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Niko keeps scrolling through all the info Stepan has sent us. “Based on this location and the information we’ve dug up on Sobakin… this isn’t him.”
I grimace at the road as I drive. “Only Sobakin would have enough motive to try and take Lev. Who else would dare?”
“The Bugrov Bratva is powerful, brother. With our kind of reach and influence, the enemies come out of the woodwork.”
“It still could be Sobakin,” I say stubbornly. “He could have hired mercenaries. This might just be a ploy to cover his tracks and avoid retaliation so Lev’s abduction can’t be blamed on him.”
Nikolai purses his lips and keeps refreshing the laptop’s location. “Have you told the men where to meet us?”
That’s the second time he’s asked that question. I’m too stressed to be polite anymore. “I’ve already told you I have.”
Nikolai’s scowl gets darker. “You can’t blame me for checking. Your judgment hasn’t exactly been sound recently.”
“Say what you feel, brother,” I snarl. “Don’t hold back.”
His face screws up even more. “You want to know what I think? Fine. Lev would never have been taken if it weren’t for your obsession with this girl. You should never have moved her into the house, much less the basement.”
I open my mouth to argue—but then I realize I don’t have an argument to make.
He’s completely right.
I made an error in judgment by bringing Alyssa into my home and exposing her to my family, my world, my enemies. I turned a blind eye to her budding relationships with both Polina and Lev because it seemed to be helping all of them. But that was a mistake on my part.
“I just never pegged you for the type of man who could be so easily turned by a pretty face.”
She’s not just a pretty face.The thought comes unbidden and I try to push it away. It doesn’t matter at the end of the day. So what if she’s different than the women I’ve been with before? So what if I can talk to her?
What does that matter if I can’ttrusther?
“We’re gonna get Lev back,” I assure Nikolai through gritted teeth. “And once we do, Alyssa will be shipped off somewhere far away and we can all go back to our lives as they were.”
Nikolai doesn’t respond except to say, “We’re almost there.”
I park at the bottom of the hill and step out of the car. We check our equipment, then Nikolai and I walk up. He coordinates with my men. I can only brood on all the mistakes I made that brought us here.
“There’s the house,” Nikolai points out.
The house in question is a modest two-story building with an overgrown garden hugging the corner. If it wasn’t so neglected, it might have looked idyllic. As it stands, the red brick walls are crumbling and the grass is dying of thirst.
“I’ll take the left. You go right.”
Nikolai nods and pulls his gun out, then starts creeping in his direction, squads of Bratva men fanning out behind each of us. I head off the other way, weighing my gun in my hand. There was a time when it used to feel heavy against my palm. I was so aware that I was toting death. Now, it just feels like an extension of my hand. Part of me. Like violence fused right to my skin.
I can hear movement from around the back. It can’t be Nikolai; there’s no way he would have made the circuit so fast. Tensing instantly, I take the corner hard…
And someone smashes into me, completely blindsided by my presence.
I have to say: the feeling is mutual.
“Alyssa!” Two pairs of wide eyes stare up at me in shock. “Polly!”
“Oh, fuck,” Polly mutters. “We’re never gonna hear the end of this one.”
Alyssa holds up her hands and inserts herself directly in front of Polly. “Don’t yell at her. This was my idea.”
“I’m not going to yell at her,” I growl, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards my chest so that I can snap right in her face. “Youare the fucking problem here. Do you ever just do what you’re told?”
“Seriously, Uri.” Polly scowls at me. “When did you become such a brute? Let go of her.”
