12. Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Nikolai
“ I sabella…” She marches away like a pissed off lioness. “Fuck.” I growl under my breath.
Why won’t she just stop and listen to me for one minute?
“That went well.” Viktor wraps his arm around my shoulder, but I shrug it off.
“I don’t need sarcasm right now. She’s about to be sold off to that fucking psychopath because of me.”
“We’re all psychopaths.” Viktor jokes, trying to get me to lighten up. I don’t. He drops the friendly act. “Who fucking cares anyway? You can find any other girl. What’s special about this one?”
I glare at Viktor, and he steps back with a shrug.
“Whatever, Nikolai. I don’t get it, that’s all I’m saying. What’s the reason? You ignore every girl that wants you and then go after her? She’s trouble. Why choose the girl you can’t have?”
He won’t understand if I explain it word for word.
“If you stopped thinking with your dick, you might understand.” I scowl, not looking at him because I’m searching the crowd for her.
Viktor looks at the drink in his hand and then back at me. “For once, I think you’re the one not making any sense. What do you think is going to happen? You think Callum O’Shea is just gonna hand her over to you if you ask nicely?”
I tear my eyes away from her to Viktor. “I’m not asking.”
Viktor arches an eyebrow and tsks under his breath.
“Whatever you do, don’t get us killed.” Alek says as he returns from the bar with a drink.
I nod before looking back to scan the room for her. She’s gone. Her floral dress blends into the vibrant colours of the hall.
“What were you planning to ask my brother?” Stephanie O’Shea’s voice snatches me back into the conversation.
Stephanie has the auburn hair of her brother and the same sharp, cold features. Her hair is tied back into a slick, professional ponytail. Tall, slim, and unforgiving. She’s the mastermind of the Irish operation, and everyone knows it.
“I was wondering why he invited me after what happened in my bar.”
Our eyes lock and Stephanie cocks her head to the side, a devious little smile playing at her lips.
“Callum can be dramatic.”
Just like her brother, she gives nothing useful away. I hate dealing with them. Their father was much more straightforward. Her eyes flit over to Alek, who’s watching with dark intensity. Stephanie nods to the men Alek brought with him.
“Was it necessary to bring so much force?”
Viktor lets out a snort of laughter at the question, but Alek remains still.
“It can never hurt to be cautious.” Drawls Alek.
“Pakhan Aleksander Vassiliev. The famous control freak.” Alek probably took that as a compliment.
“Famous?” He laughs back. “I didn’t realise I was such a topic of conversation at the O’Shea household.”
They hold each other’s eyes for a long moment until Stephanie notices someone walking past. Another smile plays on her lips as she grabs the girl’s arm and pulls her into our circle of conversation.
I might have misheard, but I could have sworn I heard the girl hiss like a cat as she's pulled in.
“Have you all met my little sister, Saoirse?”
The mood stiffens. We’ve all heard of Saoirse. The man-killer. Ever since the stories started, Andrew O’Shea (their father) has hidden her away from the world. The last time she’d been seen publicly was years ago.
“A pleasure.” Aleksander breaks the tension with the calm confidence that makes him the leader of the Bratva. He takes her hand and kisses it gently. The girl looks up at him like he’s an alien. The gloomy clouds enveloping her don’t disappear, but they freeze, just for a moment.
“Hi.” she says back awkwardly, retracting her hand like it’s just been dipped in boiling water.
Alek takes control of the conversation, allowing my eyes to wander away into the crowd. Huge dresses and extravagant flower arrangements demand my attention, but I only want to see her.
Where are you?
Time whizzes past me, taunting me that the chance of finding her again is slipping away.
Viktor elbows me in the rib, and I glare at him again.
“Stop fidgeting. You look like you’re high.” He whisper-growls. The man’s voice is too rough for any whisper not to sound like a growl. I grunt back and snap back to searching for Isabella.
The crowd opens up for a moment, and there she is. Her beautiful eyes are sad, like they are every night she looks up at her father’s box at the end of a performance. Only this time, she looks up at Callum O’Shea. Their bodies are turned to each other.
Why is she standing so close to him? My hands curl into fists as I watch her brush her hand against his chest.
He leans in, whispering something that makes her giggle. I bite down on my lip to hold back the guttural reaction bubbling in my chest. Then he reaches out and brushes her jaw with his fingers. She slaps it away, stepping back and snarling at him like a disgruntled cat, which brings a smirk to my face.
“Nikolai.” Stephanie calls out my name, and I turn back to see Alek and Saoirse are gone, and Stephanie and Viktor are both looking at me. “Going somewhere?”
I’ve taken a step towards Isabella and Callum. How am so in my head I didn’t even notice?
“… I just have restless legs, too much standing still.”
Stephanie’s hooded eyes light up with amusement. “Well, if you need somewhere to go, my brother requested to have a word with you.”
“Did he?” I say, barely concealing the contempt in my tone.
She nods to the other side of the hall, over to a huge, closed, red curtain.
“Behind that curtain is a stage. Callum and Isabella are going to give a speech up there later on. He thought you’d like somewhere more private to speak with him. He should be waiting now. The two of you can… hash things out before we open the curtains.” She gives me a tight-lipped smile.
I glance at Viktor, who shrugs. “If he tries to kill you, kill him first.”
“Thank you for the wisdom, Viktor.”
Stephanie laughs. “Please don’t kill my brother. The last thing we want is trouble.”
She leaves a lingering touch on my arm as she leaves us. Once she’s out of earshot, Viktor takes her place and stands in front of me.
“Shoot first.” He says deadpan.
I nod, sniff, pat him on the shoulder and walk past him to the tall red curtains peering over us.
“If he kills me, look after Anton.”
Viktor’s eyes follow me as I disappear behind the curtain and into the darkness of Callum O’Shea’s trap.