One week later…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I burst through the doors of my childhood home, fear curling down my spine.
When Lukyan called me the day before, telling me to come home, I’d laughed. Cracked some stupid joke about how I knew he’d end up missing me even though he said I was annoying the last time I saw him.
But then I heard the tremor in his voice. It told me that, whatever the reason was, it was no laughing matter. Something was wrong. Seriously, seriously wrong.
I’d never heard my brother talk like that before. So serious. So tormented. It shocked me so much that Arturo and I had jumped on the jet and flew straight to Las Vegas without a moment’s hesitation.
Anything that could make Lukyan—the most frivolous and carefree person I’ve ever known—shut down like that, begging me to come home…it had to be bad.
Arturo was on my heels, following me step for step as I marched into the lounge area to find all three of my brothers sitting in the room.
“What’s going on?” I demanded, coming to a stop.
Aleksandr was already getting to his feet. “Illayana,” he frowned. “What are you doing here?”
“Lukyan called me.”
Aleksandr and Nikolai gave Lukyan a deadpan look.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said plainly. “He’s been locked in his office for a week. We need help.” There was something different about him. About his voice. That usual boyish, carefree charm he always had was gone, the light in his eyes all but diminished.
What the hell happened here?
Aleksandr crossed his arms over his chest. “I told you not to call her. We can handle it.”
I narrowed my eyes dangerously. “Is there a reason I’m being excluded?”
“Told you she’d be pissed if we kept her out of the loop,” Nikolai muttered under his breath.
“Shush.” Aleksandr cut him a warning look before facing back at me. “There was just no reason to bother you, Illayana. We’ve got it sorted.”
“Really?” I arched a brow. “Great. Fill me in, then.”
Aleksandr released an over-exaggerated sigh. He flicked his head, signalling for me to sit down before doing just that. He told me everything, leaving no detail out. He told me about Autumn. About catching her sneaking out of our father’s bedroom. About Father flipping out on her when she showed up at the house a week ago, and the harsh things he’d said to her.
I couldn’t lie, it had all come as quite a shock to me. Sure, I’d suspected something was going on between Autumn and my father after witnessing how they interacted on Talon’s island. But suspecting was one thing, and having cold, hard, definitive proof was another thing entirely.
My whole life, the only woman I’d ever seen my father with was my mother. Even after she died, he’d shown zero interest in the opposite sex despite the fact that everywhere he went, men and women threw themselves at him. So, it had been a little weird seeing that spark of interest in his eyes whenever he looked at Autumn.
But despite that weirdness, I was happy for him. Happy to see he was finally allowing himself to live again. To actually enjoy life instead of just cruising right on through it.
I should have known better than that, though.
“Okay,” I blew out, a mixture of emotions warring within me. Arturo stood behind me, his hand on my shoulder. I took comfort in it. It made me feel better having him there with me. “And he’s been locked in his office ever since?”
Aleksandr nodded stiffly.
“He hasn’t come out once?” I asked, panic starting to take root in my heart. Arturo somehow sensed it, squeezing my shoulder supportingly. “What if something happened? What if—”
“Father isn’t suicidal,” Nikolai insisted, cutting in.
“Well, have any of you spoken to him? Seen him? Made sure he’s okay?” I pressed.
Lukyan sat across from me on the couch, his head down. He didn’t engage in the conversation whatsoever, his eyes staying plastered to the floor and hands clasped in front of him. Something was off with him.
“We’ve tried.” Aleksandr’s mouth set into a firm line. “He doesn’t respond.”
The panic got worse, almost taking my breath away. Arturo’s other hand landed on my other shoulder, and he slowly started to massage my skin.
“Breathe, kotenok. It’s okay,” he whispered in my ear.
I took solace in his words, his presence calming me.
“We know he’s alive.” Nikolai reached for his laptop, sitting on the coffee table between us, and turned it to face me. It showed a camera feed from inside Father’s office. He sat in front of the fireplace, countless bottles of alcohol on the floor around him. The angle didn’t give a shot of his face, just the back of his head.
My eyes flicked to my brother. “You put a camera in his office?” I asked incredulously. “Are you insane? Do you have a fucking death wish? Does he know? What am I talking about? Of course he doesn’t know. If he did, you’d already be dead.”
“The logistics are unimportant,” Nikolai grunted. “The point is, we can see he’s alive.”
“So, what was your plan, then?” I asked, my gaze moving between all three of them. “Just let him sit in there and drink himself to death?”
“No,” Aleksandr responded with offense.
