27. Tatiana
TATIANA
W e didn’t have much time before Illias caught up to us.
The smart thing would have been to meet Marchetti the moment we arrived. But we needed a few hours of fun and some sleep. Besides, we weren't going to meet him wearing yoga pants.
I was vain. Isla was vain. Fucking sue us.
However, today we were ready.
I wore a champagne-colored dress that came to my thighs and had a crisscrossed back.
It hugged my curves perfectly, although it felt slightly tighter around my front.
The babies were growing fast and steadily.
I glanced at my feet. I paired the dress with Louboutin heels, figuring it might be one of the last times I’d get to wear heels for a while.
I opted for no makeup and pulled up my hair in a slick, high ponytail.
I was ready for answers. I steeled my spine and prepared for the worst. Whatever that might be - Adrian’s blackmail, betrayal, secret life. I didn’t know anymore.
The magnificent view of the Eiffel Tower stretched in front of me. The city glimmered just as brightly under the rays of sun as it did under the lights and the moon last night.
The image of the shadowed man flickered in my mind. I thought about him last night as I drifted off to sleep. Maybe the moon played tricks on me. Or maybe stupid memories were haunting me.
My mind went over every second of that brief encounter.
Was that Nikita? The man looked familiar.
But then there looked to be a mark on his cheek when he gave me his profile.
Maybe a birthmark? But then, maybe there was nothing there.
The profile could have been deceiving. The man didn’t act like he knew me.
By the time I drifted off to sleep, I felt sure it was my imagination playing tricks on me. The memories of the past. Then fear of Illias coming after us. It was all catching up to me. Adrian’s death. Learning about Illias. Our past that seemed to go further back than I originally thought.
Yes, that had to be it.
And still, my chest tightened. My throat squeezed. Waves rushed through me, erasing the progress I’d made over the last year.
I let out a slow breath, hoping to calm my racing heart. I couldn’t think about it. I couldn’t go there. It’d put me back to square one.
My hand came to rest on my slightly rounded stomach. I was doing all this so I could move on. For me, for my babies, and for their papa.
I glanced over my shoulder at Isla who still had her head buried in the pillow. My lips curved into a soft smile. She was amazing. I went over the plan with her and to my amazement, she even added a little spin to it herself.
Take her to Marchetti with a gun pointed at her. I liked the plan. I didn’t like the idea of pointing a gun at her. I reached for my purse and pulled out the handgun, then checked the magazine.
Empty. Good!
I didn’t want any accidents, especially unplanned shootings. Not when it came to her. She was innocent in all this shit.
“Are you plotting world domination?” Isla mumbled from the bed.
I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t stop smiling affectionately. “Not while you’re in bed.”
“You’ve got to relax.”
I chuckled. I loved her attitude. I loved her personality. I couldn’t wait to introduce her to Isabella and Aurora. Even my brothers. They’d adopt her as their own sister.
“I am relaxed,” I retorted. Okay, tiny lie. “Did Marchetti confirm?” She smiled smugly and my attention perked. “What?”
“Nothing.”
My shoulders tensed. “Then why the smugness?” I took two steps and put my palms on the bed, leaning over her. “You better tell me or I’ll tickle you to death.”
She rolled her eyes, then sighed dreamily. “Yeah, he confirmed.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You’re not telling me something.”
“What?” she asked defensively. “It’s not like you tell me everything.”
“For your own good.”
She blew a raspberry. “That’s for me to decide.”
Stubborn woman. It was another thing we had in common. Except, Isla hid it exceptionally well.
“Did you talk to him?” I asked suspiciously. We both went to bed at the same time and as I drifted off to sleep, I thought she was asleep too. I eyed her and her blush betrayed her. “When?” I demanded to know.
“God, if you were my sister, I’d be a nun,” she muttered. “Doesn’t bode well if you have a daughter.”
It was my turn to smile dreamily. Twins. I wouldn’t mind two daughters. Or one of each. Actually, it didn’t matter as long as they were both healthy. Then I remembered my question. Little minx almost distracted me.
“When did you talk to him?” I repeated.
“Last night,” she mumbled, her cheeks turning an even darker shade of pink.
Then realization sunk in.
“Oh my gosh,” I muttered. “Oh my gosh. Did you… Did you have phone sex with him?” Her answer was clear in the way her blush spread down her neck and disappeared under her pjs. “While I slept? In the bed next to you?”
“Well, I had to ease his worries,” she mumbled. “I left him with a note that I never wanted to see him again. And now, I’m asking to see him. So–”
“So you played him,” I concluded, impressed. “Are you sure we’re not related?”
