“Am I sure about what?” I ask, chasing his mouth, but he sits back on his feet, the water dripping down his face.
“He’s in our pack?”
A throat clears behind him, and I look up, shocked at being busted kissing my guard.
“Nyet,” Aleksei growls in Russian, jabbing a finger at Santiago. “You are in my pack. The pack I made for Quinn. And maybe I’ll let Kade join too if I don’t kill him.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
QUINN
We leave the suite after Aleksei and Santiago; each threw their pack declarations around like confetti at a wedding. The tension between the two Alphas is palpable, making my skin itch.
Kade hisses under his breath in warning at both as he pushes forward to open the door for me into the breakfast room. The clatter of cutlery and the chatter of Sergey, Bambi, and the others come to a stop as we enter.
Aleksei’s demeanor was already shifting the second we stepped out of our suite, and now it’s like he’s a different person. I follow his lead, dropping all the post-heat haze, becoming an icy version of myself.
“Good morning,” I offer Sergey, pointedly ignoring the side of the table where the girls are all sitting.
He gives me a sharp nod but doesn’t talk as I pass, and I drop my handbag and new jacket on a seat out of the way.
I wait to see which seat Aleksei takes, which inadvertently forces me in the vacant seat next to Bambi. But Roshka saves the day by inserting himself into the space between our chairs, forcing her and her friends to shuffle down the table.
Nalla stays close to Kade and Santiago, who are on the opposite side of the room from two of Sergey’s men. Their presence makes me feel better, but given the cold, hard stare from the Russians, I’m the only one happy with the situation.
As soon as Aleksei sits, he pulls his seat closer to Sergey, and they start speaking privately in Russian. Around us, staff starts bringing our breakfast out. A plate, like what I had on the first morning I arrived, is placed in front of me, but sadly no coffee, just the same bitter tea Sergey insisted I drink.
My stomach is way too fragile from the drugs I took to ward off my heat.
One of the staff passes, and I make it obvious I’m trying to catch their attention. She pretends not to see. I try to catch the eye of another few, but it’s like I’m invisible, and I know Sergey or the girls have something to do with it.
Aleksei’s bark makes me, and the girls, startle. He’s being unkind when he speaks to the staff, pointing at Sergey before flicking his hand in my direction. Without looking at me, he speaks in English.
“Tell them what you want, Mrs. Petrov. Marrying my brother gives you that privilege.”
His overemphasis is a reminder to everyone in the room.
Sergey watches his brother closely, with a glimmer of pride in his eyes. Not for me; he’s barely acknowledged my presence. This is all about his brother standing up for him and inadvertently blowing smoke up his ass. The girls next to me are also less impressed with his sharp reminder. I really couldn’t care less about them.
The staff who got called out wait with their heads bowed, taking the reprimand. I feel uncomfortable for them, but I can’t back down now; it would reflect badly on Aleksei and fuel Bambi.
I don’t look up at them as I speak, mimicking how Sergey is acting, focusing on my food. “I’d like a pot of warm water, please.”
A server scurries away as quickly as possible. Sergey and Aleksei return to talking business in private.
The rest of breakfast passes similarly, which lets me focus on trying to deal with my throbbing headache. The day promises to be long, and feeling like shit will make it that much longer.
Sergey drops his knife and fork down as a sign he’s had enough, sitting back in his seat as he finishes his tea.
“We will go to work now. You come with Aleksei and me. Your guards will take a different car behind us.” He’s watching me closely, probably looking for an argument, but he won’t find one from me.
“Of course.”
If Aleksei wasn’t going to be with us in the car, I’d refuse point-blank to travel in his car without my guards. The prenup he signed with my father provides me with a safety net to hide behind. If Sergey kills me, he gets none of my father’s promised money or any of the benefits of business. If I die over here, Victor has legal access to seize Sergey’s assets. All of them. If I kill Sergey, I also get none of his wealth. The huge difference is, I don’t give a fuck about money, so it’s not going to stop me from killing my husband.
Now that I know Aleksei is related to the piece of shit I am married to, I have a few new ideas I want in place first. To do that, I need a good lawyer. Someone I can trust, with experience in the underworld and the shady practice of false shelf companies as a means of laundering.
Almost everyone rushes out of the room, leaving me with Santiago and Kade, with Sergey’s guards watching us.