I waited for him to say more, but he didn’t. “You don’t have a plan, do you?”
“I’m thinking,” he snapped back.
“Oh, great, as long as you’re thinking,” I snarked.
He narrowed his eyes. “If you have any ideas, I’m all ears.”
“Great.” I got to my feet and looked at Lukyan. “Get me an axe from the armoury.”
“Whoa, wait a minute,” Aleksandr protested as Lukyan got up and disappeared from the room. “What’s your plan? You’re going to smash his office door down?”
“Yes.” I took off my floor-length black coat, letting the fabric slip from my shoulders, and deposited it on the couch. Tying my hair up into a tight bun, I rotated my body, twisting it this way and that way to warm up. Lukyan returned a moment later, and I took the axe from his hands.
Aleksandr held up his palms. “You can’t be serious.”
“Deadly.” I tested the weight of the axe in my hands. “You should have called me days ago. This has gone on long enough. If he won’t come out of that room, I’m going in.”
“That is a bad idea.” Aleksandr looked at Nikolai. “Back me up here.”
“Sorry, I agree with Illayana.” He folded his arms across his chest. “This can’t continue. Especially after what Autumn said about Grandfather.”
I frowned. “What did she say?”
Aleksandr hesitated.
Irritation flowed through my body. “I’ve got a weapon in my hands, Aleksandr,” I warned.
He rolled his eyes, not the least bit intimidated. “Look, I haven’t been able to corroborate what she’s claimed.”
“But whatever it is, you believe it.” I could see it on his face. “What is it?”
Lukyan was the one to answer. “She said Grandfather hired her to kill Father.”
My stomach dropped. “What?” I breathed. “No. That-that can’t be right. Grandfather’s sadistic, but he wouldn’t orchestrate the death of his own son.” Even as the words came out of my mouth, I knew they weren’t true. It was just what I wanted to believe.
From as early as I could remember, Father instilled the importance of family on me. That no matter what, you needed to have your family’s back. Protect them always. But my grandfather didn’t feel the same way. To him, family was nothing more than a means to an end. The only thing we were good for was what we could contribute to his legacy.
When I remembered all of that, I hissed under my breath, “That motherfucker.” My eyes slammed on Aleksandr. “What are you doing about this?”
“Nothing right now.” He put his hand up, stopping me from the preverbal shitstorm I was about to unleash. “Before you start, just listen. Grandfather is too big of an adversary to take on right now, and you know it. We need to get Father sorted first, then go from there.”
Okay. He has a point. “Fine. But this conversation is far from over.” I spun on my heels and marched towards my father’s office, fingers curled tight around the axe in my hands, determination in my steps.
Aleksandr rushed up to my side. “Goddamn it, Illayana, just hang on. I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“Really? Because I do.”
When I got to the door, Aleksandr blocked it with his body. “Look, Father is not in his right mind right now. Smashing down his door might make things worse.”
“Tough shit.” I studied him suspiciously. There was something else going on. Something he was hiding from me. He looked almost…worried. As if he feared something bad would happen. That our father would do something bad. “What aren’t you telling me?”
He didn’t answer. “Just trust me. I think the best thing we can do for him right now is just to give him space.”
Usually, I would listen to him in a heartbeat. But this was one of those rare, miraculous times when I didn’t think my big brother was right.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “He’s had a week’s worth of space. That’s enough.” I hefted the axe up into the air and strengthened my stance. “Either move, or I’ll go through you.”
He gave me an “As if you would” kind of look.
I smiled.
Nikolai, Lukyan and Arturo all took a step back.
“I’d listen to her,” Nikolai warned, his hands moving to cover his privates like he was afraid I’d kick him in the balls or something.
I’d only done that once.
Okay, twice.
Three times max.
Aleksandr stood his ground. “She won’t—”
I swung. Aleksandr ducked like I knew he would because he had the reflexes of a damn cat, and the axe smashed into the door, the wood splintering.
My brother jumped up in a fury. “Are you insane?!” he hissed, moving out of my way. “You could have taken my whole damn head off!”
“But, I didn’t,” I replied cheerfully. With a grunt, I pulled the axe out and struck again, hammering and hammering until the muscles in my arms started to burn from the effort.
My wonderful husband asked to take over after the first few swings. I declined, but by the time I finished, I wished I hadn’t.
This shit is hard.
Shards of wood fell away from the door with each strike. I glimpsed my father briefly on the other side. He didn’t move. Didn’t even glance in my direction despite the fact that I knew he could hear what was going on. It was like he just didn’t care. He kept staring into the flames from the fireplace as if it held him in some sort of trance. Like he was trapped, lost within those flames.
