“I won’t lie and say it didn’t benefit me, too, but the world of professional fighting can be an ugly place. I didn’t want you or your brother anywhere near it.”
I fold my arms over my chest. He doesn’t get to whitewash my childhood. “If that were true, then why did you train Brady? Why, on the rare occasion you came around, did you ignore me.”
“I… I don’t know. I’m a self-centered prick is the best answer.” He swallows. “Honestly, I was terrified of you. You were so tiny and precious, with those big eyes, and you looked at me like I hung the fucking moon. It scared the shit out of me, knowing I’d never live up to who you thought I was. I was a coward.” He threw his hands up in defeat. “That’s the real answer. I’m a selfish coward, but I’m trying to change.”
His words hit me square in the chest. Sudden hot tears sting even as my throat closes.
“I’d like to be in your life more. Can we try? Have a coffee sometime?”
I nod, barely trusting my voice. “Yes, I can do that. But right now, I’ve got to deal with…” I wave my hand in the air.
He looks ready to argue but then turns for the door. He hesitates on the threshold.
I’m not sure what comes over me, if it’s the genuine note in his words—words I’ve waited to hear my entire life—or if the adrenaline has made me an emotional mess, but I shock us both when I throw my arms around his thick neck and hug him tight. His arms hover and then clamp around my back, and I feel a tiny shudder run through him.
I think I hear him whisper, “I’m sorry,” but I’m not sure.
I push back, and he gives me an awkward pat on the shoulder, his eyes suspiciously bright. “Call me when you’re back in Atlanta. I’ll fly in, and we can talk.”
I stand motionless for a moment after the door clicks shut, drawing in one long, shaking breath. A weight I’ve always carried cracks and shifts inside my chest. It’s not gone, but it’s definitely lighter.
Pulling out my phone, I dial my brother’s number.
This should be fun.
34
LIEV
The suite door clicks shut behind me with a soft snick, but in the dead-of-night silence, it might as well be a gunshot. I freeze, just inside the foyer, listening for any sign of stirring from the other rooms. Nothing. Four in the morning, and the place is dead quiet. The last thing I need is Keke or one of the others to stumble out and see me like this.
My knuckles throb, in a steady, dull pulse. I flex my right hand once, ignoring the fresh split skin over my knuckles. Most of the blood washed off in the sink earlier, but I still need to shower. It’s never bothered me before, but I don’t want to go back to Sera with blood under my nails.
Before I head for the bedroom, I slip the thin band back onto my left ring finger. I took it off before I got in the SUV with Mikhail, not wanting to have that confrontation when he was already testing my loyalty.
The bedroom door is cracked. Moonlight and the lights of the strip cut through the half-drawn curtains, striping the bed. Sera’s sprawled on her back on top of the comforter, her thin tank bunched up revealing a narrow band of skin above her waist. Her phone rests in her hand on her chest like she fell asleep holding it.
Waiting up for me. My chest tightens.
Fuck, she’s beautiful.
I strip quietly. Dropping the jacket and pants along with the bloody shirt in a heap inside the bathroom door, I crank the shower to hot, and steam rolls out almost immediately. Stepping under the spray, I let it pound my shoulders and back, the muscles slowly unknotting.
The hot water stings my cut hands as I scrub my body, washing away blood and whatever ugliness might still linger on my skin from being near that depraved bastard.
I don’t regret anything I did to him.
The black SUVis idling at the curb outside the hotel when I exit the automatic doors. Mikhail’s already in the back as I slide in.
“Liev.” He acknowledges. “Good to see you,cousin.” There’s an odd emphasis on the word, and I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be a reminder of my familial duty or thinly veiled mockery stemming from my father’s recent betrayal.
I glance to the front seat and recognize Yuri and Ivan. The bratva soldiers have worked under me before, but if things go sideways they’ll do what their pakhan tells them.
Ivan grunts a welcome, but Yuri twists around grinning. “Heard you’re playing bodyguard for models these days. Sounds rough.”
“You’d be surprised,” I say in a dry tone.
The SUV heads away from the neon lights toward the desert. Mikhail doesn’t waste time telling me what the plan for the night is.
