AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“How was the gala yesterday?” Nikolai asked.
It was mere luck I’d made it out of there without at least shooting a man in the cock. Sophia leeched onto me all evening, talking endlessly about her favorite designer purse and the Lamborghini her father got her. I’d come this close to wrapping my hand around her slender neck and choking her out.
I’d never loved a woman, never hated one either. But that wasn’t until I met Sophia last night.
The highlight of the evening was that I’d gotten to see Mariana, though I never thought that would ever happen. I’d been thinking about her nonstop since the night at the casino, but I’d never intended to seek her out.
She was a steady obsession I couldn’t get rid of. Acting on that obsession meant danger.
“Nothing special,” I replied. Mariana was the last thing I would ever discuss with my brothers. Not after I’d taunted them for years for falling in love. They would misinterpret me and think my attraction to Mariana was anything deeper than lust. “Did you reach an agreement with Vincent?”
“I’m still awaiting his offer.”
“What do you think he’ll want?” Maxim asked, standing up and walking to my minifridge for a drink. “Drugs? Money? It definitely won’t be our protection.”
He was clueless. “Isn’t it obvious? An alliance by marriage is the only thing we have that he hasn’t gotten in his reach just yet.”
Maxim lifted a bottle of Johnnie Walker, staring at it from the bottom. “Sergey and Nikolai are married, who could he possibly want to pair his daughter to?”
All heads turned to him, no one uttering a reply.
Maxim craned his neck in our direction. “What?”
“Happy married life in advance, brother,” I teased him, grinning. “His daughter is a brat. Good luck keeping up with that. All you need to do is fuck her and try not to kill her.”
His expression darkened, his eyes turning gloomy. As much as I tried not to read more into it, he always had that expression since he returned from New York and whenever we discussed marriage.
While Maxim had never been thrilled at getting married, just like me, he’d been different. Much colder to the topic and had a sadness in his eyes I couldn’t wrap my head around. “That won’t happen.”
“It will if I say so.”
“No buts,” Sergey cut him off. “We will all do whatever we can to protect our family, and that includes getting married.”
“Common, brother. Don’t you think that’s a reach?” I straightened my spine, trying to lighten the mood. “Max will die if he marries a woman like Sophia.”
Sergey darted his gaze over to me. I didn’t like the look he was giving me right now. He looked all serious. “Who says Max is the one getting married?”
Thump. Thump. Thump.
That question made me uneasy. The tension in the room was palpable, air thick from how serious everyone was. “How about no one gets married?”
Nikolai sighed, standing to his feet. “Give me an update when you finally reach an agreement. My wife and kids need me at the moment.”
“Looks like I’ll be leaving with you.” I pushed up from the sofa, starting for the door. Then I turned around to Max. “Try not to finish my whiskey.”
“Get the hell out of here.” He finally pushed the fridge door close and walked to the table, placing two glasses in front of him and Sergey, and the whiskey between them.
I groaned, zipping my jacket. “It’s almost as if this isn’t my office.”
Maxim’s “Fuck you” followed me out of the office. “How’s Giselle and the twins?” It’d been a while since I saw them. Being a father or a husband wasn’t on my bucket list of things to do before I die, but I loved my nephews and niece. I didn’t particularly dislike my sisters-in-law either.
“They’re good. They learned how to call your name and that is all we hear these days.”
I chuckled, warmth radiating over my chest. “Are they in kindergarten yet? High school?”
“They’re two you idiot.”
“Oh. My bad.” I’d been too busy thinking of Mariana and cold war with the Outfit that I haven’t had time for anything else. “How about dinner sometime?”
