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We hurry outside, people turning to gape at us. Someone’s on their phone, probably calling the cops. But those two men won’t be talking to any police officers. Rafael doesn’t want me in prison for a few weeks because of a fight. He wants me in the ground.
CHAPTER 21
SERENA
Michaela and Zoe sit on the floor in the spacious bedroom, discussing the different characters their toys are going to be. Michaela giggles as Zoe makes a suggestion, then writes it on her notepad. My nerves are still frazzled from Delmaris, first the quick, terrible conversation with Sasha… then after, the fight, picking her daughter up from school, bringing them both to this strange, big apartment.
Sasha’s got the apartment next door, and Owen has the one at the end of the hallway. Another is taken for whoever’s on shift for our security.
Nikolai walks down the hallway, slipping his cell phone into his pocket. I take his hand, holding it up, looking at his scuffed knuckles. “Nothing about the fight,” he tells me. “Looks like we got away clean. And Yaro didn’t spot any tails. It seems Sasha just wasn’t thinking when she asked to meet there. But that also means I fucked up.”
“How? By saving us?”
He smiles gratefully. “By being there at all.”
“Sasha’s safe. That’s all that matters.”
He takes my hand and walks me through the apartment. I notice Zoe out of the corner of my eye, flashing a look. My stomach tightens. Zoe was happy to see Nikolai again, and he was his usual charming self when we arrived. But it’s still a reckless thing to be with a man in front of my baby girl. To give her hope for daddy number two.
“So—what the hell?” He asks as we walk into the sitting area together. Sasha is sleeping. Rosa is reading in her room.
“They’ve been getting employees hooked on drugs and turning them into sex workers,” I say, and my stomach drops.
“Fucking hell,” he says, looking disgusted.
“Sasha got swept up in it. Then she wanted to stop, but they wouldn’t let her. She quit the drugs, but they keep pressuring her. And Rafael… he’s pressured her before. Really pressured her.”
“He needs to die,” Nikolai snarls. “This has gone too far. That poor woman. And Owen’s sister… how many others, Serena?”
“Is that what you want?” I ask softly. “To kill him?”
“I would’ve settled for ruining him,” he says. “Or getting some dirt on him to send him to jail. Or to make him back off. But how is that an option now? I need to draw him out and cut the head off the snake.”
He looks fierce, his eyes blazing, as if he’s ready to do it right now. I believe he would. He’s furious, fists clenched, staring out the window as if he can see Rafael.
“It’s time I learned where he lays his head,” Nikolai snaps. “He doesn’t know we’ve got the Sokolov brothers with us or that we’ve got Price. He knows we know about his abuse racket, and maybe that will panic him. Enough for him to make a mistake. Enough for me to put a bullet in him.”
He takes my hands and pulls me against him. Wraps his arms around me and holds me close like he needs my comfort. Pico walks over and tilts his head at us, his tongue lolling out. Nikolai reaches down and scoops him up, holding him gently between us.
“I should’ve ended him the first time he disrespected you,” he says gruffly.
I let myself sink into the warmth for a little while longer, then lean back and glance at the door. “What if Zoe walked in and saw us like this? She still thinks you’re just my boss.” I guiltily think about holding hands.
Nikolai runs his hand over his head. “I’m going to support your friend until she’s where she needs to be,” he says. “And when Rafael is gone, we’re going to dismantle every seedy thing he had going, every little goddamn racket. You and me, Serena, we’ll do this.”
“What if you didn’t have to kill him?” I ask.
Nikolai glares at me. “After what he did? After what he’ll keep doing?”
“I know,” I murmur. “But what if you put yourself in danger and he gets you? He’s got more men than you. And more killing, Nikolai… you’ve killed before, I’m sure, right?” He nods, his expression growing cold. “Do you want to do it again? Doesn’t it eat away at you?”
“Some deaths hurt a man, sure,” he says gruffly. “But others don’t register at all. Others are like taking out the trash. Rafael doesn’t deserve to breathe.”
“What if we could send him away forever and publicly destroy him?” I press. “You wouldn’t have to dismantle his businesses then. The government would do it for you. The press would wreck him. He’d spend the rest of his life in prison and have nothing to show for it.”
Nikolai looks at me as if I’m naïve. Pico grumbles when he senses my anger flaring. Nikolai looks at him in shock, like he’s surprised my dog would choose me.
“Why wouldn’t that work?” I demand.
