Chapter 14 #2
Mira sighed heavily. “Can everyone stop measuring each other for coffins for five fucking minutes? ”
Roman didn’t take his eyes off me. “No promises.”
Mira rolled her eyes before looking back at me. “Why are you here, Nikolai?”
The question changed everything. All warmth vanished from my body immediately. Emerald’s terrified face slammed back into my head so violently it nearly made me sick. I felt my expression darken.
“Someone took Emerald.”
Mira blinked, then slowly crossed her arms. “You mean after you took her first?”
I grimaced. “Yeah…that.”
Roman let out a sharp laugh. “At least he’s self-aware.”
I looked at him flatly. “Sorry about kidnapping your sister.”
“You should be.”
“I am.”
Roman looked almost offended by the sincerity in my voice. Honestly, I was a little offended too.
Mira stared between us before muttering, “This is the weirdest fucking conversation I’ve ever witnessed. ”
Roman pointed at me. “I still want to punch him in the face.”
“You wouldn’t stand a chance,” I answered automatically.
Roman straightened. “Excuse me?”
“With the cane? Probably not.”
Viktor actually snorted. Rupert looked like he was trying not to.
Roman’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “I could still beat your ass.”
“No,” I said calmly. “You really couldn’t.”
Roman took a step forward. Mira stepped directly between us before this turned into something catastrophic.
“Absolutely not,” she said flatly. “None of you are fighting while Emerald is missing.”
Roman muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like arrogant prick. I ignored him. Mostly because he wasn’t wrong.
Mira looked exhausted already. “Go to the study before somebody starts bleeding again.”
Roman stared at me another second before finally turning toward the hallway. “Move. ”
The study sat on the far side of the estate overlooking the gardens.
Dark shelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling while rain battered against massive windows behind the desk.
Roman moved behind the desk immediately like he needed the control of positioning himself there.
Rupert remained near the door. Viktor started entering before Rupert subtly blocked him with one arm.
“Meeting’s private.”
Viktor’s expression instantly flattened into something lethal. “Move.”
Rupert didn’t. The tension hit so fast it practically sucked the oxygen from the room.
I looked toward Roman. “He’s coming in.”
Roman’s eyes flicked between Rupert and Viktor before he sighed. “It’s fine.”
Rupert stepped aside reluctantly. Viktor entered with a smug look that probably shaved years off Roman’s lifespan.
None of us sat. Roman leaned heavily against the desk instead, eyes fixed on me.
“How is she?” he asked quietly.
The question caught me off guard. Despite everything happening… despite the blood and fear and rage consuming me…a small laugh actually escaped my mouth. Roman looked confused .
I rubbed a hand over my jaw. “Demanding.”
I shook my head slightly, unable to stop the faint smile pulling briefly at my mouth. “She ordered staff around like she owned the estate within two days.”
Roman snorted softly. “Sounds right.”
“She nearly burned down the kitchen three separate times.”
Mira looked delighted. “Please tell me someone stopped her.”
“Barely.”
Viktor muttered, “One of the cooks threatened to quit.”
Roman smiled at that. I hated how much relief it gave me hearing them laugh about her. It made this feel real in the worst possible way.
“She spent most of her time reading every fucking book in my library,” I continued quietly. “And learning how to fight.”
Roman raised a brow. “That sounds concerning.”
“She was terrible at first.”
“I’m still terrible,” Mira admitted .
Roman looked offended. “You’re literally a trained assassin.”
“Yes,” Mira replied. “And somehow I still lose arguments to staircases.”
Roman’s expression darkened again. “What happened?”
The warmth vanished instantly from my chest. I leaned forward slightly against the desk.
“We found one of Lucien’s journals.”
Roman’s face immediately hardened. “That already sounds bad.”
“It was.”
I swallowed slowly. “There was an entry that upset Emerald.”
Roman’s jaw tightened. “About what?”
I looked toward Mira briefly before answering. “You’re not going to like it either.”
Roman gave a humorless laugh. “Try me.”
I stared at the rain hitting the windows for a second before speaking.
