Page 85 of The Games of Madmen

“It usually is.” He waggles his eyebrows and I place a hand on this thigh, squeezing, relieved at the lightheartedness drowning out the heavy shit.

Pulling into the driveway, we hop out of the car and use the fountain water to wash ourselves down.

“I didn’t realize how handy this would be when we bought the place,” Z says, tone full of glee as he splashes me.

I hold up a finger in warning. “Stop!”

He’s always giddy after a fight, not that it was much of a fight. More of a slaying, but apples and oranges.

Jogging up the porch, I punch in the alarm code and open the front door. “Honey, we're home. Don’t be alarmed. Z is naked. We had to burn his clothes.” There’s a lightness in my chest in coming home to her, and dammit, it feels good.

When I round the corner, I feel Z bump into my back, as I come to an unexpected stop.

“Look who showed up,” Alyona says with haunted eyes, pushing herself up from the table. With a swift motion, she scoops Roza into her arms, cradles her, and strolls confidently over to us. “Your girlfriend.” She punches out the wordgirlfriendand it lands like a physical blow, before she carries on walking straight out of the room and up the stairs.

I trail my eyes back to the table. Sitting there with a steaming mug of coffee and a plate piled high with cookies, is Nikita. She glances over and raises a dark eyebrow. “Why did you burn his clothes?” she asks curiously, tapping her long nails on the table, each click punctuating my last nerve.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I ask in disbelief. The lightness in my chest from moments before now is gone and replaced with a fucking brick.

Her back stiffens, and her casual demeanor evaporates, replaced by an intense focus. She fixes her gaze on me, as if shecan delve into my mind and read my thoughts. She wouldn’t like what she’d find if she could.

“Zahkar gave me this address,” she says, waving her hand toward him, her voice steady, but laced with disappointment. She pushes the plate of food away and rises to her feet, the movement fluid and commanding. “Aren’t you pleased to see me? You knew I was coming. I’ve missed you both,” she adds, her eyes softening momentarily. With a confident saunter, she strides my way, until she’s standing before me.

I turn my glare on Z who is still staring at the stairs where Alyona disappeared.

“Z,” I seethe, “what the fuck?”

I push at his shoulder to draw his attention to the woman standing in our new home, fucking up the plans we had in reclaiming Alyona.

“She had this address from before everything changed,” he says defensively, his voice tinged with regret. “I completely forgot she was coming.” His features pinch as though he’s in pain.

“You can’t be here,” I inform her, throwing the car keys on the counter.

Her complexion pales and her throat bobs. “What do you mean?”

I growl at Z, “Get rid of her.”

“You sent for me,” she snaps, jutting her hip out. “Is it because of Alyona that you don’t want me here?”

Quick as lightning I grasp her arm. Just her saying Alyona’s name makes my temple throb. We just got rid of the threat and now Nikita knows about Alyona. She wouldn’t tell anyone back home, but it doesn’t mean I like it.

Nikita grins down at my hand grasping her flesh and her eyelids droop. “Whose baby is that?” Fucking hell. I forgot what a brat she can be.

I clench my jaw, my teeth grinding together. “Stop fucking talking. We sent for you to work. That’s what we want from you. Nothing else. I’m not going over this again with you. You’re here to do a job. Nothing. Else.”

She bites down the retort I see swirling in her eyes and holds up her hands in defeat. “Fine.”

“Good. Now go to the hotel, and tomorrow, we will meet you at the club.”

She glides out the door and Z sighs dramatically. “That was my fault.”

No fucking shit.

I clasp his jaw, turning his face to mine. “That was a stupid fucking mistake. We need to do better than that.” His eyes ignite and I tighten my grip. “There’s too much at stake now, Z.”

“I know. I’ll fix it,” he assures me, his tongue swiping out to wet his bottom lip.

My grip slips from his face, and I sigh, running a hand through my hair.