Chapter 8 #2
A slow smirk touched his mouth as he moved farther inside without invitation. “Always such a warm welcome.”
“I save my manners for people I respect.”
That only amused him more. Malrik dropped into one of the chairs across from the desk like this meeting bored him already while I stayed standing.
I had no interest in pretending this was a friendly conversation.
Malrik leaned back slightly, adjusting the cuff of his sleeve before finally getting to business.
“The western routes are becoming unstable,” he said casually. “Too many inspections at the ports.”
I listened with half my attention while he continued speaking.
Drugs. Weapons. Movement across state lines.
The same conversations repeated over and over in this world until they all started sounding identical.
Malrik had a habit of talking in circles intentionally too, dragging conversations out just to see who lost patience first.
Normally I would’ve played the game. Today my patience was already hanging by a thread.
“We’ll adjust the timing,” I said flatly.
Malrik tilted his head slightly. “That’s your solution?”
“It works. ”
“Temporary fixes always become permanent problems.”
I stared at him coldly. “Did you come here to criticize logistics or waste my fucking time?”
The smirk returned instantly. There it was.
That was the part of him I hated most. Malrik enjoyed provoking people.
He poked at pressure points just to watch reactions happen.
Unfortunately for me, today I had one very obvious pressure point.
Malrik’s gaze drifted lazily around the office before he spoke again.
“You seem distracted.”
“I’m not.”
“ Mm .” The disbelief in that single sound immediately irritated me.
Silence stretched briefly between us before Malrik reached for the glass sitting on my desk, swirling the whiskey inside it absently. Then casually—like the question meant absolutely nothing—
He asked, “So where’s the blonde girl?”
The second the words left his mouth, something inside me went cold. Dead cold. My eyes lifted slowly toward him while every instinct in my body sharpened into something dangerous.
“What did you say? ”
Malrik didn’t look remotely concerned by the shift in my tone. If anything, the bastard looked entertained by it.
“The blonde girl,” he repeated lazily, taking another sip of whiskey like he wasn’t seconds away from pushing me into violence. “The one with the pretty smile and curvy body.”
I could feel my body going into rage, “She’s none of your concern.”
“Interesting answer.”
I said nothing. The problem with men like Malrik was that silence didn’t stop them. It encouraged them. They smelled weakness the same way predators smelled blood. And right now? Emerald was the biggest weakness I had.
Malrik leaned back farther in the chair, watching me too carefully now. “You know, I was actually surprised when I heard.”
A dangerous feeling crawled slowly up my spine. “Heard what?”
“That Nikolai Voss finally developed a taste for chaos.”
My expression didn’t move, but internally, every warning bell inside my head started screaming.
Malrik smirked faintly at my silence before casually rotating the whiskey glass between tattooed fingers. “Though I suppose it makes sense now. ”
I stared at him. “Explain.”
“Oh, come on,” he drawled. “You really think nobody would figure it out eventually?”
Something dark shifted low in my chest as I watched the amusement flicker behind his eyes. Then he said the words that made my blood turn violent.
“Emerald Devereaux.”
Everything inside me snapped. The whiskey glass left my hand before I consciously registered the movement. It shattered violently against the wall beside him, crystal exploding across the office while rage slammed through my bloodstream so fast it nearly blurred my vision.
“What the fuck did you just say?”
Malrik didn’t even flinch. The bastard fucking sat there calm as ever while shattered glass rained across the floor around him, looking entirely too pleased with himself.
The office door burst open immediately after the crash. Viktor stepped inside fast, eyes instantly scanning the room before landing on me.
“Nikolai—”
“She has a very recognizable last name,” Malrik interrupted smoothly, completely ignoring Viktor’s presence now. “You really thought nobody would connect the dots eventually? ”
“Shut your fucking mouth!”
The warning came out lethal. Every muscle in my body had gone rigid now while fury burned hot enough beneath my skin to make breathing feel difficult.
Malrik tilted his head slightly, smile turning darker. “There he is.”
Viktor moved farther into the office carefully, clearly recognizing how close I was to completely losing control.
“What’s going on?” he asked cautiously.
Malrik answered before I could.
“We were discussing the girl upstairs. Emerald.”
My hand flexed hard at my side. I wanted to kill him. The way he said girl made something vicious twist beneath my ribs. As if Emerald was already becoming a piece on some invisible board inside his head, and men like Malrik destroyed everything they touched.
“You don’t say her name again,” I said quietly, “unless you want your teeth scattered across this fucking floor.”
Instead of backing down, Malrik smiled wider. “You’re attached.”
The statement landed like a knife. Viktor looked at me. I said nothing. Denying it now would’ve been laughable .
Malrik exhaled slowly through his nose before leaning back in the chair again, looking genuinely fascinated now. “Well, that complicates things.”
“What things?”
For the first time since entering the office, some of the amusement faded from his expression.
“The Devereaux family still has enemies, Nikolai. Roman isn’t exactly subtle these days, and now his sister suddenly disappears?” He clicked his tongue softly. “People are going to start asking questions.”
Ice slid down my spine. “What people?”
“The kind you should be worried about.”
Rage exploded through me instantly. I moved before Viktor could stop me. The desk slammed sideways violently as I grabbed Malrik by the front of his suit and yanked him out of the chair hard enough to shake the entire room.
“Say another fucking word about her,” I snarled, “and I’ll bury you so deep nobody will ever find the body!”
Viktor grabbed my arm immediately. “Nikolai.”
Malrik looked completely unbothered despite the fact that I had him halfway pinned against the wall.
In fact, the psychopath actually smiled .
“There it is,” he murmured softly. “I was wondering how long you’d keep pretending she didn’t matter.”
My grip tightened harder. Every violent instinct inside me screamed to break his jaw, but before I could—another voice cut through the chaos.
“What the hell is going on?”
Everything stopped. My head snapped toward the doorway instantly. Emerald stood there just outside the office, blue eyes moving between me, Viktor, and Malrik pinned against the wall.
Fuck…
I released him immediately.
“Go upstairs!” I ordered sharply.
Her brows pulled together instantly. “Maybe if people would stop throwing things, I wouldn’t have to investigate.”
Normally the attitude would’ve dragged amusement out of me. Right now it only made this worse. Malrik’s attention had already shifted toward her. The second I saw the way he looked at her— Interested, calculating, predatory, something murderous moved beneath my skin.
Emerald crossed her arms slowly, clearly unimpressed with the tension filling the room. Then her eyes landed fully on Malrik and recognition flickered immediately across her face .
“Oh,” she said flatly. “You.”
Malrik smirked faintly. “Good to see you again, Emerald.”
“I wouldn’t say the feeling is mutual.”
Despite the situation, a dark pulse of satisfaction moved through me at her tone. Malrik adjusted the front of his jacket calmly before looking between the two of us.
“Well,” he mused, “this certainly explains a lot.”
“Careful,” I warned, but the bastard ignored me.
Emerald’s gaze narrowed slightly. “Explains what?”
Malrik’s eyes slid toward me briefly, amusement flickering there again like he knew exactly how badly this conversation was testing my restraint.
“The fact that Nikolai Voss suddenly looks ready to kill anyone who breathes near you.”
The room went still. Emerald blinked once. Viktor looked like he was debating leaving before the situation somehow became worse. And I— I could physically feel my patience burning away.
“Malrik,” I said quietly. Final warning.
Instead of stopping, the bastard reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket before pulling out a black business card. Then he held it out toward Emerald .
“If you ever decide you want the full truth about what’s happening around you,” he said smoothly, “call me.”
The second Emerald reached toward it, something dark and violent snapped inside my chest.