“Lucien hired someone years ago. An old associate of his. Supposedly to help him take Cecilia. ”
Mira went still instantly. Roman’s entire body locked. I forced myself to continue anyway.
“That night… Cecilia was raped.”
The word felt filthy coming out of my mouth. Roman’s face lost all color. Mira inhaled sharply beside him. I could barely force the next part out.
“Lucien believed she terminated the pregnancy afterward.”
Roman’s breathing changed immediately.
“But the timing…” I paused roughly. “It lines up with when Emerald would’ve been conceived.”
Silence crashed into the room like a fucking explosion. Mira covered her mouth slightly. Roman looked absolutely murderous. The kind of fury that turned men into monsters.
Mira slowly rested a hand against his arm. Roman didn’t move. Didn’t blink. Didn’t fucking breathe. When he finally spoke, his voice came out terrifyingly calm.
“Continue.”
I dragged a hand down my face slowly.
“She wanted answers,” I said quietly. “And honestly… I didn’t fucking have them.”
Roman’s eyes stayed locked on me .
“She thought coming here would help,” I continued. “Thought maybe you’d know something. So, she ran.”
Mira frowned slightly. “In the storm?”
“Yes.”
Roman muttered a curse beneath his breath. “That sounds exactly like her.”
A humorless laugh left me. “Yeah. Turns out your sister doesn’t listen worth a shit.”
“She gets that from him,” Mira said, nodding toward Roman.
Roman looked offended. “I listen!”
“You absolutely do not.”
“I selectively evaluate.”
“You ignore people until they become louder than your ego.”
Viktor snorted loudly.
Roman glared at him. “You’re on very thin fucking ice in my house.”
“Technically,” Viktor replied, “your floors are marble. ”
Rupert looked physically exhausted listening to him. I barely heard any of it. My mind kept replaying the same moment over and over again. Emerald running through the rain. Her soaked hair sticking to her skin. Fear in her eyes. The sound of the gunshot.
“I followed her,” I said quietly. “I caught up near the road. She was hysterical. She thought her whole life had become a lie in the span of a few hours.”
Mira’s expression softened slightly. I swallowed hard against the pressure building in my throat.
“She was crying. Screaming at me to let her go. Then…”
I stopped. Even thinking about it made rage surge so hard through my bloodstream my hands clenched automatically.
Roman noticed immediately. “Then what?”
“I heard the shot.”
Silence swallowed the room again.
“I didn’t even realize I’d been hit at first.”
The memory slammed into me hard enough to make my ribs ache. One second, I’d been grabbing Emerald. The next my body hit the pavement hard enough to knock the air from my lungs. Blood everywhere. Emerald screaming my name .
I looked down briefly at the soaked bandages beneath my shirt.
“By the time I understood what happened…” I ground my teeth hard enough to ache. “The van was already there.”
Mira’s face fell. Roman’s grip tightened around the top of his cane.
“They dragged her inside while I was still trying to fucking stand.”
The humiliation burned worse than the bullet wound.
“I couldn’t move. I couldn’t fucking get up.”
Nobody spoke. Not even Viktor. They all understood exactly what that did to a man like me. I’d spent my entire life being the weapon. The protector. The threat people feared. And when Emerald needed me most? I bled out in the road while someone took her.
Useless.
Roman’s voice lowered slightly. “Who do you think took her?”
I looked toward Mira instinctively. The second our eyes met, her expression changed. Recognition. Anger. Fear. She already knew before I said the name. I looked back at Roman .
“Lucien had an old associate. His name is Malrik Drax.”
The room went dead silent. Even Rupert reacted to that one.
Roman slowly straightened away from the desk. “You’re fucking kidding.”
“No.”
“Drax?”
“Yes.”
Roman muttered a curse and began pacing slowly despite the cane.
“That psychopath is still alive?”
“Unfortunately.”
Mira crossed her arms tightly. “Lucien hated him.”
“He hated everyone,” Roman replied.
“No,” I said quietly. “This was different.”
All eyes shifted toward me. I leaned back slightly in the chair, exhaustion clawing through my body now that adrenaline had finally started wearing off.
“Lucien trusted almost nobody, but even he kept Malrik at arm’s length. ”
“Because he was unstable?” Mira guessed.
