Page 112 of Thorns of Desire

“Jesus, take it easy.” Athena got to her feet and slid her eyes my way, flashing me a soft smile. Myamorinawas safe, and by the looks of it, she wasn’t hurt.

Qian had her in his clutches, his gun pressed against her temple while hatred and violence swam through my veins.

“Let her go,” I gritted, barely reining in my fury. “Or I swear to God, I’ll level this ship even if I kill us all in the process.”

If anything happened to Athena, I’d be dead anyhow.

“I thought we had an agreement,” Danil said, his voice cold.

Qian laughed. “You suggested marriage, but what good is it if the woman’s married already?” He flicked Athena a bored glance. “Maybe a mistress,” he pondered.

“Over my dead body.”

His mouth twisted as he glared at me, but he remained silent. We both knew he wouldn’t mind me dead, but I would set Athena free from his clutches first. I refused to die beforehand.

The mother of my child wouldn’t be anyone’s pawn.

Shaking his head, he studied me. “I’m open to shooting you right now.”

“It would be a mistake to try.”

“Are you two done or can we get my sister off this boat?” Danil said, gesturing between us. “Nice to see you, Athena. Been on Tinder lately?”

My wife let out a strangled laugh. “Been kind of busy. Getting married and kidnapped.”

“Stop fucking dragging this shit out, Danil,” Qian spat. “Clearly you were trying to fuck me over.”

Danil flicked a piece of imaginary lint off his shirt while I teetered on the edge. I just wanted to shoot the motherfucker and grab my wife. But the devil wanted to negotiate.

I narrowed my eyes on the man. “Listen, give me my wife back and we’ll leave you to work out shit with Danil.”

“No, the rules have changed. A union between our families is no longer enough. Not with the damaged reputation your sister Nicki has.”

Danil didn’t miss a beat. “Actually, I was going to recommend a marriage between your sister, Mei Long, and myself, but I like the way you think. We should strengthen our business relationship with a marriage between you and my sister Nicki too. The more the merrier.”

Qian’s expression turned thunderous and Athena winced as his grip tightened.

“Have you lost your fucking mind, Danil, or have you forgotten that Alexandra killed my sister? You Popovs started it all.” His finger on the trigger of his gun was tightening. I kept my own trained on the spot between his eyes.

“Did you ever wonder why in the fuck your sister was in my father’s house in Greece?” Danil asked as he put his gun in his holster and slipped his hands into his pockets.

“Just get to the fucking point, Popov,” Qian hissed. “Is Mei alive?”

Danil rocked back and forth on his heel, his eyes locked on the man.

“First things first, we’ll negotiate terms.”

And this was the thing that made Danil Popov successful and ruthless.

“Or maybe I’ll just put a bullet in your sister’s head,” Qian snarled.

I growled, flashing him a menacing smile. “You put a scratch on her, Qian, and you can forget learning anything about your sister. You have three seconds to decide.”

“One… two… three,” Danil counted, flashing him a cold smile. “I knew you’d choose wisely. Now, release Athena to her husband and we’ll negotiate.”

Conflict danced in his eyes as he struggled between the need to avenge and the need to learn the truth about his sister.

He shoved Athena forward and she stumbled, but I caught her as Qian aimed his gun at Danil.