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“Dug up my dirt and threatened me with it. It wasn’t anything surprising. When you live with secrets, they always come back to bite you,” she muttered. “Are you going to leave him again?”
“If I get the chance? I don’t know. I guess I won’t know until the moment comes. I have a feeling it’s futile, but hey, that’s never stopped me from doing anything in the past.” I sighed, relaxing against the sofa and taking her hand. “I’m so happy to see you. Will you come again?”
“If you want me to. Are you going to come to Theo’s wedding?”
“When is it?” Excitement surged through me at the thought.
Fede smiled. “In a few weeks. He doesn’t know you’re back yet. I didn’t know what to tell him.”
“Tell him I’d love to come, though I’ll probably need a plus one for Max. I can’t see Kirill letting me come without him.”
“Max?” Fede wrinkled her nose as though his name annoyed her, but a rarely seen pink tinted her cheeks.
None of the bartenders at the Blue Rabbit had been as uncaring of male attention as Fede. She looked through the poor fools who attempted to ask her out. I’d never seen her blush over a man.
“Yes, Max. Is there something going on between you two?”
“Of course not,” Fede immediately scoffed.
She was a good actress, but her denial was too quick. She was hiding something, and I was dying to know what it was.
“He’s—I’d never willingly enter into a relationship with someone like him. Bratva, you know?” She said the last apologetically.
I swallowed the lump of shame from her implicit judgment. I got it. Who would choose to live a life on the edge of a knife? No one in their right mind, that was certain.
“Unfortunately, some of us don’t have a choice.”
15
KIRILL
Cigarette smoke drifted lazily into the air above my booth. Pravda during the day was depressing as hell, but it was a private place to meet. Nikolai sat opposite me, blowing smoke rings toward the ceiling.
“What did Antonio De Sanctis say when you confronted him with that tidy little file you’ve been making?”
“Not much. He denied it, but I could tell he was panicked.”
“He’ll probably call Renato back from Naples,” Nikolai mused.
Renato De Sanctis was heir to his family’s capo title. Sofia’s elder brother had been away for years in Naples. Antonio believed his son had to learn the ropes of the business in the old-school way, in the original seat of the De Sanctis’ family power.
“Good. Maybe then, level minds can prevail. Men like Viktor and Antonio are relics. Their time is over, and they don’t understand the world we live in anymore. The sooner we can rid them of power, the better for everyone.” I took a long slug of cold water and crunched the ice between my teeth.
Nikolai smirked. “Viktor thinks you’re coping well with the death of your first love. He’s impressed.”
“He doesn’t suspect that you’re lying?”
Nikolai shook his head. “Not for a second. I have an unbeatable hand, brother. Viktor thinks I’m his most devoted killer hound and believes I lack the capacity to think outside the box he put me in.”
“You’re a good actor.” I was as guilty as my father of underestimating Nikolai.
I spent years thinking the darkness and blood-soaked parts of our work had destroyed his sanity, but I’d discovered he was painfully aware. Aware and two steps ahead. Together, we were a killer combination. Too bad our truce would be over the second Viktor died and a power vacuum opened in the Chernov bratva.
“How’s our little princess doing since you dragged her kicking and screaming back to New York?”
I glowered at him. I was far beyond pretending that Nikolai talking about Molly didn’t piss me off. I’d never forgive him for letting all my secrets out of the bag before I’d had the chance to break them to her gently.
“She’s fine,” I said curtly.
