I don’t even botherto greet my brother when he stalks into my private office at Andriani Brothers Contracting, the construction company we own that happens to double as a convenient way to launder money and hide incriminating evidence. Not quite as handy as my cousin Angelo’s crematorium for the odd guy who needs disappearing, but a concrete foundation is a killer place to toss dead bodies. No pun intended.
Since I left Isla at the penthouse under extra armed guards, I’ve been calling in favors and dialing every phone number I know to try to get to the bottom of what’s unfolding. I’ve gotten fucking nowhere, and I’m frustrated as hell.
I wait until he closes the door behind him before I unload.
“What the fuck is going on with the Russians?” I demand.
Scorpion looks as tense as I feel, running a hand through his dark hair. “I’m doing my best to get answers.”
As usual, he’s dressed in a designer suit and looks like he just breezed out of an LA awards show. It makes me want to toss theMacallan I’ve been sipping to try to take the edge off all over his three-piece.
I pace away from him, toward the window with its bird’s-eye view of the busy city street below. “Doing your best isn’t good enough. Did you find out why the hell Sidorov’s brother is here?”
I recognized the man in the picture Isla sent me of the bastard who had been tailing her as none other than Mikhail Sidorov, older brother to Dimitri Sidorov, who is such a warm and fuzzy guy that his nickname is Executioner. Mikhail’s known as Reaper.
“I don’t know that yet either,” Scorpion tells me, sounding as frustrated as I feel. “The last I heard, Mikhail was in Russia, running operations there.”
That was my understanding as well. The two brothers are tight with the Pakhan of the most powerful Bratva here in the city, Ivan Aleksandrov. They both worked up through the ranks, paving their way in the blood of their enemies. They’re dangerous and they’re fucking deadly. Mikhail proved himself enough of an asset that he was sent back to run his own empire in the motherland.
“Why would Sidorov follow Isla himself?” I demand next, abandoning my city view and pacing back to my brother.
That kind of move from Mikhail Sidorov, showing his face, making a point of not disguising himself. Being vulnerable on the street. Following her instead of paying a lackey to do it. I don’t like it. Not one bit.
Scorpion shakes his head. “Sidorov likes to do his own dirty work. He always has. Could be a power play. He might be big-dicking us.”
Scorpion has a secret connection in the Bratva. He knows more than any of us do, and we rely on his insider information, which is why it’s even more of a piss-off that he’s as much in the dark about Mikhail Sidorov returning to the city as I am.
I down the rest of my Macallan. “Do you know who sent you that picture?”
“I couldn’t trace the number, no matter how hard I tried.”
This news worries me even more. I had hoped the pic came from his connection in the Bratva ranks.
“So it’s not from your source?”
“I don’t think so.”
I slam my empty glass down on my desk. “Jesus Christ, Scorpion, is there anything you’re sure about? I’m getting a lot of fuckingI don’t knowandI don’t think sofrom you right now, and that’s not what I want to hear. What Idowant to hear is what the hell is going on and why Mikhail Sidorov would be following Luna’s friend to a coffee shop. It’s like he was lying in fucking wait.”
“He may have been.” Scorpion sighs. “But it’s also obvious that he wanted to be seen. He’s an intentional man, and that’s why I was sent the picture. They’re relaying a message. Look, I’ve reached out to my contact, but I haven’t heard back. It’s radio silence. I don’t know what to make of this any more than you do, and I’m every bit as worried. Maybe we should call Priest and let him know what went down today.”
“Whatalmostwent down,” I correct him. “And no, we sure as hell shouldn’t call him about this. I’ve got everything under control.”
That’s a lie. I don’t have anything under control. Still, I know in my gut that if Priest caught wind of Sidorov sniffing around, he’d be on the plane home before I could blink. But I’m not doing that to him. I’m not cutting his honeymoon short before it’s even really begun. He deserves this break. So does Luna. Both of them almost died before they could even start their life together.
I’m not going to do that to them.
Whatever is going on with the Russians, I’ll be ready for it. We’re the Andrianis. We can handle the Bratva.
“What are you going to do about Isla?” Scorpion demands. “Do you think it’s safe to leave her and Cid at the penthouse?”
No, I don’t. The more I think about it, the more I realize that I’m probably going to have to do the last thing Isla would want me to do.
“I’m going to have to move her and Cid to the safe house,” I tell him. “At least until we figure out what the hell Sidorov wants from us and whether there’s any danger to her.”
“Good plan,” Scorpion agrees. “Get them there as soon as possible.”
I extract a burner phone. “I’ll make the arrangements.”
