Page 85 of Pay the Piper

My assault leaves no room for him to speak his mind, but there’s no need for words. I don’t need to hear his sorry explanation as to why he would betray not only me, but a defenseless woman.

Not that men like Nikki and me are necessarily good, far from it. We’re all damned. But there’s a special place in hell for men like Conor. Both of our outfits have always had an accord on the matter of human trafficking. Despite the terrible things we are guilty of, we at least rid the world of those demons.

“What the hell are you made of?” Nikki tries to move, but he can’t move an inch the way I’ve pinned him down.

I smirk. “It’s a Russian element. You Italians don’t have it.”

“Hey! Stop!” Teddy’s voice carries faintly through the room. I didn’t realize anyone else was in here, but my tunnel vision was locked on the bastard who hurt Abby.

I’m on the floor now, holding Nikki down as I continue to lay hit after hit. Or attempt to. His initial shock allowed me to get several great punches in before his defense went up. He’s as skilled as any of our top soldiers, so he knows how to block well.

“Misha. Get off him! That’s a command.”

“You can go fuck yourself, Taranov. That’s a command.”

Nikki takes advantage of the momentary lapse and flips us over, taking the high ground. He only gets in one good hit on my jaw before I throw up my defense. It’s enough to break skin, but it’s not nearly as much power as I know he has.

“What.” Punch. “Is.” Punch. “Your problem?” Punch.

What the fuck does he mean what is my problem? Anger flares, giving me the momentum to push him off. I take advantage of the break and kip up, before driving Nikki against a wooden cabinet. The wooden doors crack under our weight as I hold him still.

“My problem is that you sent my fucking woman back to that goddamn monster,” I spit, then ram my head against his, knocking us both a bit loopy if I’m being honest.

Nikki backs up until he’s on the opposite side of the desk and throws his hands up in a fighting stance, mirroring every step of mine to keep his distance. “What are you talking about, man? Did you not get my messages? I would never do anything like that! To any woman, let alone a dear friend.”

“A dear friend?” I growl. “She was your friend? And you betrayed her?”

“Yes! I adore Abby. And I would never betray her. We had a plan—”

“What the fuck do you mean you had a plan?”

“I mean, Abby and I had a plan to take Conor down. She came to me for help, and we were going to feed Conor intel until the right moment and bring him down.”

My stomach drops. Abby, my sweet angel, the love of my life, my soulmate. The one person in the whole world I would do anything for, give up anything for, die for…felt more comfortable going to Nikki fucking Santori than coming to me for help.

Shmack.

Leaping across the desk, I pounce on Nikki. We both fall to the ground, crushing a chair in the process. I don’t even know why I’m attacking him now. I don’t not believe him, but I don’t know which is worse for me at the moment. Abby is gone either way. I’m just angry.

Nikki is now fighting at his full potential as we destroy his office. I’m not sure how long we go on like this. All I know is that one minute I’m wrestling with Nikki and the next I’m held up against the wall so high that my feet don’t touch in a chokehold.

“That is enough.” Gabri’s voice echoes through the office.

Whatever alpha wolf possesses me cowers into the shadows of my mind as the eldest Santori stands his ground. He’s a scary motherfucker, I’ve known that since the day we met. But I’ve never seen him in action like this. I raise my hands in surrender, and he slowly lowers me to the ground, but doesn’t fully let go.

I glance behind him, where Teddy and one of Santori’s top men struggle to restrain Nikki. He finally breaks free, running full speed toward me, only to be stopped by Gabri.

“Stand down,” he growls, single-handedly holding his younger brother out of my reach. Or vice versa. “You two are going to cut it out. Do you understand? Fighting like this is the most unproductive thing we can be doing right now. If you want to get Abby back, you’ll have to pull yourselves together.”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

Gabri looks back and forth between us a few times, then finally lets us go. He leads us to some of the unbroken chairs and takes his seat behind the desk. “Misha, I understand that you’re upset, but your anger is misplaced. My brother has done nothing wrong here. The opposite, in fact. He’s known about Abby’s identity from the first time Ellie brought her home.” Gabri cuts his brother a deathly stare. “Apparently, he didn’t want to share that information with the rest of us. But nonetheless, he’s watched over her and has been there for her.”

Gabri is right. Nikki hasn’t done anything wrong. Nobody has.

“I’m sorry,” I mumble. “This is just a lot to find out…”