Page 105 of Nikola

Something about that defeated posture stirred something fierce inside me. I wanted to grab him, haul him up, and shake the stubborn fight back into him. But I knew that wouldn’t show him the respect he deserved—not the way I truly felt.

Instead, I swallowed the urge and steadied myself, ready to do whatever it took to help him find that fight again.

“Nikola,” I greeted. I wouldn’t insult him by asking how he was doing. It was clear he was struggling.

He sat up, slipping on his indifferent mask and raising a brow. “What can I do for you, Dante?”

“What happened to Papa Dante?”

“It doesn’t have the right ring to it.” The little shit just shrugged. “It turns out you were right when you claimed that Skye needed a good boy.”

“You’re suspiciously agreeable.”

“Is that sarcasm I detect?” He leaned back, like he was lounging on the beach and not in a hospital bed. “On that note, Dante, you’re being irritatinglydisagreeable today.”

The little fucking shit really was as stubborn as his uncle.

I took a step toward the bed, deciding to ignore his snark. He certainly deserved to be let off the hook for the next century after what he’d been through.

“Nikola, I want to talk to you about Skye.” Not a single muscle on his face twitched, but his hands clenched into fists. “Firstly, let me say thank you. For saving my life and my daughter’s.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Secondly, I want to finish the conversation we started.” He remained silent and I sighed tiredly. He was going to make me work for it, wasn’t he? “I approve of your wedding taking place this month.” Still no reaction. “As soon as we can arrange a priest.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

“Nikola—”

“Skye will get over all of it eventually. There’ll be no wedding.”

It was my turn to clench my fists, but the thought of my daughter and how upset she’d been had me taking a breath to ease my temper.

“No, son.” I put my hand on his shoulder. “Skye won’t get over you. She loves you, and I believe you love her.”

“You’re wrong.” The crack in his voice betrayed him. “There’ll be no wedding.”

“Here we go,” I muttered. Phoenix made me promise to use blackmail if necessary. I didn’t like it, but fuck it. For her and Skye, I might as well make a fucking idiot out of all of us. “Nikola, you remember my wife, right?”

He scoffed with clear irritability on his face. “What does she have to do with anything?”

“Well, son, I want to make her happy. She blames me for denying you Skye when you came to me and asked me to let you marry her. She also blames herself for her grandmother hurting you. I believe it didn’t matter to Diana whether she shot me or Skye, because she knew Skye’s death would have finished me. Bottom line, you got wrapped into our drama and now you’re paying the price for Diana’s desire to finish me once and for all.”

“It could have been anyone,” Nikola stated flatly. “The fact that it was someone connected to you doesn’t matter.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. Next Ace to use.

“You and Skye made the sex tape. You sent it to Marchetti.” Nikola stiffened. “Marrying her off now and securing her protection will be… impossible.” He met my gaze, understanding dawning on him.Good. “So even if Skye, by some miracle, agrees to a marriage to another man”—which she made clear she wouldn’t in a million years—“you can see that finding another husband for Skye would be… problematic.”

He tilted his head, watching me pensively. “I’ll find her a husband.”

“The fuck you will,” I gritted. “You will go through with this wedding, and that’s that. Because there’s no fucking way in hell I’m going back to my wife to tell her you won’t marry our daughter.”

Before he could argue with me, I whipped around, striding past his parents bickering in the hallway, and left him to ponder those words.

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NIKOLA