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I haven’t seen him in years, but my uncle is hard to forget. Konstantin Antonov has aged poorly, sagging in on himself like a half-empty bag of flour. His head is bald, his face covered in wrinkles. His saggy jowls and hooded eyes add to his haunted, dead gaze. It’s like his skin is trying to slough right off his bones.
I recognize the man next to him, too. Edvard Levitsky. He needs the assistance of a cane to walk, his limp heavy and off to one side. He looks worse than Uncle Konstantin, his skin almost yellow in hue. A few of his front teeth are missing, having rotted away.
And then there’s the woman—Violetta Salkov—to round off this Trinity of theirs. She’s a frightful thing. Something from my childhood nightmares. I’ve never seen anyone so obviously cruel. Her fingernails are long and sharp like daggers, her thin lips pressed into an almost non-existent line. She holds her head high, but her body shakes with the effort.
These are Bratva leaders well past their prime, but they all have one thing in common: their hatred of the Antonov family—myself included.
They come prepared with a swarm of armed guards, but I knew the moment they showed up in front of the safehouse there was no point in fighting. TheyknowI’m isolated and outnumbered. I’m not going to make a fool of myself by playing the part of a one-man army. We’ll settle this like professionals—provided my suspicions are correct and they plan to keep me alive for some unknown reason. They could have shot me to hell already, so there has to be a reason they’re approaching the front door.
They even ring the doorbell.
I take a deep breath. It’s time to face the inevitable.
When Konstantin sees me, he breaks into a big smile. It makes my skin crawl. “Goodness, dear nephew. You’ve certainly grown. I’m sure you’re aware of my colleagues, yes?”
“A pleasure,” I say flatly.
“Are you going to invite us in, dear boy?” Levitksy asks. “We have much business to discuss. Of course, if you prefer not to…” He glances over his shoulder at one of his armed guards, his threat obvious, but unspoken.
I hold the door open and stand aside. “Please.”
On the outside, I’m calm. On the inside, I’m mentally screamingwhat the fuck is going on? Where’s Dani? What about the FBI agents who were posted outside my door? I hate to think while I was in hiding, The Trinity were busy tearing through all the defenses meant to keep me safe. Does this mean they got to Pyotr and his family, too? What about Mikhail and Dimitri? I have too many questions and not enough time to figure it out.
“How’ve you been?” Konstantin asks me, as if he doesn’t want to tear me apart limb from limb. “I see you’re in good health. How are your mother and father doing?”
Cold dread claws its way through me. These aren’t the words of a kind man. He must have brought Mom and Dad up for a reason.
I grit my teeth. My jaw pops. It gives me a headache like no other. “How the hell did you three get out of the Pit?”
Salkov scoffs. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“That’s why I’m asking, idiot.”
Levitsky chuckles. “The pipes. You’d be surprised how much information you can transfer with a solid pen and knowledge of Morse Code.”
“Seriously?” I sneer. “Morse Code?”
“Kids these days…” Konstantin sighs. “You forget, we grew up in a time where such things were a necessity for survival.”
“It took us a while,” Salkov confesses, picking at the non-existent dirt beneath her fingernails. “But then again, we had nothingbuttime thanks to you and your brothers.”
I bite on my tongue hard enough to taste blood. “My brother told me there was some sort of power outage. Let me guess, that was by design?”
Konstantin nods. “I’ve spent enough time in the Pit to build a rapport with a few of the guards Mikhail has stationed down there. You’d be surprised how easily loyalty is bought. All it took was the promise of a hefty payout and the rest was history. They killed the power, knocking out the lights and security cameras… And then we were home free.”
My chest tightens, irritation licking at the nape of my neck.Dammit. Dammit all. I know my brothers abhor violence unless absolutely necessary, but now I’m wondering if they should have just killed these three and saved ourselves the trouble. Now they’re loose and thirsty for vengeance—a truly awful combination from where I’m standing.
“So what’s the plan here?” I ask impatiently. “You’re not going to kill me, so what’s your next move?”
Salkov snorts, turning her sharp nose up at me. “What makes you think we aren’t going to kill you?”
“Because you would have done it already. Besides, those men you sent after me said you wanted me brought in alive.”
Levitsky grins. “Clever boy. I can see why your brothers always turn to you for help.”
Konstantin takes a seat at the kitchen table like it’s a casual dinner get together. “You’re right. We’re not going to kill you.Yet. You are going to help us reclaim everything we’ve lost.”
I frown steeply. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
