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Mikhail made short, bloody work of him, leaving him just this side of alive in case we need the prick.
“Working on your game?” I say.
Mikhail laughs savagely. He seems different from his usual lighthearted self, but it’s not like I can blame him. His eyes are heavy and introspective with what he had to do, the pain he had to inflict. “I’m covering our tracks,” he says, “by making it seem like we never looked into the Serbian’s cell phone record.”
“Angelo’s fielded all the calls from last night,” I reply. “If we can get Nikolai to back off, maybe we can return to normal.”
“Is there going to be a normal for you after this?” he says, taking off his specs and looking at me.
I stare at the road, refusing to meet his gaze. I know he’s talking about Lia.
“Is it that obvious?” I say as our civilian motorcade sits at a red light.
“She’s changed you, brother,” he replies.
“It’s been a week, less than.”
“And she’s changed you,” he says with more emphasis.
I focus on the road as the light changes. We’re meeting Nikolai in a private room in a casino. Mikhail drums his fingers on the dash. “Are you saying I’m wrong?”
“I don’t know what she’s done or how she’s done it,” I grunt. “I don’t know what’s happening. Our father died. I saw it. Then there was my woman, and it suddenly began spinning out of control fast. I need time to think.”
“You don’t need to think,” he says passionately. “I can see it. You’re different.”
“Why do you care so much? Last time I checked, neither of us has ever had a love life.”
“Maybe one of us can finally be happy.”
“You always said marriage was pointless,” I remind him. “You said making somebody a Sokolov would be the worst thing you could do.”
He smirks at me, but his eyes are hard and almost angry. “That’s why I love you so much, brother. You always remember every little thing.”
“Why do I feel like you want to swing on me?”
“When don’t I?” he says, trying to smirk away that serious look, but I saw how genuinely pissed he was. “Just don’t let Nikolai stop you. We can say it’s because of a potential war, but that means we’re letting him bully us, just like we let our father bully us.”
“Keep these thoughts to yourself when we’re in there,” I tell him.
He rolls his eyes but nods. The last thing I need is him going off-book.
“You can’t have a hacker’s mindset about this,” I snap. “Throughout history, leaders have wanted to seek fame, heal their nations, make a difference, and all those lofty ideals end in blood—always in blood.”
“History’s not really my thing, brother.”
“That’s why I’m in charge.”
Petty, maybe, but he’s pissing me the hell off, digging too deeply into places better left ignored. I don’t know what right he thinks he has. I don’t even know what to do about my Lia.
Deep down, something niggles at me. The wordbullyfollowed by the wordcoward… Is that the sort of father I want to be? What if trying to do the right thing means risking the one person I care about most?
Soon, we arrive at the casino. My lead car pulls up first. Denis, who told me the rest of the men want to pledge their allegiance,exits first. Next is our car. I toss the keys to the valet as people begin to turn, exchanging whispers.
“Here comes the circus,” Mikhail says, reaching into his jacket and taking out some sunglasses.
I keep mine off, walking into the lobby, ignoring the stares. The hostess is waiting for us, leading us down a narrow, hidden corridor into a large room lit with heavy lights.
“I like this place,” Nikolai calls over to me when I walk in. He’s sitting at the poker table, tossing a chip around clumsily in his hand. His face is big and red, his bald head is shiny, and he has an unnerving, wet smile.