I laughed once without humor. “That’s one word for it.”
Roman’s scowled. “I’ve heard stories.”
“So have I,” Rupert muttered darkly from near the door.
I looked toward Roman again. “Malrik deals in things Lucien still considered too messy.”
“Human trafficking,” Mira said flatly.
“Yes.”
Roman’s expression became murderous all over again.
“Illegal weapons?”
“Yes.”
“Political blackmail?”
“Yes.”
Roman rubbed a hand over his mouth slowly. “Fucking wonderful.”
I stared down at the desk briefly before continuing.
“He came to the estate once after Lucien died. ”
Roman narrowed his eyes. “Why?”
“To recruit me in the same business him and Lucien were in.”
That got everyone’s attention immediately.
“He thought once Lucien was gone, I’d take over everything.”
“You basically did,” Viktor muttered.
“Only temporarily.”
Roman gave me a look that clearly said bullshit. I ignored it.
“Malrik wanted me deeper in the illegal side of things.”
“And you said no?” Mira asked carefully.
“Yes.”
Roman looked genuinely surprised by that. “Interesting.”
I gave him a cold look. “Contrary to popular belief, I’m not completely fucking evil.”
Roman tilted his head slightly. “Debatable. ”
Mira smacked his arm lightly. He looked deeply offended by the betrayal. I continued before they could derail this again.
“I told Emerald to stay in her room while Malrik was there.”
Roman barked out a laugh immediately. “And she listened?”
“No.”
“That’s my sister.”
A small smile almost appeared on my face despite everything. God. I missed her.
“When Malrik saw her…” I said slowly, “it was like something clicked in his head.”
Roman stopped pacing.
“He knew immediately she mattered to me.”
The room quieted again. None of them missed what I’d just admitted. Not even me. Mira watched me carefully. Roman looked somewhere between suspicious and furious. Viktor looked deeply unsurprised.
Traitor.
I leaned forward slightly. “But we can’t just storm his estate without proof. ”
Roman scoffed. “I absolutely can.”
“And if we’re wrong?”
That shut him up. I continued before he could start threatening people again.
“Malrik’s connected to too many powerful people. Politicians. Police. Federal contacts. If we accuse him without evidence…”
“It becomes a war,” Rupert finished quietly.
“Yes.”
Roman looked disgusted by the idea. “I hate when you make sense.”
“Happens a lot.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
Mira sighed heavily. “Can the testosterone poisoning wait until after we save Emerald?”
Roman pointed at me again. “He started it.”
“I literally didn’t.”
“You existed aggressively.”
Viktor actually laughed at that one. I rubbed a hand against my jaw, exhaustion dragging harder through me now .
“We need confirmation she’s there.”
Roman’s face darkened. “And how exactly do you plan on getting that?”
I held his gaze evenly. “You use me as bait.”
The room went still instantly.
Roman frowned. “Explain.”
“Malrik wants something from me.”
“What?”
“I don’t know yet.” That answer clearly irritated the hell out of Roman.
“But whatever this is,” I continued, “Emerald’s part of it.”
Mira crossed her arms tighter. “You think he took her specifically to lure you there.”
“Yes.”
Roman stared at me carefully now. “So, what are you suggesting?”
I leaned forward against the desk slightly despite the pain ripping through my chest.
“I go in alone. ”
Mira immediately shook her head. “Absolutely not.”
Roman looked equally unimpressed. “That’s your plan?”
“It’s the fastest way to confirm she’s there.”
“It’s also the fastest way to get yourself killed,” Rupert said.
I looked toward him. “Probably.”
Mira’s expression tightened. “Nikolai—”
“If I disappear and don’t come back out within twelve hours…” I continued over her, “then you’ll know.”
Roman stared at me. “Know what?”
“That she’s inside.”
The storm outside cracked violently against the windows. Nobody spoke for several long seconds. They all understood exactly what I was offering. Not a negotiation. Not a strategy meeting. A sacrifice.
Roman’s gaze narrowed. “And if he kills you?”
I met his eyes evenly.
“Then you burn his entire fucking world to the ground.”