“Just these two. Nero’s group cleaned up the rest.” Eight curls T’s legs so they can fit into my trunk before jerking his head to the rotating hospital doors. “Two sought shelter in the hospital.” He lifts and locks his grassy-green eyes with mine. “They won’t talk, but if they do—”
“Nero will take care of it.”
Eight smirks, winks, then slams down the trunk. “Come on, Nikolai is en route to the compound. Things are about to get heated.”
After gathering up the nine or so shell casings coating the ground, I slip into the driver’s seat of my car. With Eight’s legs longer than mine, it takes him longer to join me. I’ve only just cranked over the engine when I see the clean-up crew arriving in my rearview mirror. Most of T’s blood was soaked-up by my shirt, but they’ll ensure not a droplet will be found by the CSI team I hear racing to the scene.
When we glide past lit-up police cruisers racing in the direction opposite to the way we’re fleeing, Eight slumps low in his seat. He’s so tall, his attempt to hide makes laughter rumble in my chest.
If he sinks any lower, he’ll be eating his cock.
Hearing my laugh, Eight socks me in the arm. “Laugh while you can, Trey. You may lose the ability by the end of the week.”
I push off his worry with a laugh. “Pfft.Whatever. You said Nikolai wanted Roman no matter the cost. I got him for him. Might’ve lost two soldiers in the process, but those are the casualties of war.”
My voice waivers when Eight interrupts, “Holy fucking shit. You don’t know who T was, do you?”
“A low-ranked wannabe gangster—”
“Whose father doesn’t care he was birthed by a whore. He loves his sons all the same.”
As my throat works hard to swallow, my eyes stray from the road to Eight. “What the fuck are you on about, August?” The fact I used his real name reveals the urgency of the situation. I’m at a complete loss as to who he’s referencing.
Eight sits up straighter before twisting his torso to face me. “T is TristanVasiliev. Alexei’s son. Fuck, man. I thought you knew. Why do you think I’m missingnumero unonumber one?” Although he’s asking a question, he doesn’t wait for me to respond. “I beat up his son in apaidfight, yet I still lost a finger for it.”
“T is Alexei’s son?” The thump of my heart is heard in my question. When Eight nods, I ask, “Hisbloodson?”
When he nods again, I get nervous for the first time in six years.
Fingers crossed it ends better than my last farce.
* * *
After checking on Roman in the makeshift hospital room in the dungeon of the Popov compound, I make my way outside to call Nikolai. I’m barely halfway across the foyer when he enters via the main door.
“Where is he?” He doesn’t need to mention Roman’s name for me to know who he’s referencing.
I point to a door at the end of a long corridor. “Dok’s with him. Not sure what happened yet. We just ran logistics as you requested.” Not exactly as requested, but I keep that snippet of information to myself. Nikolai is a killer in every sense of the term, so I’ve never seen him this worked up. Usually, he acts first, asks questions later—who do you think I learned my hang-up from?—but I get that he has to mix things up this time around. It isn’t just his livelihood at stake, his entire crew is in jeopardy. It’s not a good set of shoes to be in. I’ve done it once. Don’t plan to do it again anytime soon.
Needing to get something off my chest, I step closer to Nikolai. The change in position has me stumbling onto a dark-haired man with a face as hard as stone standing left of us. Although I’m reasonably sure I’ve seen him before, I can’t pinpoint where.
After following the direction of my gaze, Nikolai demands the dark-haired man to move on. Once he disappears into the shadows, Nikolai drifts his massively dilated eyes to mine. “What is it?”
Never one to sugarcoat things, I get straight to the point. “Alexei's men had the hospital barricaded. I had no choice. I couldn't get to Roman without taking down two of his men first.”
What?I’d rather tell him a little white lie than admit I acted like a pansy who can’t get over his past. When the time is right, I’ll tell Nikolai what really happened.
Now isnotthe right time.
Air whizzes from Nikolai’s nose, but he isn’t surprised by my revelation. “Loss of life is a casualty of war, Trey. Alexei knows that better than anyone.”
“Yeah, I get that,” I agree, nodding. “But I don’t see Alexei willing to accept that excuse when he discovers I murdered his son.”
Nikolai looks a little uneased while asking, “Which son?”
I swish my tongue around my mouth to loosen up my words. “Tristan.”
Nikolai’s relieved breath fans my cheek for barely a second before he sucks it back in. “Is Alexei aware of the incident?”
