Page 117 of Beautiful Ruins
“You brought it to my home first,” I returned evenly.
Nathan swallowed hard, taking a step back like he could disappear behind Ivanovich’s bulk.
“You promised you would protect me,” he hissed toward the Russian.
Ivanovich turned his lazy gaze toward Nathan.
“You failed to deliver collateral.”
Nathan’s breathing turned ragged, too loud for the size of the room.Each inhale sounded forced, uneven, like his body had finally caught up to the reality of where he was standing and who he was standing with.
Before he could say another word, Gianni moved.
Fast.Direct.Decisive.
Archie stepped in beside him without hesitation, the two of them closing the distance on the larger Russian with an efficiency that suggested this was not their first time dealing with men like him.Between Gianni’s raw force and Archie’s precise restraint, the situation was altered in seconds.
Ivanovich didn’t thrash.He simply turned his head slightly and looked straight at Archie.Recognition settled in slowly, visibly.His eyes narrowed just a fraction as he let out a low, thoughtful hum under his breath.
One of the few constants in the Russian underworld was simple—stay out of internal affairs unless you were prepared to face the consequences.Lines were rarely crossed so openly.
And yet, here was Archie.Standing with us.Acting against his own.That realization did not alarm Ivanovich.It interested him.
His brow lifted slightly, expression sharpening as something colder and more calculating settled behind his gaze, as though he were reassessing the entire situation in real time.
Nathan started to shake.
His entire body trembled, shoulders jerking, breath coming in short, uneven bursts that grew louder with every passing second.The composure he’d tried to wear in front of the Russians shattered completely the moment he realized there was no one left to hide behind.
He opened his mouth, words tripping over each other in a desperate rush.
“I— I wasn’t going to actually?—”
My fist connected with his face before he could finish.Bone met knuckle with a dull, sickening impact.His head snapped to the side and he crumpled to the floor with a strangled gasp, one hand flying to his cheek as he sucked in air like it hurt to breathe.
“You spoke her name,” my voice was strained.
He scrambled backward on his hands, heels dragging uselessly against the floor as he tried to create distance that did not exist.
“I didn’t mean?—”
“You tracked her.”My voice was low, steady, which sounded far more brutal than shouting.
He shook his head frantically, eyes wide, wet, unfocused.
“I swear, I wasn’t going to?—”
“You brought armed men to my gates,” I finished.
His breathing broke entirely then, turning into shallow, panicked gasps.
“This is business,” Nathan choked out, blood smearing across his lips.“You know how this works—debts, leverage?—”
“No.”I leveled the gun at him without raising my voice.“You made it personal the moment you turned up uninvited at my gate and spoke her name like it belonged on your tongue.”
Gunfire cracked through the hallway behind us as my men cleared the last pockets of resistance, the sharp bursts echoing through the walls before fading into composed silence.
Movement flickered in my peripheral vision.
