“Where’s our friend?”
I jump and whirl around. Mikki is standing at the top of the stairs, shirtless with a big, bloodstained bandage on his shoulder. He smiles and puts a comforting hand up. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“You should be resting.” I rush up the stairs to meet him, but he waves me away.
“I can still walk. I don’t need your help.”
I walk with him just the same and he takes it slow, holding onto the railing with his good arm while cradling the other against his chest. “So, where is he?”
“He got a phone call with someone to meet up with them.”
He pauses and looks at me. “And he went alone?Der’mo. He knows better. Do you have any idea of who he went to meet up with?”
I shake my head. “He didn’t say. Is he in danger?”
“We’re all always in danger,” he says with a little smile. “Welcome to Bratva life.”
I help him to the couch and he sits down, wincing at his shoulder. “He asked me to look after you. Make sure you eat. And he also told me to tell you to see Iggy as soon as possible.”
He rolls his eyes. “Dammit. Iggy’s probably pissed I didn’t see him about this. All right. I just need to get dressed and all that.”
“Wait, you should eat something first. Hold on while I go to the kitchen?—”
“You don’t need to do that. I can get something on the way to Iggy’s”
“Yeah, I have a feeling that it’s better if I do it than not. You seem pretty important to him.”
Mikki nods sagely. “I would say that is true. And he’s important to me.” He narrows his eyes, looking me over. “So, daughter of Vladimir Petrov, how in the world did you end up in my brother’s bed?”
Her face flushes. “You’re pretty bold to assume that we’re sleeping together.”
“You are aterribleliar.” He laughs. “What about your father? Does he know?”
I nod and he sucks air between his teeth.
“That is a messy situation. I’ve always tried to tell him to be careful where he sticks that thing. It always seems to get him into trouble he doesn’t need.”
“He seems to think the same thing,” I respond. “He’s kind of concerned about how it will look if we’re together, you know, publicly.”
“He should be. He’s the new Pakhan. The brigadiers are going to be questioning his every move. Behind his back, of course. It’s already come up once. I expect it will again.”
I don’t like the sound of that. I’m kind of afraid to ask what happened when it did come up.
“You haven’t known one another long,” he says, “so I wouldn’t worry too much. After he’s solved his business with the Amur, you’ll be free to go wherever you like in safety.”
He makes it sound like I’m an obligation, just another thing that he has to do before he goes to bed tonight. “I’d better get on making you something. Sandwich okay?”
“That’s fine. Thank you. In the meantime, I’ll go freshen up. Maybe take a shower.”
He goes walking back up the stairs and I watch him for a few seconds. Mikki is close to Anton. Clearly, his best friend. He was also there the night that Anton killed those men. His role must be somewhere close to being his right-hand man.
I respect that. Mikki seems more than just loyal. He seems to genuinely care about Anton’s well-being. I kind of wish he’d gone with Anton, too. He strikes me as the kind of man who would gladly take a bullet for him.
His kindness toward me makes me think of something I once heard one of my grandparents say when I was young. How a man’s friends treat that man’s girl or the women in his family tells you everything you need to know about him as a person. I don’t know how true that is for Bratva, but I get a good feeling off Mikki just the same. I think, maybe, I can trust him. I go into the kitchen to make his sandwich. I don’t get far before I hear a knock at the front door.Already?I think. Anton’s people move fast.
I leave the partially made sandwich on the counter and walk to the front door, looking out of the peephole. There’s a woman standing on the steps with golden blonde hair and bright red lipstick. She’s looking down curiously at the bloody steps.
Is… this the person who’s supposed to clean up the blood? Or help me with my clothes? The latter seems more likely. From what I can tell, she’s wearing an expensive looking blouse and slacks.