Blowing out an exhausted breath, I dropped the axe. It clanged to the ground. The hole I’d created was far from perfect, but it would do the trick.
I slipped out of my Louboutin’s, leaving them exactly where they were, and moved to climb through.
Aleksandr grabbed my arm, stopping me. “Be careful,” he warned, staring me deep in the eyes.
“Why do you keep talking like Father is dangerous? Like he’s going to hurt me?” I questioned.
He chose not to answer. Again. It was really starting to piss me off. “Just…be careful,” he repeated before letting me go.
Whatever.
I knew my father. He would never hurt his children. Well, not seriously, anyway. He hurt us all the time when we got in the ring with him. But we usually deserved that.
Arturo reached out and clasped my chin with his fingers, pulling my face towards his. “I’m here if you need me,” he murmured, placing a soft kiss on my lips.
I smiled, taking comfort in his presence. I gave him a swift kiss back and then climbed through the hole, stepping into my father’s office.
Air filled my lungs as I took a deep breath in, preparing myself. The room was dark, the only light coming from the roaring fireplace he sat in front of. My father’s office was usually pristine. Not a single item out of place. Not a single speck of dust or dirt on any surface.
Key word… Usually.
If I didn’t know better, I’d think I just stepped into Lukyan’s bedroom, the place was in such disarray. It was the complete opposite of everything I knew my father to be. Even all the empty alcohol bottles that lay in a circle at his feet were out of character for him. Yeah, he drank, but not in excess like that.
“Father?” I stepped towards him slowly like I would if I was approaching a wild, skittish animal. “Father?” I tried again when he didn’t answer. His suit was crinkled and disheveled—another thing completely out of character for him.
He didn’t move. Didn’t say a word. Didn’t acknowledge me. It was like I wasn’t even there. Like he couldn’t see me. Couldn’t hear me.
“Father,” I whispered, pouring every ounce of emotion I was feeling into that one word, imploring him to hear me. Crouching at his side, I lay my hand lightly on his. The touch seemed to snap him out of whatever was holding him captive.
Bloodshot eyes moved to me. He frowned. One of his hands moved up to touch my hair. “Yekaterina…you’re really…here?” he rasped, voice thick, almost unrecognisable.
Sympathy tugged at my heart. “No, Father. It’s me, Illayana.”
I could have sworn relief flashed in his eyes. “Illayana. Yes. Of course.” He turned back to the flames, his voice and movements almost robotic in nature.
“What’s going on?” I asked, softly. “You’ve been in here for a while.”
“Have I?” He remained quiet for a moment like he was lost in his thoughts. He looked down in shame. “I’ve ruined everything,” he whispered softly.
The sadness in his voice… It caused my soul deep pain. “With Autumn?”
He gave me the barest form of a nod. “I don’t know what happened. I just…lost it.” He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe what he had done. Shame blazed in his eyes. “The way she looked at me… Oh, god.” He closed his eyes and clutched his chest as if he was being torn apart from the inside out.
My armour cracked. I’d never seen my father like that. I was ten years old when my mother died, and all I remembered from that time was his rage. It permeated the air around him. Surrounded him like some sort of protective shield, keeping everyone around him at arm’s length. Then, he just disappeared for two years to hunt down my mother’s killers. By the time he returned, he’d dealt with his demons.
At least, I thought he had. It was suddenly clear to me that he’d only buried them.
“Aleksandr told me what happened.” He said nothing, so much pain on his face that it hurt to look at him. “Why did you do it, Father? Why?”
His eyes landed on me. “I had to. Don’t you see, Illayana? I had to. She was getting too close.”
“Why is that such a bad thing?” I asked softly.
“I’m married,” he pressed, a tiny bit of fire returning in his eyes.
Time for some tough love.
“You’re widowed.” He reared back as if I’d struck him. I kept going despite how hard I knew it was going to be. “I miss Mother so much. I think about her all the time. About all the things she’s missed and all the things she’s going to miss. I think about her smile. How her hugs were like the sun. Warm and comforting and light. I think about how happy she would be to know I’ve found someone who loves me, wholeheartedly, for me.” Taking a deep breath, I ignored the ache in my chest from her absence and continued. “I’m always going to miss her and wish she were here, but I learnt a long time ago that you can’t let the ache of loss stop you from living your life.”
He scoffed, shaking his head, and took a huge gulp of the vodka in his hands. “It’s not that easy.”
