Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
A man grabbed my arm, yanked me up, and tossed me over his shoulder. I groaned with pain, but he didn’t speak as he took me to my room and trapped me there like my father ordered.
9
LORENZO
Itossed and turned all night, thinking about Nikolai, wondering if his father would find out what happened, and wondering what the hell was going to happen if Remington decided to go to war to keep his family and the Ivanovs apart.
Once the light in my room became too bright to think about sleeping, I gave up and threw back the covers. After I showered and dressed, I headed to the kitchen and made myself a double shot of espresso. That might be enough to get me started.
I didn’t feel much like eating after my restless night and my inability to stop second-guessing my actions the night before, but it was going to be a long day. I was sure of that. I needed to put something in my stomach, so I made some scrambled eggs and toast and brought my plate and a glass of cold brew—as a chaser for the espresso—to my office. I’d had way too much bullshit to take care of before all the shit with the Russians had come up, but before I could even get started on the spreadsheets I needed to update, Remington called.
“Good morning,” I said.
“I hope it’s going to be. I’ve spoken with Ivanov.”
“Already? What time is it?” I glanced at my watch.
“I don’t give a damn if I wake that son of a bitch up. I had something to say, so I said it. He’s lucky I didn’t call him in the middle of the night.”
I supposed that was true. “What did he say?”
I told him I’d heard about his daughter’s engagement to Nikolai and that the wedding was to take place soon. He started blathering on about how pleased he was for Alina—as if he gives a fuck about her—so I made it clear that I wasn’t in favor and strongly recommended he break the engagement.”
“How did he take that?”
“Like you’d expect. Blustering as if he had the strength to take our family down, saying I had no right to tell him who his daughter should marry. I told him there would be consequences if this marriage went through.”
“And you left it at that?”
“Yes. I’m going to give him a few days to take action on his own. If he doesn’t respond, then I’ll send someone to visit him.”
That someone would likely be me. “So you’re determined not to let the marriage go through.”
“Are you questioning my decision?”
“No.” That was the last thing I wanted to do. “I support you fully. I don’t want this alliance to go through. I’m just curious why you’re this concerned about the Russians.” There was something going on that I didn’t know, and I wanted all the pieces of the puzzle.
“Lancelot had a run-in with one of Ivanov’s men. The guy was talking a lot of big talk. He boasted about some of their plans for the future that let me know it would be best if we kept this alliance from happening.”
I didn’t bother to ask for more details. Remington would give me those if he decided I needed them. “Do you think we can do this without a full-scale war?”
“That’s the goal.”
“And if that doesn’t work?” How far would he go to prevent Niko’s marriage?
“I’ll make that decision when the time comes.”
I hadn’t really expected an answer, but now I had to decide what I would do if Remington determined the risk was too great and we’d take a different approach. Ivanov wasn’t touching what was mine.
10
NIKOLAI
The pain in my arm was what brought me back to full consciousness. I could tell from just looking at it that my father had broken it. Several minutes later, a man came to examine me. He’d brought a portable X-ray that he used to assess the damage to my arm. He didn’t ask any questions about how the injury had happened, not that I expected him to. If he worked for my father, then he was surely used to patching people up without asking questions.
“It’s a simple break,” he announced.
It didn’t feel simple. The bastard showed no mercy in setting the bone. He refused to numb it and seemed oblivious to the way I screamed as the separated bone came back together. I nearly passed out as the pain cut through me, then left my arm throbbing. Without another word, the man cast my arm with no care for my comfort.
“You’ll need the cast for around six weeks. I’ll be back to check on the arm in a few days.”
I didn’t bother giving a response.
He set a prescription bottle down on the nightstand and left. I picked up the bottle with my good hand. There was no information on it other than the words “Take Two for Pain” written in Sharpie. Thank God. I wasn’t sure I’d be allowed any drugs. As I shook two pills in my hand, I hesitated. There was no telling what the pills were, but if my father wanted to kill me, he could have just beaten me to death. He would have enjoyed that far more. After I popped the pills in my mouth and dry swallowed them, I lay down, hoping they would make me sleep.