She let out a chuckle. “We are now.”
Warmth spilled into my chest. For her. For my new family that had recently expanded and included her. Hopefully it’d include Illias too. It’d be up to him. But he waited for me for so long. Since that night in the gazebo! I hoped that meant he was in it for life.
I waved my hand, hiding the way my heart gushed.
“Go get ready. Make yourself gorgeous but not slutty. Kind of innocently beautiful.” She rewarded me with an eye roll. “That way when I hold you at gunpoint, Marchetti will spill all the secrets in his attempt to save you.”
She gave me a dubious look. “He might be suspicious.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “He’s not a dumb man.”
“Well, duh,” I retorted wryly. “The man hid behind his luxury brand and somehow had time to run a large part of the underworld. Yeah, I’d say he wasn’t dumb. But he’s blind when it comes to you,” I declared.
Her eyes bulged out of her head. “What makes you say that?”
I shrugged. “I saw the way he looked at you in the video at the fashion show.”
“Goddamn it, you’re scary,” she grumbled, jumping out of bed. “If only we knew you–”
She cut herself off and her eyes glanced away from me. Her complexion paled and her bottom lip quivered for a fraction of a moment before she pulled herself together. There were secrets she harbored. And I didn’t think it was anything trivial but she didn’t trust me enough to share those with me.
She padded toward the bathroom, her hand on the door. “Isla?”
Her eyes darted to me. “Hmmm.”
I watched her, every fiber of me on high alert. I didn’t know what she had done… actually, she said ‘we’ so I’d wager it had something to do with her and her friends. But I knew that no matter what it was, I’d have her back. I’d murder anyone who tried to hurt her.
She was family. And a Nikolaev never turned their back on family.
“If you’re ever in trouble or need anything,” I said softly, holding her emerald gaze. A protective streak flared inside me. “And I seriously mean anything , I’m always here. No matter what.”
She disappeared into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her, but not before I noticed her hands trembling.
“Tatiana?” Her muffled voice came through the closed door.
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
The corners of my lips tipped up. “I’ll burn the world down for you, Sestra.”
“Ditto.”
We were in this for life.
* * *
“This is his house?” I asked. Isla nodded. “Jesus.”
The massive house in the city of Paris with a fence surrounding it had to be worth a fortune. It was like a mini-castle in the heart of the city.
“Who did it belong to?” I muttered under my breath. “Marie Antoinette?”
History wasn’t my strength, but there was no way in hell this place didn’t belong to royalty over the last ten centuries.
“No fucking clue,” Isla answered, her tone tense. The two of us stood around the corner, keeping out of sight until we were ready for our three-act play. It was best to think of it as a theater drama.
Act one - The discovery of conflict. Act two - The obstacle or complication. I could go without this one. Act three - The resolution.
In fact, I’d prefer it to be a one-act play. Just get it over with so we could all move on.
I needed to get rid of the tension in my body. Shaking my hands and loosening my legs, I looked like I was getting ready to run a marathon. Or be in a fight. Fuck, I was nervous. I didn’t know why. Something in the back of my head kept nagging at me but I couldn’t quite pinpoint it.
“Nervous?” Isla’s voice was a tad bit breathy. If I had to guess, she was nervous for an entirely different reason than me. She wore a pair of skinny jeans and a cropped green sweater top that revealed a sliver of her midriff. She paired it with a pair of heels and she looked gorgeous.
“Yeah.” Deep breath in. Release. Deep breath in. Release. “Let’s do this.”
She nodded and I reached inside my purse for the empty weapon. God, I hope this didn’t backfire. I needed Isla to come out of this unharmed. If she got laid in the process, it was a bonus.
Her words, not mine.
And who was I to argue? If Marchetti was a good lay, she should get it.
“Okay, I’m gonna put it against your lower back,” I murmured low. “Hopefully, his guards don’t notice anything until we’re inside.”
“He doesn’t have any guards,” she mumbled under her breath.
I tensed, confusion pouring into me. Everyone had guards in the underworld. It was unheard of to be completely unprotected. “Are you sure?
She nodded. “Yeah, I was here before. There were no guards.”
Bizarre.
“Okay, then. This should be easy.”
The two of us came around the corner we were hiding behind, strode across the empty street and towards the iron gate.
Sure as shit, there were no guards waiting for us.
I still couldn’t shake off the feeling of a trap.
Pushing the iron gates open with a soft creak, Isla kept marching forward with me at her back.