“I never said it was easy. In fact, it’s probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever experienced before, and I’ve been locked in a room with a bunch of men who wanted to rape me.”
He gave me a look that seemed to say, “Really? You just had to bring that up right now?”
I bared my teeth in an innocent smile, laced with an ounce of cheekiness. “My point is, Father, there comes a time where you have to let go. Move on. Let someone else in.”
“I can’t,” he almost whined, like he wanted desperately to do just that, but something was holding him back, forbidding him from doing so.
“Why? Why can’t you?” A horrible thought crossed my mind. “You’re not using Autumn as some sort of twisted replacement for Mother, are you?”
“What? Of course not.” The way his voice pitched that little bit higher told me how offended he was with that question. “Your mother and Autumn are nothing alike. Nothing. Yekaterina was elegant. Poised. When she stepped into a room, the whole place brightened. Lit up like the sun. When Autumn walks into a room, she lights it on fire. She’s rude. Rough around the edges. A complete and total smartass who says whatever the fuck she wants to say, no matter the consequences. She eats like a goddamn barbarian. You’d think the woman had never seen a knife and fork in her life. She talks in her sleep, and nine times out of ten, it doesn’t even make sense. She—”
The smile on my face got bigger and bigger the more he spoke. He was no longer comparing them to each other. He was simply just listing things about Autumn as if all those things were plaguing his mind. I’d never seen him so animated before.
“And!” he continued, not even noticing how much he’d come back to life from just the topic alone. “She’s incapable of saying thank you when someone helps her. It’s maddening—why are you smiling? This isn’t funny.”
“Father,” I said sternly, staring him deep in the eyes. “Whether you can see it or not, it’s clear your heart has moved on. It’s your mind that’s holding you back. Tell me why. I want to help you.”
He frowned and looked away, back into the flames. “I promised her.”
“Promised who what?”
“Your mother.” He took another pull from his vodka. Then another and another. “I stood over her grave and promised her that she would be the only one to have my heart.”
Ah. It all clicked into place like a jigsaw puzzle. “You feel guilty.” I should have seen it. Now that I realised what it was, it was so obvious, I couldn’t believe it had taken me so long to notice it.
Guilt was a powerful emotion, capable of bringing even the most powerful man to his knees. My father had spent a decade keeping his promise, pushing away anyone who even tried to get close to him. Then Autumn came along, and it wasn’t as easy to keep her away. She’d managed to worm her way inside his heart, and he felt guilty for letting her in. For not keeping her out.
I tried to think of the best way to approach the situation, a nervous tightening taking hold in my throat. If I told him to get over it, push past the guilt, he would just double down and push back. I needed to make him see that the guilt was his enemy, not his friend.
“If Mother were here, what would she say to you?” I squeezed his hand supportingly. “If she were here, do you think she would agree with what you’ve done? Or do you think she would want you to be happy?”
His gaze moved behind me. I thought perhaps one of my brothers had decided to come in, but when I glanced over my shoulder, there was no one there. I looked back at him, my brows lowering into a tight frown. He was still looking behind me, an almost vacant expression on his face. He was definitely looking at something, but it was almost as if whatever he was looking at… He was the only one that could see it.
He’d done stuff like that a few times. While I was growing up, every now and then, he would just zone out, staring off into the distance. Sometimes, it would be for a few seconds. Sometimes, a few minutes. And then, bam, he would just snap back into himself and act like nothing happened.
I didn’t understand it then, and I didn’t now.
“Father,” I pressed, bringing his attention back to me. “What would she say?”
He exhaled heavily. His head hung forward. “She would tell me to be happy.”
“She would tell you you deserve to be happy.” I took the bottle of vodka from his hand and sat it on the ground in the middle of all the empty ones. “You’ve mourned her for ten years, Father. While the world continued to go on around you, you stayed frozen, unable to move on, barely existing. Just a shell of your former self. Autumn brought you back to life. She made you feel again. Smile again. Laugh again. And while it will be a little weird for me to see you with another woman, you deserve to find someone to spend your life with.”
Even though he knew I was right, I could see him retreating, refusing to believe the words coming out of my mouth. He was looking at me, but I could see it in his eyes. I was losing him to the guilt.
I couldn’t allow that.
