Tears of Betrayal
Glancing up at Demitri, I frown. “You don’t wear one?”
He holds up his left arm and gestures at his wristwatch. “Mine’s in here.”
“Cool.”
I look down at the tag and then tuck it beneath my shirt’s collar. “Is that all?”
“For now,” Demitri says and then walks toward the front door. “Let’s go.”
Once we step out of my apartment, I lock the door and then move to Alexei’s side. Demitri takes the lead with Nikhil behind us, and I have to admit, right now, I feel a little badass.
Chapter 21
DEMITRI
After landing on Damien and Winter’s island that’s a hell of a lot bigger than Alexei’s, we step off the plane.
A smile spreads over my brother’s face as I walk toward him, and then we engulf each other in a tight hug.
“Fuck, it’s been too long,” I murmur, glad to see him again.
Pulling back, I hold Damien at arm's length and look him over. “You look good.”
“Life’s been good,” Damien replies, still smiling wide.
We turn to where Carson and Alexei are hugging, and then I step forward to embrace Carson, while Alexei does the same with Damien.
When we’ve all greeted each other, I hold my hand out to Ariana, where she’s been standing to the side. She darts forward and quickly links her fingers with mine while giving me a nervous look.
I squeeze her hand and tug her right to my side, then turn back to my brother and Carson. “This is Ariana Robinson.”
Carson’s one eyebrow lifts, obviously recognizing her name.
I gesture at Damien. “My brother, Damien.”
“Hi,” Ariana smiles at him, but Damien’s a little caught off guard that I’m holding her hand, so he just stares at her.
I gesture at Carson. “Alexei’s younger brother, Carson. He’s the one that got the contract on you and forwarded it to us.”
This time there’s a genuine smile on Ariana’s face as she looks at Carson. “Thanks for not killing me.”
Carson begins to chuckle. “You’re welcome.”
Damien places his hand on my shoulder, then gives me a pointed look.
I glance back at Ariana and feel a burst of pride to have her by my side. “She’s mine.”
Ariana shoots me a disgruntled look, then turns her attention to Damien. “What your brother is trying and failing to say is we’re seeing where this goes.”
Damien tries not to laugh but then fails. “Now I understand.”
Meaning he gets why I’ve chosen Ariana after never being in a relationship before.
Flaming red hair catches my eye as Winter walks toward us, carrying my nephew.
I let go of Ariana’s hand, and moving to my sister-in-law, I lean down and kiss both her cheeks before taking my nephew from her. “Nikolai, look how you’ve grown. Soon you’ll be taller than me.”
I hear Damien introducing Winter to Ariana, and knowing my woman is safe, I focus all my attention on Nikolai, who doesn’t recognize me because I haven’t been around much.
“I’m your father’s brother, remember? Dyadya Demitri.”
The little boy that’s the spitting image of Damien and me gives me a shy smile and mumbles, “Hello.”
When Damien joins us, Nikolai instantly holds his arms out to his father, and I hand him over.
“He’s gotten big,” I mention to Damien. Glancing behind us, I notice how Ariana sticks to Alexei’s side and gesture for her to come while saying, “We’re safe here, so I expect you next to me.”
“Oh, how am I supposed to know that,” she mutters. “You can’t make up the rules as we go.”
After she takes my hand, we all head inside the house, where we’re greeted by Cillian, who’s a father figure to Winter.
Alexei heads to the dining room, and we all follow. Once everyone is seated around the large table, Damien asks, “Why are we going after Yuri?”
I get right to the point. “Ariana is Sergei’s daughter from an affair. Yuri wants her dead so she can’t have any claim to the inheritance. Lucian spoke to Sergei on our behalf, and Sergei asked us to keep her safe at all costs. He also changed his last will, so Ariana’s the only heir.”
Carson lifts an eyebrow. “And Yuri won’t back down?”
Alexei shakes his head. “He’s under the impression he’s already head of the Bratva.”
“And the other members of the Bratva?” Damien asks. “Seimon, Andrei, and Lev? Who are they standing behind?”
Alexei takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “We won’t know until the meeting where everyone will vote.”
“If they back Yuri, we’ll be going up against four powerful families,” Carson states the obvious.
“Against the four of us,” I say.
“Five,” Winter interjects, and then Damien’s wife, who’s the Blood Princess and head of the largest diamond smuggling empire, gives me a look of warning. “I’m going with.”
My eyes dart to Damien, and he gives me a nod, showing he’s okay with it. Winter was trained by Cillian, and I’ve seen for myself how good she is, so I’m not worried that she won’t be able to hold her own.