Page 36 of Bedazzled
“If it’s me or a bunch of dead guys, Els, I just…” Oh, fuck I have never been so scared. That shootout at King’s New Year’s Eve party is a fond memory compared to this. I am going to die. I probably deserve to after everything I’ve done… I’m so terrified that my teeth are chattering.
“That will not be necessary.” Yuri was standing next to Maksim, his hands folded in front of him, and his expression… No, there was no expression, his face was completely blank. Like he’d never met me before.“Pakhan,can you join me? There have been some new developments.”
Ella and I looked at each other.
The blue, cream and gold meeting room was so large that I couldn’t really see all the men clustered around the long marble-topped table in the far corner. I knew Yuri and Maksim were there, along with Balabanov and a couple of his guys. There was a freaked-out-looking woman serving drinks - later, I decided that Maksim didn’t have time to cater his brother’s crashed wedding, but at that moment, I was too terrified to even find that funny.
The bride and her mother settled in the opposite corner on some beautiful silk-covered chairs, but not without giving me the death stare. Once again, I couldn’t hold it against them.
The group of men shifted a little and I spotted… “Is that Patrick?”
“Yeah,” Ella whispered back, “Maksim had him undercover because everyone thought he died in the-”
“I know,” I interrupted, watching Patrick hand a folder to both parties. Yuri opened his, and the only thing he did was raise one brow slightly. The father of the bride was not so subtle. A bear-like roar came out of him that would terrify Bigfoot.
“These are lies!” Balabanov shouted, “How dare you try to blame my Ksenia for this whore’s actions!”
“Oh, he didnotjust call me a-”
“Tania, shut up,” Ella hissed. “Not a word.”
“There is apparently someone prepared to offer testimony,” Maksim said.
The door opened as one of Yuri’s guards ushered in another man. I squinted. Was that…?
“You have got to be shitting me,” I hissed to Ella. “I know that guy!”
“What?” She looked from me to him and back to me. “How?”
“He’s the main investor in our company’s new development,” I whispered, “he was the one who told me Yuri was getting married. He was a total prick about it, too. He was really enjoying the fact that I didn’t know.”
She frowned, “What’s his name?”
“Nolan O’Rourke.”
We watched as the bride turned sheet white when he smiled and waved at her like we were all having a lovely time at a cocktail party.
“What the hell is happening right now?” I whispered.
“I do not know,” Ella shook her head, a little dazed. “Nothing is ever simple with the Bratva.”
Now the poor girl was wailing loudly and waving her hands and her father was striding furiously in her direction until Yuri stepped in front of him.
Of course, he would protect her, I thought, hating that I found this beautiful.Yuri’s just like that.
He spoke quietly with Balabanov for some time and then the man nodded to his wife who took Ksenia out of the room, still sobbing loudly.
I watched O’Rourke shake Maksim’s hand, then Yuri’s. He held out his hand to Balabanov, who refused it. Strolling over to me, he put his hand to his chest and gave a courtly little bow. His tuxedo fit him so well that he should have been in an ad for Tom Ford, his shoes gleamed to a mirror finish and he gave me a grin that showed off all those perfect white teeth again.
“Mrs. Morozov, greetings,” he nodded politely to Ella. “Tania, might I steal you away for a moment?” Over his shoulder, I could see Yuri’s eyes narrow as he detached himself from the other group.
Rising from the bench, I ignored the hand he offered to help me up and followed him to a quiet spot. “Quite a scene there when you popped up,” I said flatly, watching him chuckle and hating him for it.
“Oh, yes,” he agreed. “It’s one of the things I’ve never understood about the families in organized crime. How the wife must be pure and virginal while the husband could be infested with the nine plagues of the apocalypse and no one would care.”
“You’re a true crusader,” I drawled, “enacting social change. A modern-day feminist.”
He didn’t seem offended, he just nodded indulgently like I’d said something adorable. “I think you’ll find my intervention just saved your life, but I’ll let Yuri clear that up for you.”
