I held in the sigh that threatened to come out and dipped my head slightly to the side.
Melinda said nothing to me. She glanced at me before her eyes moved to Damien, then Nikolay, before moving back to me, and, as if deciding I wasn’t worth the effort, she looked away again.
I frowned. I was sure I hadn’t imagined the look in her eyes. I felt Damien and Nikolay tense beside me. I placed one hand on each of their thighs. I didn’t want this to turn awkward.
I looked at Nikolay since he seemed to be the most volatile. I shook my head. His lips thinned in displeasure.
Luckily, things moved on from that small encounter pretty quickly. I took a sip of the water in front of me and looked over at the man Damien called for help when Father attacked us.
Despite looking so much like his evil little brother, Gabriel was a handsome man—though, in my opinion, he wasn’t as handsome as any of my men. They were simply out of this world.
But looking at Gabriel sitting next to the beautiful woman, I could see how well they matched each other.
I wondered if they were in love.
My eyes shifted to Nikolay, remembering what I told him earlier.
I still couldn’t believe the first words I had ever spoken to him were a confession.
Nikolay must have noticed my eyes on him because he turned toward me.
I leaned back a little, knowing my mistake right away, when his eyes took on a predatory glint.
Did he take everything I did as some sort of challenge?
Apparently.
A group of three came into the room with a cart. They were all dressed in matching white outfits and, despite working for a man who was obviously powerful in the mob world, they didn’t look beaten down. Not like the staff at Petrov’s house.
I smiled at the lady when she placed a plate of chicken breast smothered in some brown sauce and a side of vegetables in front of me.
My stomach grumbled loudly.
Enough for everyone to stop what they were doing to look at me.
Melinda sniggered, making my cheeks flame. This was all Nikolay’s fault for not giving me more than soup.
Suddenly, there was a loud knock. Melinda screamed, and everyone paused to look at her. I noticed all the waitstaff members had gone still, their faces drained of color.
It took me a moment to realize what was happening.
The knife Nikolay was playing with moments before was now attached to the back of Melinda’s chair, just mere centimeters away from her face. Spots of dark red splattered the white shoulder strap of her dress.
He got her ear.
She moved one hand up and cupped it.
“Apologize,” Nikolay said casually as if he was talking about the weather. I knew by the blaze building in his eyes that he was only moments away from exploding.
“W-what?” she stuttered. I wondered what it made me that I didn’t feel bad for her, though I didn’t like the attention I was getting.
“Apologize, or the next one will be aimed at your heart. And, bitch? I don’t ever miss.”
He held up a steak knife, waving it in front of his face.
She turned toward Gabriel. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“Yeah. I suggest doing what the man asked. I’ve never known him not to do anything he said he would do,” Gabriel said, taking a bite out of the broccoli on his plate. He looked bored at the entire thing, though something told me that wasn’t actually the case. Like Damien, a coldness about him told me to stay away.