Chapter 25
NIKOLAI
The ballroom glittered like something out of a fever dream. Just like it used to all those years ago, and I hated it with a renewed passion.
Red roses in bunches of thousands overflowed from massive arrangements positioned throughout the space. Servers moved through the growing crowd, offering champagne and caviar to guests who’d traveled from every corner of Russia.
Most of them didn’t deserve dog scraps, never mind expensive finger foods and my fucking time.
The Krasni Ball was in full swing, and still, people poured into the Volkov mansion like it had a leak. Adrik had tripled the security, but I still wasn’t comfortable, and that was the only reason I wanted Adrianne out in the open tonight.
Here I could watch her, keep her under my sight at every minute, while these masks gave her the anonymity I needed to keep her safe from greedy hands.
Still, nothing could make me enjoy this night. The event my mother had died at. The tradition that had destroyed her and everything I ever held dear.
And here I was, hosting it like nothing had ever happened.
I stood at the top of the grand staircase, watching guests arrive in their finery. Men in expensive tuxedos with flashy watches, trying to signal their wealth to the blindest of people. Women in elaborate gowns, some with red ribbons tied around their wrists.
Fathers, husbands, brothers. They brought them here like a one-dollar bill, ready to exchange them for anything that could boost their ambitions. And these innocent women? Most of them took it with pride. As if being cattle was something to brag about.
My hand clenched around the glass of vodka I’d been nursing, burying my nose in the glass and inhaling with the hopes that the alcohol could bend these thoughts to fit the happy faces around me.
I looked around, taking in all these women staring at me, trying to find my gaze and take it as an opportunity to sink their bloody teeth into whatever they wanted from the Volkovs.
But the only woman I wanted wasn’t here yet. She was probably still upstairs, being transformed into the princess she deserved to be. As if she needed any of it. I’d take her in my hoodie any day over this illusion of glam.
“Nikolai!” Viktor Morozov’s voice boomed across the entrance hall. “There you are.”
I turned, forcing my features into something resembling a warm welcome as Viktor approached with Drea on his arm.
And, of course, she was wearing red.
A blood-red gown that clung to every curve, with a slit up one thigh that went almost to her hip. Her blonde hair was swept to the side, exposing her neck and shoulders. She looked like sex wrapped in expensive fabric.
And while many men would fall for it, I felt absolutely nothing.
“Viktor. Drea.” I nodded to each of them. “Welcome.”
“Quite the event,” Viktor said, his eyes scanning the ballroom with obvious approval. “You’ve outdone yourself.”
“My mother would have appreciated it.” The words felt like acid on my tongue.
“Indeed.” Viktor’s expression shifted from conversational to calculating. “Walk with me. We have matters to discuss.”
It wasn’t a request.
I glanced at Adrik, who stood near the entrance directing security. He gave me a slight nod, understanding that I needed him to keep eyes on everything while I dealt with whatever this was.
“Of course.” Drea immediately clung to my arm with a smile.
We moved through the crowd to a quieter corner of the ballroom, away from the music and laughter.
“There’s word on the street,” Viktor began without preamble. “About an Italian mafia princess. A Battaglia, no less. Kidnapped from her own sister’s wedding.”
My blood turned to ice, but I kept my face neutral. “Interesting gossip.”
“More than gossip.” Viktor’s voice dropped. “Multiple sources have confirmed it. And they all point to you.”
“Do they?”
“Don’t play games with me, Nikolai.” His eyes hardened.
“This changes things. I backed you because you were smart, calculated. Because you knew how to navigate these waters without causing unnecessary waves. But kidnapping a Battaglia princess? Starting a war with the Italian mob? That’s reckless. Stupid.”
“I haven’t started anything.”
“Haven’t you?” Viktor’s laugh was harsh. “The Battaglias have put out feelers. They’re asking questions, making threats. And my name keeps coming up as one of your allies. Do you know how many of my men have been approached? How many have been offered bribes to turn on you?”
I said nothing, letting him vent.
“Three of my most trusted contacts have cut ties because of this. Three alliances that took me years to build, gone, because they don’t want to be associated with someone stupid enough to provoke the Battaglias.”
“Then perhaps your contacts weren’t as loyal as you thought.”
“Or perhaps you’ve made my job significantly harder.” He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a dangerous tone that I didn’t appreciate. “I need reassurances, Nikolai. And a dance with my daughter isn’t going to cut it anymore.”
There it was. The real fucking reason for this conversation.
“What kind of reassurances?” I took a sip from my glass, faking uninterest.
“The kind that shows the world we’re united. The kind that makes it clear the Morozov family isn’t going anywhere.” His eyes flicked to Drea, then back to me. “My daughter is beautiful, connected, and loyal. An alliance through marriage would send a strong message.”
