“Are we gonna run into each other again?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“Dinner sometime?” he pressed her.
“Hell, no.”
A few short minutes later, she stopped in front of his home on 16thStreet in DC. “This is nice.”
An older, large, two-story home that sat on the top of a small, grassy hill. A flight of cement steps had been built into the front lawn, and another short flight led to the front door. The home stood dark as did the ones on either side.
“Come in for a drink,” he said.
She stared straight ahead as if contemplating the world’s problems. Then, she shifted toward him. “One drink.”
He couldn’t miss the mischief dancing in her eyes. Barbianna Bogdanova was a lot of fun.
As they made their way up the stairs built into the center of the hilly yard, she pulled him to a stop. “Do you always leave your front window open?”
“No,” he replied. “Never.”
“You got company,” she murmured.
He flicked his gaze to the front window.
He sure as hell did.
8
BRATVA #2
HALSTON
“You need to leave,” Gabriel said. “Now.”
“You need my help,” she replied. “You don’t know how many are in there.”
Within seconds, he’d come up with a plan, shared it with her. His mind worked fast… and she liked that.
No hesitation on his part. Zero fear.
Together, they sprinted around back. He keyed their way in through the basement, removed his gun from its holster as moonlight guided their path inside.
“Stay behind me,” he ordered as they cleared the movie room, the guest bedroom, and the bathroom.
No one.
Up the basement stairs they went. Halfway up, one of the steps creaked. They paused, listened. No sound. He continued up, she skipped the noisy step. The basement door was closed. When he pushed it open, it squeaked on its hinges. She held her breath, but they were met with more silence.
Moving fast, he cleared the first floor. She stayed close, all while watching their backs. Her heart was pounding out of her chest. This was a whole new level of crazy for her.
On the second-floor landing, he stilled. She stopped on the stairs.
A faint sound came from the room on the left. The house was dark, but the window treatments must’ve been open because the moonlight and the streetlamps provided them the visibility they needed.
Into the bedroom they went. The second Gabriel bolted into the bathroom, an ox of a man emerged from the dark closet, a gun in his hand.
Halston leapt onto his back.
