly scoop up her bags to return them to our bedroom.
I look down from the loft. Madison is still on the sofa nursing her second glass of wine, the Porsche keys are still on the counter bar. Feeling it best to give her time to process her feelings, I descend the stairs and go to check in on Nick.
He sits up alert. “Is Mads still here?” he asks in Russian. “Is everything good?”
I gesture a so-so-hand movement. “She’s resting now, having some wine,” I reply in Russian.
Nick sits back and sighs his relief.
“Your call saved the day.”
He waves me off. “She’s a good girl. Smart, funny, and really pretty.” His smile morphs into a frown. “But she won’t stick around for long with Natasha here. Your wedding’s in five months.”
“I’m not going through with it.”
Nick gives a derisive laugh. “You can’t break the contract, Bash. You know that.”
“Sergei’s still fucking Natasha, the bosses all know it. Who could blame me?”
“Orlov is just looking for an excuse to wet his blade, you know it,” Nick says, holding his gut. “And Uncle Sergei will rip you apart, Bash. Make Madison understand that.”
“There’s got to be another way, new contracts can be negotiated.”
Nick shakes his head. “Not at this late hour. Look, Bash, she’s a great girl, but it’s not worth the hell you’ll bring down on us.”
“I’m not letting her go.”
“Then make her understand our ways,” he says, rubbing his eyes looking exhausted. “Convince her that the marriage will be in name only. You love Madison, she’s the one you’ll make a home with.”
I feel like putting my fist through a wall. “She’s not a fucking club pool girl, Nick.”
“Why did you even start with the doctor? You knew the score. Why bring this trouble down on yourself?”
“I’ll not have my life dictated to me,” I say through gritted, careful not to let Madison hear. “I’ve got some plans in the works, I’m going to find a way around this.”
Closing his eyes, he lays back on his pillows. And I recall how Tessa said Nick climbed out of bed to try to stop Madison from leaving before I got here. The poor guy.
“You feeling any pain? Can I get you something?”