I kept my face carefully blank, even as rage simmered beneath my skin. “You’re suggesting…”
“I’m suggesting you start considering your options. Drea has made her interest abundantly clear. You could do far worse for a wife.”
A wife. He wanted me to marry his daughter. I thought he’d dance around it but never actually have the balls to ask. But nothing ever sounded as ridiculous as this.
“I’ll consider it,” I lied.
“Consider it carefully and quickly,” Viktor continued with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Because I have news that might influence your decision. We’ve captured some men on the border of our territories. Vladimir’s men. A small army, actually, positioned and ready to move.”
“What?” This couldn’t be. They’d left, and we’d monitored every entrance into the Russian airspace.
“They were preparing to crash this very ball. Kill everyone on sight, from what we’ve gathered.
” He paused, letting that sink in. “I have them contained for now. But I need to know where your loyalties lie, Nikolai. Are we allies? True allies? Or am I wasting my time and resources protecting a man who can’t make the smart choice? ”
“You’re asking me to marry your daughter in exchange for not releasing Vladimir’s army into my house?”
“I’m asking you to show me you’re serious about this alliance.
Marriage would be ideal, yes. But for now?
” He gestured to Drea. “Dance with her, be with her tonight. Let everyone here see you taking her upstairs and claiming her. Reassuring everyone that the Volkovs and Morozovs stand united. Give me that, and I’ll handle Vladimir’s men personally. ”
Every muscle in my body tensed with barely controlled fury. This was extortion. Manipulation. Using my father’s bloodthirst as leverage to push me toward his daughter.
But I couldn’t afford a massacre in my home. Not tonight. Not with Adrianne somewhere in this building.
“One dance,” I said through clenched teeth. “That was the agreement.”
“Things were simpler.” Viktor’s smile was victorious. “I’m sure once you spend more time with Drea, you’ll see the benefits of a more permanent arrangement.”
The orchestra began a new song, a waltz that filled the ballroom with a sweeping melody.
I offered my hand to Drea, who took it with a smile that told me she’d been in on this plan all along, my eyes buried into Viktor’s as I plotted what to do with such a weasel.
“Shall we?” She purred, and my skin itched at the sound.
I led her to the dance floor, aware that every eye in the room was watching us. Judging. Calculating what fuck this meant.
My hand settled on her waist, the red fabric smooth under my palm. She moved closer than necessary, her body pressing against mine in a way that was meant to be seductive.
All I felt was disgust.
“You look tense,” she murmured, smoothing my tux. “Relax, Nikolai. This doesn’t have to be painful.”
“Your father is using Vladimir’s army as leverage.”
“My father is protecting his interests. As you should be protecting yours.” Her fingers trailed up my chest. “I could be very good for you. Very… accommodating.”
I spun her, using the movement to put distance between us. “I’m not interested in marriage, Drea.”
“Then what are you interested in? That girl from yesterday?” Her eyes flashed with challenge.
“Because from where I’m standing, you don’t have many options.
You’ve made enemies of the Italians, your father wants you dead, and your allies are questioning their support.
You need me, Nikolai. You need my family. ”
“What I need is for your father to handle Vladimir’s men without strings attached. Stand by his fucking word for once and not try to squeeze something out of me every time we meet.”
“Nothing comes without strings. You know that.” She pressed closer again as we moved across the floor. “But I could make those strings very pleasant to bear.”
The song felt endless, every second an eternity stretched to infinity. I looked past Drea’s shoulder, scanning the crowd for any sign of Adrianne.
Where was she? Galina should have brought her down by now.
Then I saw movement at the top of the grand staircase, and my heart stopped.
There she was.
Adrianne stood at the top of the stairs, a vision in a shade as dark as my heart. The dress I’d commissioned for her fit like it had been painted on before flowing out into a ballgown skirt covered in monarchs taking flight.
But it was her expression that gutted me. The way she stopped in her tracks as she spotted me. Masks did nothing to hide a heart, and hers found mine instantly.
She’d seen me dancing with Drea.
The way her chest heaved with uncontrolled breaths was like a knife straight to my heart.
Shit! I’d meant to find her earlier and tell her what I needed to do to avoid this very moment. But this fucking ball took up all my time, and when I realized, it was too late, the first guests were arriving.
I signalled the orchestra to kill the fucking song, and as smoothly as possible, it finally ended, and I immediately released Drea, already moving toward the stairs.
“Nikolai!” Drea called after me, but I didn’t stop.
I pushed through the crowd, my eyes locked on Adrianne. But when I reached the base of the stairs, she was gone.
Vanished into the sea of guests like she’d never been there at all.
“Fuck,” I growled, scanning the ballroom frantically.
Where the hell did she go?