There was no version of this night where I would let her walk away from me. Not in a room full of men who smiled too easily and calculated too much. Not when every pair of eyes here could spot weakness. And definitely not when she was the highlight of the event. I noticed how men stared at her. If I were in their position, I would stare too.
“I will take the silence as a yes.”
She turned to leave, but my hand found her waist before she could take a step. I pulled her back. A waiter passed by, and I handed over my glass, then took hers from her hand and gave that away too.
My fingers closed around hers, and I led her past men who watched without turning their heads. We went down a quieter hallway where the music softened.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
I didn’t answer since we had arrived at the men’s washroom. I pushed the door open and stepped in. Inna resisted, pulling her hand back.
“I can’t go in there.”
“Would you rather we go to the ladies?” I asked and pulled her in, moving towards the sink.
“Why are we here?” she asked.
The wound had been quiet earlier. Now it felt like it was waking up, reminding me I hadn’t dealt with it properly.
I slipped off my coat and handed it to Inna. Her gaze dropped to my shoulder, and the realization hit her. I could manage pain, but blood was an inconvenience. I unbuttoned my shirt and parted it open.
“Shit,” Inna’s voice cut through. I didn’t need to look down to confirm I was bleeding.
A knock came at the door, and it opened. Inna stepped closer to me, her body tensing as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn’t.
Akim stepped in, carrying a bag. He placed a fresh set of bandages beside the sink.
Inna let out a breath when she realized it was Akim, her shoulders easing.
“Anything from Ivan?” I asked Akim while I peeled away the edge of the tape holding the old bandage on my wound.
“Not yet,” he answered.
“Keep your eyes open for the signal,” I instructed.
Akim didn’t move immediately. I caught his hesitation in the mirror, a slight pause that didn’t belong to him.
“Also, your brother is here. I missed his name on the list.”
My hand stilled. I lifted my gaze to meet his reflection. I said nothing. Silence had a way of making people correct their mistakes.
“Roman, Boss,” he added.
Was this some kind of joke?
“You missed Roman Konstantinov on the guest list?” My voice remained even.
“He wasn’t on the list.” Akim didn’t miss things, especially not serious details. If Roman wasn’t on that list, then he wasn’t supposed to be here.
I looked back at the wound, but my thoughts had already shifted. Roman was the one who pulled me out of the incident in Cuba. He did it almost too cleanly. But I didn’t trust cleanliness when it came from someone else’s hands.
He was my brother, but he grew up in a different state. New York shaped him into what I never witnessed myself, and that alone was enough to make me question everything. The Konstantinov Bratva in New York ran well, I knew that much, but distance created gaps. And gaps were where mistakes lived.Or intentions.
“Leave,” I finally said to Akim. He nodded and left.
What was Roman’s connection to this? From the entrance alone, no one got in without an invitation unless Roman had used mine to slip inside. And when the hell did he even get to Florida? Something about this wasn’t right, and it better not ruin my plans today.
“Don’t you like your brother?” Inna asked, pulling my attention back.
