46. Chapter 42
Chapter 42
Isabella
P ercy hobbles around us like a madman on a mission, waving his walking stick at anything he catches sight of.
“The pictures of you should be next to the stage, not the bar!” He calls back to me and Camilla as he grabs a photo of Camilla from when she toured as a singer and moves it for the fifth time this half hour.
Camilla and I share a look before laughing as he shoots off to the opposite side of the bar to re-position the photo.
“So, what do you think?” I ask.
I’ve been waiting until it was finished to get Camilla’s opinion. She isn’t the type to lie to save someone else’s feelings, so I know she’ll tell me the truth. Camilla stretches out, arching an eyebrow as she surveys the bar around her.
“Well, it’s not quite The Blue Moon.” My heart sinks until Camilla shoots me a smooth smile, “it’s even better! Of course I love it, Iz. How could I not? It’s everything we’ve ever dreamed of.”
Fuzzy feelings swarm my chest. I want to jump and sing, and dance around, so I settle for a satisfied smile and a little hug (can’t let go of my trouble-maker image completely).
At first, Camilla and Percy were going to use the insurance money to retire because it all seemed too much effort to get the bar back to how it used to be, but as soon as we heard that, Nikolai and I stepped in. Nikolai organised to make a new bar on the Bratva side of West Brink bridge, all expenses paid. We sat down with Camilla and Percy and got them to come up with their dream scenario.
They used the insurance money to go on holiday while Nikolai took care of fixing up the bar. Initially, Percy wanted everything to be falcon-themed. Thankfully, Camilla talked him out of it and settled on having a back room with a pilot theme she’s nicknamed the man-cave. The front bar holds pictures of all the artists they love, as well as a few photographs of Camilla from when she was a mainstream singer. She said no at first, but Percy’s only condition for moving the pilot stuff into the back room was that she include a few pictures of herself.
Everything in the room points to a sleek, new stage. Nikolai worked with a sound engineer to make sure the acoustics were perfect. He’d really gotten into the technical side of it.
Percy slips behind the bar and pops up next to us, stealing me away from my thoughts. “Can I get you two lovely ladies the first official drinks of The Blue Moon 2.0?”
“Yes, please.” says Camilla, like an exhausted mother after a long day.
“Any preference?”
“Surprise us.” I say with a smile.
Percy whips up three cocktails and we cheers together.
“We can’t thank you enough, Iz. Really, this means the world to us.” Percy’s soft eyes go glassy.
“Are you kidding me? It’s the least I could do. You two were always there for me when I needed you. You almost died helping Nikolai save me!”
Percy scrunches his nose. “Was only a scratch.”
Camilla pecks her husband on the cheek with a kiss. “You were very brave.” Percy’s skin flushes bright red, the tender compliment sending his head into a spin. They always bicker, in a loving way, so when Camilla gives him a genuine compliment, he reverts to a proud, but embarrassed, school boy. “Even if you missed every shot,” Camilla adds to save his blushes.
“I’m a pacifist at heart.” Percy sniffs, before changing the subject, “will Nikolai be here for the opening night?”
“He wouldn’t miss it.” I promise.
“What are the plans for you two moving forward?” Asks Camilla.
“Well, Nikolai wants me to chase my singing passion, but we also want a family. We’ve moved into his penthouse together now that things have calmed down.”
I’ve heard nothing from my family since the escape from the boat. According to Aleksander, my dad is backing off because another failure would embarrass him too much and affect his standing amongst the other crime families.
“Sounds like the world is your oyster. Enjoy yourselves while you’re young!” Exclaims Percy.
Camilla sips her drink, rolling over a thought in her head. “If Nikolai comes, tell him his big friend is only welcome if he stays away from my husband.”
“Cam!” Percy throws his hands up.
“Who? Viktor?” I ask with a smile.
“Yes, the big one.” Camilla folds her arms.
“Why?”
“She’s being overprotective.” Moans Percy, leaning onto his walking stick.
“Percy went drinking with that bear after we all worked together to rescue you. You should have seen him when he got home. I’ve never seen him so drunk in my life.” She turns to Percy, “no drinking games with Viktor.”
“He cheated! I can take him.” Yells Percy.
“I’ll let him know.” I laugh. Despite the laugh, a pang of concern hits my heart. Viktor is drinking more and more, and even Nikolai worries about him. “Are you both ready for the opening?”
“Can’t wait!” Says Percy with a smile, while Camilla chuckles.