Because for the first time in a very long time, I’m doing something good for no gain.
Maybe it’s because I can afford it now. I’m a Dragon. I don’t need to blackmail and coerce the people who work for me anymore.Most of my soldiers stick around now because I’m a source of money, power, and prestige.
I don’t want it to be like that with Daniel.
With him, with the people in my life who I care about, I want to choose them for who they are, not for anything else.
No games, no ulterior motives, no more transactions.
“You know, I almost forgot. I came in here to let you know that everyone’s ready for you.” Daniel calms down and moves toward the door. He’s moving slowly, but seems in good spirits.
“Yeah? They sent you? The cripple?”
“Ah, I’m not that bad.” He peers back at me, a moment of uncertainty in his face. “Don’t tell me that I’m fired?”
My eyebrows raise. “Hell no. You have a job as long as you want one.”
“Thank God. I don’t want to put together a new resume. I’m fuckingawfulin an interview.”
He limps out of the room. I laugh, shaking my head. The crazy bastard probably means it too. He’d rather work as a Dragon’s right hand simply because it’s too much of a hassle finding another job.
I follow out into the hall. The office is half-built at best, boxes all over, wires hanging from the ceiling and holes in the wall. One day soon, it’ll be finished, and this space will be crawling with employees doing legitimate employee shit, all of them thinking I’m some big shot CEO, and only a few knowing who and what I really am.
I like it like this for now though.
Daniel leads me into the conference room and I pause on the threshold.
Inside, my brother Dominic leaps up from the head of the table. “There’s the bastard!” He comes charging over and wraps me in a massive hug, crushing hard. I gasp as he pounds me on the back roughly, laughing the whole time.
“You’re supposed to say, Hail Dragon,” I say, wheezing as he tries to crush me to death.
“You’re still funny! That’s amazing!” He puts me down and pats my cheek. “We missed you, big brother.”
Massimo comes next, shaking my hand and congratulating me, followed by Allie, who gives me a much more restrained but still enthusiastic embrace. Dad’s there too, looking old and frail, but he seems proud. Dom cracks open champagne and starts pouring, Allie laughing as he spills, Mass standing off to the side with his lieutenant Lucy, Daniel shamelessly trying to flirt with her while she coldly fends him off, and I watch for a moment, drinking it all in.
This is what I did it for. My friends, my family, plus all the people who relied on me, and all the people I lost. I did it for my grandfather Elias, the former Dragon, and I did it for Yelena and the Kiselyov Bratva. Though most of them went over with Artyom, now that he’s got his own Dragon position, and I didn’t blame them for it one bit.
It’s strange, being in here with these people, knowing they owe me nothing, and I owe them nothing too, except for friendship, love, and all that fucking bullshit.
A hand presses to my arm. I turn, already knowing who it is. Nika smiles up at me, eyes bright and shining, teeth white andgleaming, wearing a tight black top and simple jeans. Even rich as hell, she still dresses simply, and it suits her to perfection.
“You’re late,” she says, leaning into me when I wrap an arm around her shoulders.
“Didn’t realize the party was already started.”
“I figured you were working. But when Daniel showed up, I knew you’d want to see him.”
“You sent him along, did you?”
“Hope you didn’t mind.”
“Not one bit.” I bend down to kiss her. “You holding up okay?”
“I’m perfect. Well, mostly. Just getting used to—“ She waves a hand at the room where Dom’s chugging champagne and Lucy’s ruthlessly cheering him on.
“Being a Dragon’s wife,” I finish for her.
“Sure, let’s go with that.”