“Is that how you keep your humanity?”
He chuckles mirthlessly. “My sweet hummingbird. I amnota good man. There’s no celestial afterlife for me.”
I kiss each mark on his arm, taking my time. I kiss the furrow between his brows, I kiss his lips. “Now, tell me what you think is going on with your father’s death and Dmitri.”
“My greatest concern is for the hundreds of men and women in the Turgenev Bratva,” he says, putting his arm behind his head, “their families depend on us.”
“That must feel like a huge burden of responsibility,” I venture.
“It’s too much for someone like Dmitri,” he says. “My father might have been a heartless piece of shit, but he took his role as Pakhan seriously. Dmitri’s bragged for years about how he would run our Bratva. He’ll ruin us.”
Groaning silently as I force my painfully sore lower half to sit up, I lean against the pillows. “If you truly believe that Dmitri killed your father, you have to challenge him. Your brothers and sister - Nikolai, Irina and Damien - they’d support you, right?”
Alexi sits up too, lifting me easily onto his lap, helping me balance on my left hip. “It’s not enough that my siblings support it. The Six Families must see proof before they will accept mychallenge. Until I can show unequivocally that Dmitri killed my father, they’ll back his claim to Pakhan.”
“Okay, then. We’ll just have to find the evidence,” I say firmly, though by ‘we’ I mean him, since I have absolutely no skills in espionage.
Glancing up, I see him suppress a smile. “Then we will.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
In which we Meet The Family
Alexi…
“Boss? You have a visitor.”
David doesn’t sound too disturbed, which is good. “Who is he?”
“He says he’s here on Turgenev Bratva business,” he says.
Lucya is making lunch and singing something that seems to be comprised of the words “Hey, yaaaa” and “shake it.” Her voice is not exactly opera quality, but her happiness is obvious, which makes it the most beautiful sound I’ve heard.
“Send him up,” I sigh, wondering if this is Dmitri’s first shot across the bow as Pakhan.
The elevator doors open and Nikolai strolls in the apartment with a grin. “Nice place, Alexi. It must be one hell of a pussy magnet. Ow! Fuck, what the hell?”
“I didn’t punch you nearly as hard as I should have,” I snap. “This is how you greet your new sister-in-law?”
“You punched my kidney, you asshole!” he says, “I’m going to be pissing blood for the next week.”
My bride, who has a clear view of the entryway, stands motionless in the kitchen, her spatula raised in her hand like she’s about to club my brother with it.
“Lucya Dubrovina, a pleasure to make your acquaintance!” Nikolai says happily, hobbling over to offer a handshake. “I was kidding about the whole pussy magnet thing. Alexi just moved in, so that wouldn’t be possible.”
“I’m about to punch your other kidney,” I warn, wrapping my arm around Lucya’s waist.“Kolibri,this is my idiot brother Nikolai Anatolyevich Turgenev.”
“Welcome, Nikolai Turgenev,” she says. Ah, she’s using the formal address, she’s not happy about his fucking joke. “Your English is much more casual than Alexi’s.”
“My father sent me and our younger brother Damien to school here. We both considered failing so we’d have to repeat our grades to stay, but ourOtet’sconsequences for failure would be swift and extremely unpleasant,”
“The lesser of the two evils,” she nods. “What brings you to Boston, Nikolai Turgenev?”
Nikolai flashes what he calls his ‘patented panty-dropping grin’ at her. “Our new Pakhan sent me to Florida to check on a supplier, but there was nothing in his order that forbade me from stopping by Boston to say hello to family.”
I notice his grin has no effect on Lucya but I’m still thinking about punching his other kidney. Maybe bruising his liver a bit.
“I know you and Alexi must have a lot to talk about,” she says, leaning into my side. “So, this visit is good timing. Will you have lunch? I’ll give you two room to talk afterward.”
