Shayna cursed under her breath.
"Now, wouldn't you rather attend your- "
Lucas stopped mid-sentence. Shayna looked up.
Rebel was standing on the other side of the wide-open door, her face looking completely disgruntled. She glanced over at Lucas, who was standing uncomfortably close to Shayna, one hand bracing against the wall.
"Oh, Rebel. Perfect timing, "Lucas said sarcastically. " The young lady here has been worried about you ."
Rebel looked at her with disbelief.
You went to this motherfucker for help?
Shayna nodded apologetically.
"You can take her ", Lucas nodded, finally removing his hand, though his eyes remained fixated on Shayna's copper red hair.
I should probably just hire Lynx to have him murdered.
Or castrated.
"Come ", Rebel said, her voice urgent.
Shayna immediately followed, almost scurrying out of the cabin.
"Shayna, what the fuck ? ", Rebel said as soon as they were far away from earshot.
"I was scared ", she replied," These people here are madmen; they just need an excuse. And you know how psychotic her dad is ."
She stopped, taking a breath. "So, how did he find her ?"
"Apparently, that place is one of Madam's favourite spots, and Dmitri had already met her there before. So, he guessed ."
"Why does Dmitri want to marry her so badly? "
"God knows what goes on in the heads of these fucking overlords ", Rebel shook her head," If I could, I'd tie all of them up in a huge ship and set it on fire. "
"Seriously. "
"Anyways, Mairi wanted to see us both ", Rebel shrugged.
"No, I can't do that", Shayna said," I just
practically sold her out to save you. It would be fucked up."
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We can regret things the rest of our lives."
"I'll think about it."
"Oh, you'll have plenty of things to think about when my foot is shoved up your a--."
"Fine", Shayna said, though her lips curved in a smirk," But I'm bolting off at the first opportunity we get. "
Ten minutes later, Shayna found herself outside Mairi's room.
The place looked less like a bedroom and more like something ripped out of a medieval castle. Dark wooden panels lined the walls, expensive tapestries hung between antique sconces, and every piece of furniture reminded Shayna of old money.
The Scottish mafia was amongst the oldest and richest mafia families, extremely well-connected and feared amongst the Underworld. Very rigid in their customs and beliefs.
And of course, equally brutal too.
" Because I fucking hate you ", Mairi's voice echoed outside the door, just as Rebel placed her hand on the door handle.
Should we?
"Come in ", a deeper, unfamiliar voice sounded from inside the room.
Whatever the argument was before her arrival had clearly not gone over well.
Mairi stood near the window in a black sweetheart-neck gown that glittered subtly whenever it caught the light. Her dark curls spilled over bare shoulders, though her face remained contorted with fury.
A few feet away stood Dmitri.
Dressed in an impeccably tailored black suit, he looked far calmer than the situation warranted. A strand of chestnut-brown hair had slipped loose across his forehead, partially shadowing hazel eyes that remained fixed on Mairi.
The moment Shayna and Rebel entered, both of them looked over, and Shayna clearly saw the difference in their expressions.
Mairi looked furious as hell, while Dmitri remained as calm as a man considering wedding venues.
What followed was the most uncomfortable silence Shayna had ever experienced.
I'd much rather walk in on a couple in the middle of sex.
"Rebel, can you get me my coffee? "Mairi said, finally breaking the silence.
Rebel bolted out of the room as quickly as a teenage girl who had been caught staring at her crush for more than 5 minutes.
"Don't tell me this is the infamous Scottish mafia", Dmitri taunted, glancing at Shayna. "I've seen more intimidating expressions on house cats."
Shayna shot him a death glare.
Why do all of these kingpins have to be absolute dumbasses? No wonder Mairi hates him.
"Yeah ?" Mairi smirked, "I'll bet you a thousand dollars that you'd beg for her to be on your side if you knew her. "
Dmitri looked back at her, his eyes scanning her carefully.
"A pretty and dainty-looking redhead ?" muttered Dmitri, loudly to himself, "Maybe an infamous assassin or prostitute? "
I'm gonna kick his ass to Greece.
What?" Dmitri shrugged at the murderous looks from both the women. "I was trying to narrow it down."
"Yeah, you're really gonna regret this", Mairi smirked as the door opened again and Lucas stepped in.
Where the fuck was Rebel?
The temperature suddenly seemed to drop by 10 degrees.
"Vassalis", Lucas stared at Dmitri.
"Fraser ", Dmitri nodded grimly.
"You really should apologize to her ", Lucas said, his eyes murderous.
"Protective, are we ?" Dmitri smiled, somehow making him look more devilish than before.
He paused as his gaze flicked from Lucas to Shayna and then back again.
"Vixen ?!", Dmitri stared at Shayna, his mouth slightly agape.
"Correctly identified ", Lucas snarled," Now, unless you do not want this engagement to happen, you should apologise. "
"Who the fuck are you to decide whether this engagement happens? Mairi asked, turning to Lucas.
Dmitri looked at Mairi as if she had just confessed her undying love for him. He never expected her to defend him.
"Careful there, princess ", Lucas retreated, clearly offended. " You've known this idiot for what - a few days? He probably wouldn't even bat an eye over your dead body. "
"At least I'm not an insecure little bitch who gets whiny every time his woman gets complimented."
Lucas looked at Mairi, who remained completely silent.
"So you won Mairi over ", Lucas smiled in disgust," Or maybe you already did on the day this whore decided to-
Slap.
The crack echoed through the room.
Lucas stumbled sideways, one hand catching the edge of a chair before he could lose his footing completely.
Shayna and Mairi collectively gasped at the same time.
"The fuck did you say about my wife ?"
Did this actually happen?
Dmitri's voice remained terrifyingly calm.
For the first time since entering the room, he no longer looked amused.
The door opened again, fully ajar.
Shayna looked back, wondering if Rebel had finally come at the worst possible timing.
Instead, it was a beautiful, middle-aged woman dressed in a modest blue, bejeweled gown, her physical features quite similar to Mairi's, who was still staring at her brother.
Mairi's mother.
Her expression tightened for a moment at the scene inside, before becoming completely normal as if nothing had happened.
"You two need to come now ", she said, her face firm.
Mairi grabbed Dmitri's hand and dragged him out of the room as Shayna looked unsure whether to leave or not.
Rebel appeared in the doorway, coffee in hand , looking suspiciously unsurprised at the wreckage she had walked into.
She discreetly motioned Shayna to come out.
And boy, Shayna did not need telling twice.