“You know, she saved my life.” He frowned slightly, not knowing what I was talking about. “In the arena. On Talon’s island. I didn’t know it at the time, but one of his soldiers was sneaking up behind me when I was smashing some guy in the face with a rock. Then, out of nowhere, this knife came soaring through the air and took him down right before he stabbed me in the back. It was Autumn. She saw it and saved me. Lukyan, too. Not even a second later, she got tackled by one of Talon’s soldiers and stabbed in the shoulder for her trouble. She made herself vulnerable to save us.”
“I didn’t know that,” he murmured softly.
I held his gaze, urging him to see how important my next words were. “She didn’t do it for me, Father. She didn’t know me. Didn’t care about me. We hadn’t even said a word to each other prior to that moment. She did it for you. She risked herself…for you, because she knew how much we meant to you.”
He processed my words, so many emotions flickering in his eyes.
“All I want is for you to be happy. Autumn makes you happy. Stop denying yourself your chance at happiness because of some promise you made ten years ago. Mother wouldn’t want it. We don’t want it. For the last decade, we’ve all watched you shut yourself off from everyone around you. Watched you deny yourself any chance of happiness because you can’t let go.” I got to my feet and stared down at him. “It’s time to say goodbye, Father.”
I stepped into the kitchen after leaving my father’s office to find Nikolai, Tatiana and Lukyan sitting around the island bench. “Mentally exhausted” was an understatement for how I was feeling.
The talk with my father had stripped me raw. Broken me down until there was hardly anything left. My soul hurt seeing him like that, but the pain would be worth it if he took what I was said on board. If he listened to me.
The jury was still out on that one, though.
“I need food,” I groaned, plopping down into the seat next to Tatiana.
My best friend offered me a sympathetic smile. “How did it go?”
“Shit,” I answered honestly. There was a bowl of fruit sitting on the bench. I picked off a few grapes and threw them in my mouth. “My father is as stubborn as a damn bull.”
“Ahh, so that’s where you all get it from,” she joked.
I gave her a deadpan look. “Ha. Ha. But yes, probably.” I pushed her lightly on the arm. “You bitch.”
Nikolai jumped to his feet. “Hey! Don’t push her. She’s pregnant!” he snapped.
“Nikolai, it’s okay,” Tatiana laughed. “She barely touched me. Sit back down, love.”
Nikolai glared daggers at me as he took his seat back on Tatiana’s other side.
I raised my brows at Tatiana. “Jeez, what’s with that?”
She patted his hand comfortingly. “He’s just a bit protective.”
“A bit?” I scoffed. “Hate to think what would happen to someone if they really hurt you.”
“Death,” my brother said with a completely straight face.
Sounds about right.
My eyes moved to Lukyan sitting across from me. A bowl of uneaten cereal was in front of him, his gaze fixated on the spoon as it glided back and forth through the milk.
“Lukyan.” He looked up at me. “You alright?”
“Fine,” he said, voice monotone.
He wasn’t fine. Nowhere fucking near it. He hadn’t cracked a single joke or said anything stupid since I got there. For anyone else, that would be normal. For Lukyan, it was incredibly alarming.
“You won’t believe what happened to me the other day,” I began, trying to coax that playful, fun side out of him. “I was walking down the street when my heel just snapped out of nowhere. I lost my footing and landed right in a pile of horse shit. Not dog shit. Horse. Shit.”
The normal Lukyan would have laughed. Pointed. Mocked relentlessly. Possibly asked if there were any photos or videos of the incident so he could see it for himself.
He did none of those things. Just mumbled, “That sucks,” and went right back to pushing his spoon through the bowl of mush in front of him.
With a sigh, he pushed it away and got to his feet. “I gotta go. See you guys later.” And then he left without another word.
Concern flashed across Tatiana’s face. It mirrored the look on Nikolai’s to a tee. I wasn’t sure if it was a relief to know that someone else had noticed how odd Lukyan was acting, or if that just made the whole thing even more terrifying.
“Do you two know what’s going on with him?”
Nikolai shook his head. “No. I suspect it has something to do with Father, but I can’t be certain.”
I picked a few more grapes, popping them into my mouth. “What did Aleksandr say?”
“He frustratingly refused to answer. I don’t think it was anything good, though.”
“Did you see the bruises on his neck?” Tatiana asked.
I did. I’d just assumed it happened from sparring or a fight. The cryptic things Aleksandr said to me before going into my father’s office streaked through my mind. “Aleksandr kept saying I needed to be careful around Father. You heard it. You don’t think…”
A troubled look crossed Nikolai’s face. “I honestly don’t know—”
“Pizza!” Aleksandr yelled from the front of the house. A moment later, he stepped into the kitchen with Arturo, both their hands filled with pizza boxes.
