16. Chapter Sixteen #2
“You didn’t steal Natalya? But you came here to kill her, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t kill her,” I growl. “It was just a warning. I only came for Sasha.”
Mikhail whips out his gun and I immediately do the same. “I don’t believe you.”
“I’m not obsessed with your wife like you think I am. I just want Sasha back. But you said it yourself: she’s not here. So who took her?”
“Denis?”
“Why would Denis take Sasha back? He and I have an alliance. Natalya, I get. But Sasha?” I shake my head. “It doesn’t make any sense. Other than me, have you made any enemies recently?”
He scoffs. “Just the usual. What about you?”
I think of Giovanni’s face but no. He’s in Italy. Not that he couldn’t have come here but how would he have known Sasha was here at Mikhail’s house?
No. There’s only one person I can think of.
“It’s Liam.”
Mikhail’s eyebrows shoot into his hairline. “The Irish? Mmm. They do hate you.”
“Yes. And I just spoke to Liam. He wants me dead. He wants to mess with me. He must have came for Sasha and took her and Natalya.”
“It’s worth looking into it.”
“Good. Now, leave me be. I won’t kill you if you don’t kill me. A temporary truce until our wives are found.”
Mikhail considers it before he extends his hand. “Shake on it. Give me your word.”
I would much prefer to punch him in his fucking face but I shake his hand instead. Now is not about fighting with Mikhail. It’s about getting Sasha back.
If she’s in danger and I get into a fight with Mikhail, there’s a chance I could die and I’d never be able to save her. The only reason Sasha trusts me is because I’ve consistently saved her life. I can’t stop that now.
“There,” I say once I drop my hand. “A truce. Neither of us kills the other one until we have our wives back. And maybe this will teach you to stop messing with me.”
“When you stop threatening my wife’s life.”
“She was trying to take my own wife from me,” I growl.
Mikhail scoffs. “I don’t fucking care, Nico. You don’t mess with my wife.”
“And you don’t mess with mine.”
He throws his hands up in frustration. “Fine. We’re in agreement. Now, I’m going to confront Liam about this. If he has Natalya, I’m going to kill him.”
“You do that. But I’m going to get reinforcements to ensure that Sasha is saved.”
“Reinforcements?”
“Denis,” I explain. “He’ll want his niece kept safe. She’s the only reason I have an alliance with him. Without Sasha…”
Mikhail shakes his head. “You’re not a very loyal man, are you?”
“To my wife I am. To everyone else?” I shrug. “I do what I need to do. Now, let me know if you find anything about Liam and our wives and I’ll do the same.”
“You’ll really call me if you know where Natalya is? You’re not just going to kill her when you find her?”
“For fuck’s sake, Mikhail. I’m not going to kill your wife. Ok? My own wife would be pissed at me forever if I did. Get over yourself. I’ll call you with any news.” I storm to my car and drive away before Mikhail can bitch and whine some more.
Denis’s guards let me into his house without me even having to knock.
“Nico,” he greets, giving me a pat on the back. Oh, so now he wants to play nice after he came to Rome to confront me about my deal with Giovanni? I don’t buy it. The fucker is pissed and just pretending to be happy to see me.
“Denis. I have a situation. I think Sasha has been taken by the Irish. I need to get her back. With her being your niece and our alliance, I figured you would want to help. See this as a gesture of good will after Italy. What do you say?”
“No.”
I blink. It takes me a second to understand what he just said. “No?”
“No. I have no desire to help you. You tried to push me out of our alliance, Nico. You think I’m just going to roll over and take it? You can keep Sasha for all I care. She was always a problem for me. I have two other nieces I can use to make alliances with people I actually trust.”
“She’s in danger. And she’s the only reason we have an alliance. Do you really want me on your bad side, Denis?”
He hesitates. We both know I’m not someone you want as an enemy.
“Work with me to get Sasha back,” I encourage.
“If the Irish do have her, I don’t want to be on their bad side. I’m not sure if you recall, but I tried to make a deal with Cillian Kennedy before you killed him. I want the Irish to be my friends.”
“They stole your niece.”
“So you claim. But I’ve learned that I can’t exactly trust your word, now can I?”
I huff, running a hand down my face. “I can’t fucking believe you. Your own niece is in danger and you won’t help her.”
“She’s yours now. Not mine. And as for my other niece, Natalya, she chose the enemy when she married Mikhail. I’m going to keep the nieces I have left under my control. Have a nice day, Nico. But you should leave now.”
“I could come back in here and steal your other nieces out from under you. Marry them to allies of my own and you’ll lose all of your power.”
Denis sneers. “You can try. Now leave.”
With a huff, I quickly walk out of his house. Since Sasha needs me, I can’t get into a fight with Denis when that’s all I want.
Ironically, the only person I can rely on to help me with this is Mikhail, my fucking enemy. He has a stake in this too. Talk about bad karma. Working with the man who shot me in the back to save my wife because he’s all I have right now.