Page 37 of Bedazzled
“Why did you do that?” I searched his handsome, deceptively pleasant face, “Why would you risk involving yourself in a situation as explosive as this?”
“Well…” he hummed thoughtfully. “I see promise in you. I did it for a favor.”
“I beg your pardon?” Yuri was there now, turning slightly to block me from O’Rourke. “We certainly appreciate your intervention, but what is this favor?”
O’Rourke’s eyes turned a chilly brown, like the color of frost on the earth. “Why, Yuri Morozov,” he said coldly, “you yourself said, “We are in your debt, did you not?”
“I said, Nolan O’Rourke, thatIam in your debt,” Yuri corrected.
O’Rourke ignored him and looked at me again. “You know, in some cultures, when you save a life, that life is then owed to you. That seems a little extreme to me. You will simply owe me a favor. I don’t know what I will ask of you yet. But when I ask for what is due to me, I expect you to honor the request. Are your life and the lives saved from open warfare with the Balabanov Bratva worth it?” He held out his hand.
Yuri tried to interrupt, but I shook O’Rourke’s hand. His skin was cool and smooth, but his grip was borderline painful. I remembered a story about someone who made a deal with the devil and carried the brand of a pentacle on his palm for the rest of his life. Until the devil came for him. I tried not to shudder, but his sharp eyes caught the movement. “I won’t kill anyone for you,” I said sharply.
He shrugged. “I rarely need anyone murdered, and it doesn’t fit your skill set, dear.”
“Then I promise to honor your request.” I felt chilled and nauseous, knowing that I just agreed to something terrible. A man like him didn’t ask you to make a cigarette run to the corner bodega.
His gaze went from me to Yuri. “May good fortune follow you both.”
He was off, and every man in the room, including Maksim, nodded respectfully as O’Rourke left.
Everything was quiet for a moment until Balabanov growled something at Maksim and stormed out.
“He’s not going to hurt that poor girl, is he?” I wasn’t sure to who I’d directed the question, but Yuri answered me.
“There is a loss of face on both sides. He will not be happy, we can’t control how he treats his family. However, Ksenia is his only daughter, his Bratva desperately needs money, and I suspect there will be another offer for her hand very soon based on the testimony O’Rourke presented.”
Turning awkwardly to look at him, the whole intensity of the afternoon hit me. I felt like I’d just walked in front of a delivery truck on 5th Avenue.
He loomed over me, beautiful, cold and remote. His blond hair was perfectly styled and his eyes were the shade of glacier ice.
“This wasn’t exactly the reunion I was hoping for,” I tried to smile but failed miserably, “apparently I didn’t really think through the potential outcomes.”
“You never do,” he said indifferently.
Turning to his brother, he asked, “Have you spoken with the Archbishop?”
Maksim said, “He will not honor the interruption of a holy rite, but he will allow one of the priests to handle it in the narthex.”
“Wait, narthex? Priest? What is-” They both ignored me as Maksim whispered something in Ella’s ear. She sucked in a huge breath of air, staring at me while he spoke with her.
“Are you sure this is the right way to handle this?” She looked up at him with big worried eyes, then glanced at Yuri, who was speaking with one of his men. “He doesn’t seem-”
“Thisisthe only way,Solnyshko,”he said grimly, “explain this to Tania. We have fifteen minutes. I’ll break the news to Mother and the girls.” He left without looking at me again, and I knew I was on Maksim’s shit list for life.
“Ella, what the hell is going on? This is a disaster. I am so sorry. I’ll get the first flight out of here and I’ll never bother the Morozovs again. I fucked this up beyond belief. I don’t know-”
“Shh! Look honey, you have to listen to me.” She dragged me out into the hall and over to a smaller room that was in shambles. I had a suspicion that this had been the bride’s area before the godawful end to her wedding plans and they had just cleared out. She pulled me down to sit next to her.
“Okay, I need you to hear me out and not yell or anything, okay?” Ella was freaking out a little, I could tell. “Apparently, Nolan O’Rourke had proof that Ksenia had been having an affair with her driver for years. She was also very popular in the underground party scene in Paris. This disqualified her as an eligible bride for the agreement between their Bratva and ours. Don’t start!” She pointed a warning finger, “I know it’s revolting and misogynistic and yeah, it sucks. But here’s the deal, between her little revelation and you crashing the wedding…”
I cringed so hard that my head nearly disappeared into my shoulders like a turtle.
“This news allows both families to step away from the union and save face,” she continued. “But here’s where it all falls apart.”
“It falls apart?” I said hoarsely, “Is it worse than putting a bullet in my head?”
She flinched and I felt bad. “Not exactly. Balabanov is a monster. The worst. He’s never going to forgive you for stopping the wedding and losing all the money he intended to siphon off from Yuri. Everything’s settled between the two Bratvas - really tense, but settled - but you, honey? Since you’re outside the scope of the agreement, you’re fair game. He will kill you or do something much worse…” she stopped for a moment, swallowing heavily. I knew she was thinking about what her own brother and that sociopath Sokolov witch wanted to do to her.