“We’ll talk about this later,” I whispered out of the side of my mouth.
Nikolai nodded.
Arturo made a beeline straight for me. “Pepperoni. Extra cheese.” He put one of the boxes down in front of me.
“My hero,” I groaned, flicking the box open. The scent of freshly cooked salami hit my nose, and I groaned again. “Fuck yes.” I didn’t hesitate to pick up a piece and take a huge bite. “Thank you.”
He ran his thumb over my lower lip before planting a kiss on my mouth. “You’re welcome.” He moved behind me as I tucked into the pizza and boxed me in, his arms coming around to rest his hands on the island bench in front of me. “How are you?” he whispered in my ear.
Shivers danced down my spine. God, I loved having him so close. “I’m okay.”
He leant closer, burying his face in my hair and inhaling deeply, breathing in my scent. “No, you’re not. But we’ll talk about it later.”
A few of the soldiers entered the kitchen through the double glass doors leading out to the patio. Aleksandr offered them some pizza, and all but one graciously accepted.
“Thanks, but my wife is on my back about watching my cholesterol.” Jonas moved to the fridge and pulled out a container full of food. He popped it into the microwave to reheat it.
“So how long are you staying?” I asked Tatiana in between bites. My unbelievably distracting husband didn’t move from his spot, staying cocooned around me. Not that I was complaining or anything. It just made it incredibly hard for me to focus.
“I’ll be staying for a few days, but I need to be back for classes on Monday. I told Nikolai to stay—”
“Which he will not be doing,” Nikolai cut in, reaching for a slice of pizza.
Yeah, I wasn’t at all surprised to hear that. I took a bite of my pizza and held it up in the air for Arturo. He leant forward and bit into it. “How are classes going?”
“Good!” she answered cheerfully. “They’ve only really just started, but I’m enjoying it so far—oh, man.” Her entire face paled, a look of nauseousness washing over her.
“What? What’s wrong?” Nikolai immediately asked, jumping to his feet and laying a hand on her back.
“Oh, nothing. It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. You look like you’re going to be sick. Do you feel sick? Do you need to lie down? I can carry you upstairs to bed—”
“Calm down, love. I’m okay.” Tatiana took a deep breath in, and it seemed to make it worse. Her hand flew to her mouth like she was just about to throw up, her cheeks puffing.
“I don’t think you are.” I lay a hand on her shoulder. “Maybe you should rest.”
“No, no, I’m honestly fine. It’s just—”
“Just what? What is it?” Nikolai persisted, his eyes filled with concern.
Jonas joined us, placing his container of hot, steaming food down on the island bench. I couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but it smelt like some sort of fish dish. Tatiana’s eyes locked onto the food, and her face paled even more.
Nikolai noticed instantly. “Is it that?” he asked, pointing to it. “Is it making you feel nauseous?”
Tatiana seemed hesitant to answer. “It’s honestly okay. I can handle it—no, Nikolai, don’t.”
My brother was already moving. He picked up Jonas’ container, marched to the double doors and hurled the food outside.
“Hey!” Jonas barked incredulously. “My wife made me that!”
He still had a fork in his hand with some of the dish on it. Nikolai snatched that up too and threw it outside.
“Jesus. He’s really taking this ’protective’ thing to a whole new level, isn’t he?” I chuckled, watching as Nikolai took things one step further by throwing Jonas out next.
“You have no idea,” Tatiana all but groaned.
“We should have some fun with it. Oh my god, I have a great idea for a prank—”
“No,” she said immediately.
“Oh, come on!” An excited thrill shot through me. “You don’t even know what I’m gonna say. What if we—”
“No, no and no.” Her stern voice left no debate on the matter. “I think I might head upstairs and take a nap. The smell of that fish has just made me feel yuck. Can you let Nikolai know?”
I exhaled a disappointed sigh. “Okay. Do you need any help?”
She shook her head, getting to her feet. “I’m good. I’ll see you later.”
We all said goodbye and she left. When Nikolai finally turned around and saw she was gone, panic took over his face.
“Where is she?”
An evil, villainous laugh echoed in my head. “She had to go lie down. Turns out, it wasn’t the food that was making her nauseous. It was your aftershave.”
Nikolai paled. “I’ll go shower right now.” He bolted out of the room at a speed I’d never seen from him before.
I broke out into a fit of laughter.
“You’re evil,” Arturo chuckled in my ear.
I glanced over my shoulder and shrugged. “You knew that when you married me.”
He smiled, bright and beaming. “I did. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
