“Oh my god. I can’t believe I just… I’m sorry… I-I-I’m really… What the fuck!”
Fumbling for the door handle, I practically tumble out of the car. As I bend to slam the door, Liev leans over the console.
“Little Warrior.” I force myself to look at him, humiliated. “Fuck you, too.” And then with his middle finger lifted, he winks.
5
LIEV
I watch her until she’s in the building. She walks quickly past the doorman, her head angled so that her loose hair obscures her face. The man eyes her curiously, but I don’t think he’ll be a problem. The elevator doors open immediately, and when she steps in, she lifts her head and stares in my direction. It’s too far for her to see me clearly. At the last minute, as the doors slide shut, she lifts her hand with a wave goodbye.
It’s a tiny gesture that shouldn’t feel like a punch to the chest or take the air from my lungs.
She shocked the hell out of me when she kissed me. But she pulled back so fast I didn’t have time to react—no time to kiss her back, no time to think about what a bad idea it is to put any part of my body on a girl that is too young and far too traumatized for someone like me.
I can still smell her scent—something earthy and sweet. I shake my head and pull my phone from my pocket. I don’t have time for this. Not now.
Alex is already waiting when I pull up in front of his house. Despite the freezing weather, he’s barefoot on the stone steps, wearing black sweatpants and a fitted T-shirt. His arms arefolded and his jaw set in a way that says I’ve dragged him from his wife’s warm bed, and he is absolutely pissed about it.
He shoves a hand through his dark hair as I push my door open. “What the fuck, Liev?”
I step out and face him. The night air bites at my skin, but it doesn’t touch the sweat prickling along my spine. Now that Sera is safely tucked away at home, the reality of what I’m about to do is hitting me.
My next words will change my life and Alex’s. They could destroy us both, depending on his decision. I’m fully prepared to accept my fate, and I will understand if he chooses his young family’s safety over me.
Alex’s expression tightens as if he senses the danger before I speak. His voice drops “Tell me.”
“I killed him.”
“Who?” Alex doesn’t look surprised. It’s a fact of life in our world.
I angle my head toward the back of the car and start walking. His bare footsteps follow. He says nothing as I hit the fob and the trunk lifts.
The soft hiss of air leaving his lungs is the only acknowledgement that he recognizes who lies folded inside the trunk.
Sergei. His uncle. My father.
“What happened?” he asks, voice flat.
“Does it matter?”
“It fucking matters,” he snarls. “Give me something, Liev. And why is Petyr Petrova in there with him?”
“It was always going to happen,” I say, stubbornly refusing to give an explanation. I don’t want to lie to him. He’s not just my cousin. He’s my best friend.
Alex’s lips twitch with something like disbelief. “And you decided tonight was the night?”
“Yes.”
His eyes narrow, and his voice is arctic. “Again, I ask—what happened?”
“My father killed Petyr because he was skimming.”
Alex’s face hardens, and I sigh. “I figured I should take both until I could decide what to do.”
“Bullshit.” The word cracks out in the darkness. “Who killed your father?”
“I did.” I know the words are potentially signing my death warrant, but I don’t have an ounce of regret. This is the right thing to do. A chance to make up for things I’ve done at my father’s behest.
