Chapter 10

Angela

I quickly realized that Nomiki was actually Nimolai’s twin sister. They share the same eye color and nose, which I assume they got from their stunning mother. "Hey, Nomiki! Great to meet you," I say as I give her a hug.

We pull away at the same time, and she’s smiling. "I can see why my brother kept you a secret. You look amazing."

Nomiki is dressed all in black—a fitted black shirt tucked into her black jeans, a black belt with a gold accent, and black heels with gold details, topped off with a sleek black leather jacket.

But she totally rocks it.

"Shall we sit? I’m starving," she says.

"After you, love," Nikolai gestures to the table with two empty seats. He even pulls out my chair and gently pushes it in as I sit down. What a gentleman!

“Mom, I want you to meet my wife, Cora. Cora, this is my mother, Elysia.” We exchanged some friendly words, and I have to admit, I instantly liked his mom.

A waiter comes over shortly after, handing us menus and asking what we’d like to drink. When he gets to me, he asks, "And for you, miss?"

"I'll have a glass of white wine, please," I reply.

The waiter says he’ll be back with our drinks and to take our orders. I start browsing the menu, and wow, there are so many tasty options!

“Cora, how did you manage to keep my son in check?”

I chuckled and glanced at Nikolai before turning back to Elysia. I started sharing the fictional tale that Nikolai and I had concocted in case this question ever came up.

At one point, Elysia asked if I knew a person named Lysandra Leventis. I maintained my cool and said no. I was well aware that playing clueless was the best strategy whenever that name popped up. I couldn't help but wonder how Elysia knew about my parents. Do Nikolai and his family have any clue about them?

She inquired about my background, a question I had rehearsed countless times. My parents had always insisted I tell people I was an orphan. Elysia looked a bit down when I mentioned my upbringing in the orphanage.

It was odd. Thankfully, the food arrived just in time to divert their attention. The waiter flashed a smile and asked if I wanted more wine, to which Nikolai rudely chimed in with a yes.

“You're sounding like a jealous husband,” I whispered to him.

I felt his hand slip under my dress, trailing up my thigh, sending shivers down my spine. He gave my thigh a gentle squeeze and whispered back, "He shouldn't have been so friendly if he noticed the wedding ring, love. But honestly, why should I be jealous? By the end of the night, I’ll be the only one hearing you call my name." He said it with a cheeky grin.

"Why are you so sure? Just because we got hitched in a drunken haze doesn’t mean I’ll just give in. You’ll have to put in more effort than that, love," I replied softly.

For some reason, we decided to have a staring contest until Elysia said something that made me break my gaze from Nikolai and focus on her.

“Angel of death,” I didn’t catch the first part, but that name caught my attention. Oh no, I can’t let them find out I’m the Angel of Death. What have they been discussing?

Petros looks at me and says, “Well, you might as well know now that you’re married to a mafia boss.”

“Nomiki just got back from Colombia. She had to drop something off,” he paused, glancing at Nikolai, “or maybe someone.”

“We don’t kill just for kicks. Our mafia has principles, and I plan to uphold them. I don’t want you living in fear. The person we’re discussing is known as the Angel of Death. She’s the top assassin out there. I had to take a pervert’s body to the Colombian drug lord after she took him out,” Nomiki explains how they discovered Donovan’s body in a motel room. “There wasn’t a single clue pointing to her. I was kind of annoyed I didn’t get to meet her.”

“Maybe you will. I just heard she’s got a big fight coming up,” Elysia said with a smile at her daughter.

That’s when it hits me—it’s my big fight in four days. Oh man, I need to figure out how to sneak out of the house to make it to my fight. I’ll have to call Maya and Ares for help. Maybe I can get Clio to keep Jessy busy so I don’t have to stress about him. I know she won’t mind lending a hand.

Throughout dinner, Nikolai kept his hand on my thigh, drawing little circles with his thumb, which was giving me goosebumps. I tried to focus on Anna, who was chatting about how excited she and Nomiki were to see the Angel of Death’s next fight in four days.

I listened as they talked about wanting front-row seats and warned the guys not to get in their way.

“Sweetheart, we’re glad you made it home safe this time and are excited to see your favorite assassin, but you do realize you’re not a teenager anymore, right?” Elysia asked her daughter.

Nomiki grinned and rolled her eyes, “Come on, Mama, I’m not being a teenager. It’s just that us girls can totally show the guys we’re just as tough when it comes to fighting, and that’s why I’m all about Angel of Death. Plus, I doubt the Colombians would try to kidnap me again.”

"Wait, you’ve been kidnapped before?" I ask, surprised.

"Yeah, I got snatched by the Colombians at one of their warehouses. My brother sent me to spy on them, and it all went south when those jerks injected something into my neck that knocked me out. I woke up tied to a chair. Thankfully, it wasn’t my first time dealing with this kind of mess since Nikolai trained us to handle any situation."