The door flew open, and suddenly I was staring up into the cold gray eyes of Radimir Aristov. He was even taller than Gennadiy, andthe family resemblance was obvious: the same sharp cheekbones and hard jaw. But where Gennadiy was all fire and anger, Radimir was pure ice. A man who’d built his billion-dollar property empire through ruthless deals and broken fingers. In his tailored three-piece suit, he looked like a Wall Street banker, and he was meant to be the legitimate face of the family, letting the others do the dirty work. But I had no doubt that he was capable of snapping my neck himself if he chose to.
Radimir stopped in the doorway, blocking everyone behind him. “What’s going on?”
Gennadiy took a deep breath. “This is Alison Brooks. She’s an FBI agent. She’s...theFBI agent.”
“The agent who’s been on you,” said Radimir coldly.
“Yes,” said Gennadiy.
Radimir’s eyes bored into me. “The one who confiscated two hundred thousand dollars of our money?”
I prayed for my chair to sink through the floor. It didn’t.
“Yes,” said Gennadiy, head bowed.
“The one who impoundedfourmillion dollars'worth of supercars, and ended one of our most profitable businesses?”
“Yes,” breathed Gennadiy.
“Then I only have one question,” said Radimir. He tugged his waistcoat straight. “What thefuckis she doing at your breakfast table?”
“Please, brother…” Gennadiy’s voice was gentle. He used his foot to push out one of the chairs. “Take a seat. Hear what she has to say.”
“Sit down with one ofthem?”Radimir looked genuinely concerned. “Gennadiy, what’s the matter with you?” His eyes went to me, then Gennadiy, then flicked upwards, towards the bedrooms upstairs. His eyes widened. “Are you?—”
“No!” said Gennadiy and I simultaneously, both of us flushing.
A soft mane of copper hair appeared under Radimir’s arm, and then a woman squeezed through underneath it. She was gorgeous, with big blue eyes and curves I’d kill for.Bronwyn.Radimir’s wife, as of six months ago. “Darling?” she said gently, “Gennadiy wouldn’tinvite her here without a good reason.” She poured coffee from the pot into a mug. “Maybe it’s worth giving her a chance…” —she added milk—” ...to explain?” She pressed the mug into Radimir’s hands.
Radimir looked suspiciously at me, then longingly at the coffee. Apparently, he wasn’t a morning person. At last, he scowled and took the mug from his wife, stepping into the room at last.
Behind him was Gennadiy’s other brother, Valentin. With his longer hair and hauntingly beautiful face, I’d always thought he looked like an actor, or maybe the lead singer of a band. But he was the deadliest of all of them, the family’s hitman, with a body count at least in double figures. He skirted the table and took up residence in the corner, watching me closely.
There was the clinking of chains and the patter of many feet, and then Mikhail, the brothers’ uncle, arrived, together with his four dogs. Mikhail was older, with a little silver in his hair, but he still had the Aristov good looks, and he seemed to be the only member of the family who smiled. His dogs were beautiful: enormous Malamutes with white faces, gray and white coats, and big, fluffy tails. One of them cocked its head and blinked at me.Who this?
Mikhail sat down at the table, and his dogs planted themselves two on each side of his chair, alert and watchful. Bronwyn sat across from me and gave me a warm, encouraging smile. Valentin sidled over to the table and slid into a chair, silent as a cat. Only Radimir was left standing, glowering at me over the top of his coffee mug.
His wife turned and gave him a pleading look, and, as soon as he locked eyes with her, he just...melted. It was like the cold mask he wore slipped, and he was suddenly vulnerable. Bronwyn held out a hand, and he laced fingers with her, then sighed and sat down next to her, throwing little, loving looks at her. I’d never seen a man so besotted, and even though it was beautiful to watch, it made my chest ache a little. I’d never had anyone feel that way about me.
“Thank you,” Gennadiy told his brother solemnly. Then he turned to me. “Tell them.”
I laid it all out. How I’d been leading an FBI team tasked with bringing down Gennadiy. How someone had tried to kill me andframe him. How, when that failed, they’d ruined my career and forced me to go on the run.
“I’m sorry that happened to you, Agent Brooks,” Radimir told me. “But I don’t see why we should help you. You’ve been trying to put my brother in jail. You hurt our business.” He leaned forward. “You’reFBI.”
“ShewasFBI,” Gennadiy told him. “Now they’re chasing her. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. She saved my life.Andshe stopped me going to jail.”
Hearing him defend me made something inside me lift, and I had to work to not let it show on my face.
“I don’t like it,” said Radimir. “You forget what we are, brother.” He tugged the collar of his shirt away from his neck, exposing his Bratva tattoos. “We swore we’d never help the cops.”
“We’re not helping the cops, we’re helpingher!”Gennadiy snapped. His brothers stared at him, and I thought I saw his ears redden.
Mikhail frowned, his easy smile fading. He began watching me the way you’d watch a scorpion.
“Look,” Gennadiy continued, “whoever’s behind this is one of our rivals. That’s why they framed me; they want me out of the way. They have someone inside the FBI: that makes them dangerous. Forget trying to help her: we need to find who this is and take them out, for our own sakes!” He looked at me, then at his brothers. “We’re all in this together.”
Radimir drew in a long, slow breath, considering. Then he nodded. Relief sluiced through me.
