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I spin around to see Pavel leading Mercy toward the bridal suite. “No!” I shout. “She comes with us.”
I look down at Eden clinging to my arm, expecting to see tears.
But there are none. Instead, her eyes are narrowed, and her cheeks are flushed with anger.
“Zakhar threatened me, Nikolai,” she says to me, her voice deadly even. “If he knew how much I hate him now, he would run from me. I want him dead.”
15
NIKOLAI
My bloodstained handsare a grim reminder of another wedding turned into a murder scene. My fists clench at my sides as rage and guilt swirl within me like a storm, threatening to break loose. I should be a married man, but instead, I’m planning how I can contain the blowback from my own wedding massacre.
The casualties were few, but one is too many. I let my guard down when I shouldn’t have.
I barge into my office, and the penthouse is once again my haven from a madman’s vendetta. I saved Eden from her father, but today, I lost Anton. A good man who sacrificed his own life like my brother did eighteen years ago.
My men have gone over every inch of the building, checking for anything that could signal another attempt on our lives, especially bombs. The tension is palpable enough to make its presence known, and every man is on edge after the attack, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
The elevator chimes and sharp screams of obscenities replace the uneasy quiet. I turn my attention to the office door, and Mercy is flanked by two of my men in the open doorway. She fights them like a tornado ripping a house apart. Her red hair is a tangled mess, and her torn yellow dress has a black stain on the front. They must’ve tossed her in the trunk.
“Bring her in,” I order Pavel.
She’s led into my office, her wrists bound and her eyes defiant. But I sense a tiny drop of fear. I hope bringing Mercy here won’t be a strategy I’ll regret.
But more importantly, I hope Eden doesn’t walk in.
“Get your hands off me!” She tries to wrench herself free from Pavel’s tight grip. “Let me go!” she snarls.
I stand before her as the men block the door behind her, locking my gaze on hers.
“You’re here because only I can ensure your safety.” I smile coldly. “Don’t make things more difficult than they already are.”
“I don’t need your protection.” Her eyes narrow and she scoffs, spitting out the next word with venom. “Starukhin.”
“Unfortunately, that’s not up to you,” I reply. “Not anymore.”
“Am I supposed to thank you for this?” Mercy holds up her bound wrists.
“You’re no longer in the bubble your father created for you,” I reply. “And after what has happened, you’ve become a target. Time to wake up, Mercy and accept your place in a world that you’ve spent your entire life pretending doesn’t exist.”
Mercy stares at me, wheels turning in her head. In this moment, I’ve become her enemy.
“Eden!” she suddenly shrieks.
Eden steps into the office in her stained wedding dress, and Dominika follows right behind her. All hopes I had of Eden being too busy in the bathroom to care what the rest of us might be doing evaporate in that moment. Her eyes widen when she sees the state of Mercy, her golden hazel eyes scanning the torn dress and the bound wrists.
“What is going on?” Her gaze follows mine to Pavel’s face and stays on the angry red scratches on his cheek. “Answer me!”
“Your cousin refused to sit quietly on the ride back,” Pavel tells Eden. “If she had, we would have treated her better.”
“Treated me better?” Mercy scoffs at Pavel. “You touch me again, and I’ll feed your fingers to you through a fucking straw.”
I can’t help the weariness in my expression, but I keep my hand from rubbing my eyes. “Eden, if I let her go, she can’t protect herself …”
Mercy’s voice wavers as she says, “My family will protect me.”
I ignore her.
