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Katerina doesn’t flinch. If anything, she’s probably thrilled. She never wanted to be used by Konstantin.
Lev walks calmly past me and offers a hand to Katerina. When we were up late last night choreographing how this dinner would go, I suggested another man for the job. But Anya wouldn’t hear of it.
“Lev is a gentle giant who saved another Bratva daughter from a terrible fate.” She squeezed her husband’s hand, tears shining in her eyes. “It’s a nice, full-circle moment for him to escort Katerina away from her father, too.”
Katerina must agree, because she takes Lev’s hand without a second thought and starts to follow him out.
“Where are you going?” Konstantin calls after her.
He starts to reach for her, but I block his path. “You said she’s ruined. She’s useless to you, remember? It doesn’t matter where she’s going.”
“That is my daughter!” he cries. “I deserve to know where she is going and who she will be with. I deserve—”
“You deserve to be executed,” I tell him flatly. “You deserve to be made an example of. I suggest you shut your fucking mouth and be grateful I’m offering you a way out.”
His face is red and the vein in his neck is throbbing. “I don’t need you toofferme anything. I’m not surrendering.”
“Then you’ll be obliterated.” I shrug as if I don’t care either way. Truthfully, I don’t. “Cora was always going to be my choice. There is not a single reality in this universe or any other where I end up with anyone else. You can fight me on that and die or you can bow out gracefully and still get a reward.”
Konstantin’s eyes narrow, slicing from me to Cora and back again. “A reward?”
“It’s a mercy, really,” I correct. “Cora is my wife, Katerina goes free, and I offer you a business merger that gives the Sokolov family more power than any marriage ever would have.”
Before Konstantin can respond, Mikhail barks out a laugh. “Why the fuck would we trust you after everything you’ve done? You’ve gone back on your word too many times to count. You’ve broken up two different marriages to stand here with Cordelia and you want me to—”
“Her name,” I bellow, the rage in my chest flaring bright, “is Cora Pushkin.”
Mikhail falters a step. I claim the lost ground, striding closer until I’m towering over him. “And my decision is final. Nothing you say can or will change my mind, except in how I choose to deal with you. Either you graciously accept this handout or you keep talking and I’ll slaughter you here and now.”
“We have soldiers outside.” Mikhail raises his chin, but doesn’t move any closer. “We are ready to fight.”
“So am I. I’ll kill you and command my men to slaughter every last one of your soldiers before your lifeless, useless body even hits the floor.” I turn my focus to Konstantin. As much as I want to end Mikhail, I have other affairs to handle first. “If you aren’t my allies, then you’re a threat. And I won’t let any threat to my wife survive.”
My wife.The title singes the tip of my tongue. It’s a pleasant burn. I plan to repeat it over and over and over again until I’m used to it. Preferably while I’m buried deep inside of her.
“What are the details of this merger?” Konstantin croaks.
Mikhail whips around, eyes blazing. “You can’t be serious, Father! We cannot accept his terms. He’s throwing shit at us and waiting for us to lick it up. We’re not pathetic.”
I smirk. “I beg to differ.”
“Shut up, Mikhail.” Konstantin’s voice echoes off the high ceilings. He looks back at me, and one look into those beady, calculating eyes is all I need to see to know that he gets the picture here. That he takes this deal sight unseen or he gets crushed beneath my boot. “I accept your terms.”
“No!” Mikhail is shaking. “We don’t accept.Idon’t accept. What about me? That bitch was promisedto me!”
He jabs an accusing finger in Cora’s direction. I don’t hesitate—I grip it and twist, not stopping even when I hear the crack of splintering bone.
Mikhail drops to his knees, his screams echoing off the tile.
I lean down and whisper in his ear. “Talk about my wife like that again and next time, that will be your neck cracking.”
Konstantin grabs his quivering son by the arm and hauls him up. “There won’t be a next time. We’re leaving.”
I could say a lot of bad things about Konstantin Sokolov, but at least he knows when he’s in over his head.
The old man is trying to wrestle his son towards the door when he loses his hold on him. Mikhail has been an obedient little dog for years. Now, he’s off the leash.
“We aren’t leaving anywhere.” His top lip is curled and his teeth are bared. “I’m not walking away with my tail between my legs. Not after everything I’ve been through to gether. Cordelia fucking St. Clair, you arenothing.”
