That makes me smile. Nikita’s relationship with the Red Devils was kismet and the kind of thing that proved to do nothing but good for us as the years went on. “That’s good to hear. Thank you for bringing it to the club.”
“Eh. I barely had to mention it. I know it’s been, what? Seven years now? Everybody still remembers.”
Well. Seven years already. I just turned forty this year, which means he’d have been twenty-nine. It’s strange how time flies by that way.
“Festivities start in about an hour,” he said. “Kika’s promised to bring some premium trim by if you’re looking to blow off some steam for the occasion.”
I sigh as I think about the women who liked to hang around Teddy and his gang. They were usually pretty and the kind of sleezy I could get into. When Nikita was alive, I’d partake here and there, but lately, I haven’t had the urge. It’s been a while since any woman has intrigued me enough for even a one-night stand, but maybe once I’ve got a few drinks in me, I might change my mind. The beast inside me is still a little hungry.
“That is good news,” I tell him. “Might be a little late coming through. Got some business at home base.”
“Well, I doubt the party will be slowing down before dawn, so as long as you come through before the sun comes up, you’ll be fine.”
“Good to know. I’ll see you soon.”
“Later.”
I hang up and lean back in my seat for a moment. Seven years since the night that changed my life. Most of the scars have healed, but my memory of that night and even the weeks leading up to it still hang in limbo. Probably for the best. They say that the mind sometimes protects you from the things that will mess you up the most. Maybe I don’t know exactly how I almost died with my best friend.
I start the car and set off. Nikolai’s estate is just on the edge of town in a gated community where I think there may be only four houses in all within the wrought iron barriers. Big house sitting on acres and acres of land…
It reminds me of when Nikolai decided to allow his son to join the Bratva. He was a skinnyvor v zakonewith nothing but piss and vinegar in his veins. Given Nikita’s pedigree, he genuinely thought he knew everything at thirteen.
Young and dumb, and I had been the one selected to take him under my wing at twenty-two. At the time, I viewed it as a way to impress his father and convince him to use my talents for wet work. It worked a little too well. Not only did it secure my place as enforcer, but Nikita eventually signed on with me.
We’re all supposed to be a brotherhood, but Nikita was the only one I thought of as a real brother. The only person I could trust completely, something that just doesn’t happen. Not for Bratva, anyway. This life I live is filled with looking over my shoulder and being a step ahead. At least when Nikita was alive, I always had someone watching out for danger with me.
But for every tragedy, there comes a chance to become stronger, and I have. I’m sharper than I ever was, and meaner. Just my name has the ability to strike fear in the hearts of my enemies.
A twenty-minute drive and I’m beyond the borders of Nikolai’s estate. It’s been a few days since I was last here. He was out of sorts because of his daughter, Tatiana. She was sixteen or seventeen when I last saw her and apparently, she’s gone rogue overseas, or so say the rumors. I’ve heard some brigadiers discussing what they would do if their daughters decided to let loose the way that Tatiana allegedly has, and all I can think is Nikolai probably needs some good news right about now.
And Pavel the Rat becoming fertilizer is just the news he needs to hear.
I pull into his circular drive and park my car off to the side. My hands are still sore and stained with blood. I flex them for a moment after I turn the car on. Guess Pavel had a hard head. I’ll need to put them in ice when I get home.
I get out of my car and straighten my suit jacket. The moment I look up and over the roof of my car, I notice the rose trellis on the right wall of the house shivering. At first, I think I’m seeing things in this dim evening light, but it shivers again and this time, I hear the sound of a soft grunt. Around the car, I walk slowly, following the path of the long trellis upward to the second story.
A young woman is slowly climbing down. I lean against my car and cross my arms, watching her take careful step after step down the brittle wood of the trellis.
She has a mop of curly, light colored hair… wait, it’s pink. I see it shine as she moves into the moonlight. Definitely pink. She’s wearing a yellow dress that looks ill-fitting over her curves yet flows in the breeze as she moves. It lifts a little, flashing a red thong underneath.
Who is this pretty little thing? Whoever she is, she clearly has no intention of being in Nikolai’s company. I wait until her feet are safely on the grass before I clear my throat. She jumps and whirls around.
Shit.Shit.
We stare at each other for a few moments. The recognition is immediate. Those big, innocent brown eyes and those heart-shaped lips that always seem to be turned up into a mischievous smile. I watch as her eyes trace my face, and those lips turn up even more.
“Viktor?” she says with a gasp.
“Tanechka.”
She gapes for a moment, her face flushing. “Hi,” she says. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here tonight.”
“Neither was I,” I say with a laugh. I nod to the trellis and add, “The front door was just too much trouble, huh?”
She laughs, but it doesn’t sound genuine. It sounds nervous and a little terrified. “Yeah, Papa’s downstairs and things aren’t really all that great between us right now, so I decided to take an alternate route.” She looks me up and down quickly, then, “So, how’ve you been?”
“I should ask you the same,” I say. “Word around the campfire is that you got into some hot water while you were overseas.”
