Page 86 of The Games of Madmen

“Maybe Alyona’s not mad,” he says, scratching the back of his neck and raising his brows. It makes me wish I had his optimism, but I know Alyona is more than just pissed. She was hurt.

Tension works its way into my shoulders and up my neck causing an ache through my jaw and across my eyes. This needs to be sorted out now. I’m not fucking around anymore and I’m not having someone as insignificant as fucking Nikita ruin this for us.

Stroking a finger down Z’s chest I say, “Let’s go claim our girl.”

Chapter Thirty

Thirty minutes earlier…

Alyona

When the intercom at the gate buzzed through the quiet of the house, my heart raced, nearly skipping a beat. I glanced at the cameras with unease in my gut since we weren’t expecting any deliveries today. Then, through the speaker, her voice emerged, thick with an accent that stirred a mix of nostalgia and apprehension within me.

“Rodion, Zahkar, I've missed you. Let me in, and I'll show you both just how much.”

Her tone was both flirtatious and teasing. The words to me, though, felt like a dagger, cracking my heart wide open and lodging a lump of emotion in my throat. Of course they had someone. Those two men are beautiful, successful, hot as all hell, and a sexual revelation for anyone able to handle them as a duo.

I’d armed myself with a kitchen knife to let her in, just in case, but then I recognized her instantly when she waved off a driver and strolled up the drive. She was from their clubin Moscow and worked there. Nita, or Kita, I can’t fucking remember.

Her surprise to see me was evident. They hadn’t told her to expect me here and why would they? They didn’t tell me she was coming either.

Now I’m looking at her across the dining table, trying to keep my racing mind from exploding. Damn, I spilled my guts to them this morning. They must have had a good chuckle about that when they left here.

Will they want me to leave once the nun’s uncle has been dealt with? Do I evenwantto stay?

God, no.

Seeing them with her, hearing it from down the hall and then having them sleeping next to me while soaked in another female’s scent is unfathomable. They can sleep in bed with her now.

All my muscles tighten, and I have to dig my nails into the flesh of my thigh to stop from breaking her neck. I could say it was an accident.Slipped on one of Roza’s toys.Accidents happen all the time, right?

She’s tapping her stupidly long nails on the side of the mug and tilting her head to observe Roza who is playing on a blanket with her toys.

“Cookie?” I ask with a forced smile, pushing the plate toward her. I’d plated them for myself and planned to eat the whole pile of them to take my mind off of the twins and what they’re out doing, but now I feel nauseated.

“No, I like to keep my figure tight.” She offers me an annoying smile, the tension palpable. Her body isn’t tight, it’s skinny, and there’s a difference. Ugh, but she’s still hot. I wouldn’t expect anything else from those two.

My eye twitches with every thud in my chest. “They didn’t tell me you were stopping by, " I say without sounding like I’m fracturing from the inside out. Pat on the back for me.

“Odd.” She brushes nonexistent lint from her too tight pant leg. “It was always their plan for me to join them once they got settled.”

Thud. Thud.FUCKINGTHUD.

“Really?” I ask, keeping my tone soft and light. It’s the same one I use for Roza. “It's so weird that they haven’t even mentioned you once.”

I’m being catty, dammit, but it hurts and I don’t know how to deal with this jealousy eating away at me.

In response, she angles her body, crossing one leg over the other and leaning her arm on the table. “Is there a reason to tell you about their girlfriend? Do I need to know something?” She wiggles her finger between Roza and me, and I have to remind myself to breathe.

Girlfriend?

The Madmen of Moscow don’t have girlfriends, they have fuck partners.

Maybe things have changed, Alyona. It's been a couple of years since you.

My inner voice is an asshole and so are those fucking twins. They should have told me they had a girlfriend. A freaking girlfriend. I’m going to puke.

“You look a little green there, Alyona.” The girlfriend says my name and I shake my head to clear it. So, she remembers who I am too. Great, someone else I need to hope doesn’t let slip to people back home.