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“You were just a boy,” I mumble, heart twisting in my chest. “That’s so not fair.”
“That’s life,kisa.”
I reach out, aching to touch him. I press my palm against his chest, not to push him away, just to give myself a reminder that he’s really here in the flesh. Despite everything, Mikhail came out on top. He made something of himself, created one of the most impressive companies in all of America. It’s safe to say my admiration for him has grown tenfold.
“So what does he want from you?” I ask softly. “Konstantin. For you to join the Bratva?”
Mikhail lifts his own hand up to cover mine, keeping my fingers pressed against his chest. “Yes.”
“Butwhy? Doesn’t he realize how stupid that would be? He killed your father—hisbrother.”
He works his jaw, hesitation flashing across his normally stoic expression. “From what I can gather, his sons—my cousins—are all dead.”
Goosebumps break out across my arms and down the back of my neck. “All of them?”
“Mobsters aren’t exactly known for their long life expectancies. Grigoriy died of an overdose. Vlad was caught in a drive-by shooting. Maksim was murdered in the dead of night by a rival crew.”
The more he talks, the more I think I’m going to be sick. The reality of the situation is finally setting in. As absurd as all of this sounds, I know Mikhail wouldn’t make something like this up. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy to spout tall tales for the fun of it.
I take a deep, albeit tight, breath. “So your uncle wants you to come back to make you his heir?”
“I suspect so. Otherwise he risks having the Antonov Bratva fall to a rival group. But…”
“But what?”
“I think it’s more than that,” Mikhail says sternly. “If we agree to join, what’s ours becomes his.”
I snort. “How very Communist Manifesto of him.”
“Everything my brothers and I have built… On the surface, everything would run as it already is. My brothers and I would remain the faces of the company, when in actuality, CyberFort would belong to Konstantin.”
I can already hear the alarm bells blaring inside my skull. “He’d have access to all manner of people’s data,” I realize aloud. “Didn’t you sign a security contract with the DOJ two years ago?”
Mikhail nods gravely. “The DOJ, high-profile companies… Everyone we provide cybersecurity to, he’d have access to their information. He could use it for blackmail, take out his enemies… Anything he wants.”
I have never felt fear like this before. If I’d known who Konstantin was at The Red Orchid, I would have left immediately. I’ve never met a man more scary, more insidious. And to think he was able to hide behind that charming smile of his, a predator luring in his prey.
“The ransomware attack,” I say. “That was him, wasn’t it?”
Mikhail nods. “He’s resourceful, has twice as many contacts—and not all of them are law-abiding. If it wasn’t for you, Konstantin would have had us in a chokehold.”
“And all he wanted was for you to join the Bratva? What happens if you don’t?”
His lack of an answer is answer enough.
Fear soaks into my marrow. This is crazy. This is nothing like my mom’s old crime thrillers. This isrealand so horrifying that I’m paralyzed by the gravity of the situation. Will Konstantin kill Mikhail if he doesn’t agree to his terms? What is Mikhail going to do if Konstantin doesn’t let up?
“Are you afraid?” Mikhail asks me, so close I can feel his breath brush lightly against my cheeks. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you. No good can come from you knowing the truth.”
I peer up at him, wide-eyed and a little numb. “I’m not afraid, Mikhail. Not for me.”
Mikhail closes the distance between us until our lipsjustgraze. “You havenothing to worry about, Aurora. Not as long as I’m here.”
I’m immediately drunk from our proximity. I don’t know how he does it, but Mikhail never fails to make my heart race. “Misha, I want…”
“Yes? Tell me what you want.”
My chest tightens. Every inch of my skin burns. I need him like I need air, but I don’t think I can find the words to tell him. It’s okay, though, because Mikhail seems to know exactly what I need.
