Page 65 of Nikola

“Damn straight.” That was the thing about Uncle Sasha. He didn’t even try to hide his crazy obsessive ways. And neither would I.

I stepped on the treadmill beside him and we ran for the next twenty minutes before calling it. I reached for the towel, swiping at my forehead before throwing it into the basket by the water cooler. I gave it about ten seconds of thought before turning to my uncle who was stretching an arm over his chest.

“What if I were to marry Skye?”

His movements paused mid-air before he gave me his swift reply: “No.”

“Why not?” I challenged. “I can keep her safe, and she’s already part of this family. Are you honestly prepared to tell me you’d rather let a Marchetti have her?”

He remained quiet for several minutes, moving around the gym aimlessly—pulling weights off the barbell only to restack it. Finally, he sat down and threw a stick of gum into his mouth. Fuck, that was never a good sign.

He sprawled himself on the padded gym floor, staring at the ceiling like it had all the answers.

“When did you become so selfless, Nikola?”

“I’m just looking out for a fellow Nikolaev,” I grumbled. “Besides, her connection to Dante Leone is crucial to our family and its business dealings.”

“Hmmm.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised you’re okay with giving her away to a fucking Marchetti.” Offense was the best defense, right? “They’ve made a strategic alliance with the DiMauros by arranging the marriage between Penelope and the eldest Marchetti son. And now, if they get a Leone, the Marchettis would pretty much own Italy. They’d be the Omertà’s ruling family.”

“And what does that have to do with Skye?” he drawled lazily. Dangerously.

“She’s—”Mine, I wanted to growl, but stopped myself at the last second. “Ours. She’s a Nikolaev. Always has been and always will be.”

He jumped to his feet, his eyes boring into me.

“That’s right. She’ll always be a Nikolaev—her last name doesn’t change that. However, Nikola—” He got into my face, but I held my own. Uncle terrified most people, but not me. “You and your tendencies for violence, along with your…extracurriculars… would destroy her. And that is the reason she’ll never marry you.”

He stalked toward the exit, but his hand paused on the door handle as he turned around and met my gaze. “Don’t let me fucking hear you touched her, Nikola. Or you and I will have a problem.”

“Too fucking late,” I muttered under my breath.

Because I had done a lot more than just touch Skye Leone.

21

NIKOLA

After my talk with Sasha, I’d gone back to my bedroom and got a few hours of much-needed rest. When I woke up feeling recharged, I was determined to talk to Skye’s father one-on-one. To convince him Skye was better off with me than Amadeo Marchetti.

I cornered Dante Leone just as he was leaving my father’s office. I knew they were meeting to discuss their new distribution routes. They rotated them every few weeks to keep the Coast Guard and Border Patrol off their tail.

“Mr. Leone, I need to talk to you about Skye.”

His jaw clenched at my sudden appearance.

“Don’t you own a shirt?” he gritted.

“I do. Many shirts, in fact.”

“You should really start wearing them.”

“I will, sir.”Once I’m your son-in-law.“I just rushed out of my room to catch you so we could talk for a minute.”

His brows twitched in surprise, but other than that, he maintained his composure. “What about, son?”

Okay, he called me son. That was a good sign.