I told her pointedly. “But I’m not a friend either. I’m just the guy who’s going to keep you safe until it’s no longer necessary for me to do so. If nothing else, you can at least trust that.”
“Is that your honor talking? Sounds kind of heroic to me.”
She couldn’t think I was a hero. She’d only be disappointed when she found out the truth.
Shut her down.
“I never renege on a deal,” I said flatly. “By protecting you, I’m holding up my end. Simple as that.”
I barely managed to hide a flinch at my own harsh words. Necessary harsh words.
She nodded slowly, as if that explanation settled something for her. Notching her chin up in the air, she slipped her sunglasses back on, scooted the glass of wine back to my side of the table, and rose to her feet.
“Well.” She threw some cash onto the table. Her own cash. “I’ll do my best to make your job easy for you and stay out of your way. Husband.”
That was the second time in twenty-four hours I had to watch her walk away from me.
And this time bothered me a hell of a lot more than the first time.
I might have just married the biggest arsehole on the planet.
Going out and getting pissed—drunk, not angry—later that night might have been a juvenile stunt. But damn, was it effective.
Not that I was pissed. Yet.
All I’d really wanted to do was dance. I needed some way of letting off steam and relieving all this mounting stress. So, after eating dinner—alone—I’d tracked down the only night club within a five-mile radius.
Without leaving Nico his precious little note.
He needn’t be concerned about “reneging” on any deal because I could take care of myself. Not that he would know one way or the other. He’d left for that business dinner hours ago, muttering a few restaurant suggestions on his way out the door. Other than that, we hadn’t spoken since lunch at the wine bar.
And no, I had not tried any of the restaurants he’d recommended.
Again, it was juvenile.
But my stubborn pride was the only weapon I had to wield in this battle. He’d had the upper hand ever since I’d reluctantly agreed to be his wife. And if my father hadn’t specifically asked me to do that for him, then I’d have told Nico not to let the door hit him in the arse on his way out.
My father had never asked me for anything in my life. Not once. Yet he’d given me everything I could have ever wanted—far more than I would have ever dreamed of having.
Refusing him had never been an option.
What was one sacrifice when I owed my very life to the man? To the only family I’d ever known? I would work tirelessly for the rest of my life trying to repay him for all he’d done.
The night club was small but far from empty when I walked in. It looked more like an Italian restaurant than a dingy club, with its ivy-wrapped columns and curved archways that were popular in Rovinj. The bar even looked to be stocked with more wine bottles than liquor. Dimly lit by tasteful sconces on the walls rather than strobes or black lights, it offered an almost romantic atmosphere. Aside from the thumping bass in the DJ booth, of course.
The center of the room was lively with people actually dancing, rather than grinding and gyrating. The bar to my right was lined with more people chatting and waiting for drinks. I found an empty space in the middle and ordered a vodka on the rocks, already feeling some of the anxiety from the last few days melting away.
Eyeing the glass the bartender placed down in front of me, I felt my mouth curve into a frown. The last time I drank vodka was the one Nico poured on the plane.
Damn it all, if he’d ruined vodka for me…
Oh, rubbish.
I lifted it to my mouth and sucked a good bit of it down. I wasn’t about to give that jerk any more power than what he thought he had.
Curiously, though, I hadn’t pegged him as a jerk the first time we met. When I hadn’t yet been aware of my father’s plans for me and Nico. Before my world had gone all topsy-turvy. Back when I thought Nico was just another business associate of Batya’s. Approximately fourteen hours before we’d gotten married…
“This is unacceptable, Mr. Zarsky,” I bit out over the phone in Russian, “I