“For him to become a student here.”
He falters. “Why?”
“So he can pledge.”
He freezes then pinches the bridge of his nose. “Why, of all the boys I collected, did you three have to become my children?”
And just like that, I’m back to being a teenager again.
My shoulders round. “He’d be good in there. You know he would. And Victoria needs someone on the inside.”
Nikolai grunts. Turns on his heel. Calls over his shoulder: “You know what’ll happen if anyone harms him. Just like you know what’ll happen if anyone harms you. Vasily feasts.”
Fucking alligator. I hate that damn thing.
“Come along, Ilya. Leave Maxim’s wife alone.”
I shift just in time to see the jackass wink at Victoria before he takes her wrist, kisses her knuckles, then, eyes wide with delight at my scowl, grabs my hand to forcibly shake it.
“Until we meet again, Maxim.” Damn him, he sounds far too cheerful for my liking.
Grunting, I watch both men leave.
Victoria shuffles behind me, tucks her arm around the crook of my elbow, then leans into my side. “As much as I want to scalp Ilya for his little deceptions, I like them.”
“You would.” I lift a hand in farewell as one of Nikolai’s guards opens the door to his town car and he and Ilya climb in.
As they fade into the distance, I dip my chin at Vlad, glance at the guards she has on the house to ensure they’re all in the right positions, nod at the Irish, then retreat into the foyer.
Even though my back is to her, she slides her arms around my waist and presses her forehead between my shoulder blades.
“You okay,kotik?”
“That was intense,” she blurts out.
“You handled it very well.”
Better than I did.
At least she kept her shit. I definitely lost mine.
“Ilya… He’s the reason the Bratuhas were slaughtered, all of them, four years ago, wasn’t he?”
The Chechen gang had surprised everyone by gaining a foothold on Moscow’s streets…
Until Ilya went in, slaughtered the leaders, butchered the men, and then retrieved all the gang’s worldly goods, their clients included, and returned it to the Bratva.
“Yes.”
“And Nikolai… he ended B4K in Florida, didn’t he?”
“You know what we are, Victoria.”
Her arms tighten around me to the point of discomfort. “Of course I do, Maxim. I just didn’t expect to be hosting either of them in your sweater and the boxer briefs I stole from your closet the other day!”
“You’re wearing my boxers?” I demand, spinning around and tugging on the hem of the sweater for a peek.
She slaps my hand. “Focus, Maxim. What the fuck just happened?”
