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One of the boys who had been standing back, watching the drama unfold, steps forward now. As he comes into the light of the streetlamp, I don’t recognize the guy right away. But something about his voice is very familiar.
Then it hits me. Ben Richelieu has grown up considerably since I saw him last. He’s chopped his blond curls into a close-shaved buzz cut that makes him look dangerously like a skinhead. And he’s traded out his designer polos for dress shirts and slacks that look slightly mussed after a night on the town.
“Ben?” Dani gasps. Tears stream silently down her face as she gapes at her older brother.
“What are you doing here?” he asks.
“I could ask you the same thing,” she snaps, her fear suddenly shifting into something akin to anger.
“You two know each other?” the ring leader asks, looking back and forth between the siblings.
“That’s my sister, Dani,” Ben says, his tone morphing into concern. “Let her go.”
The brute clinging to her arm does so immediately, dropping Dani and taking a step back. Somewhere along the way, she must have lost my jacket because her bare shoulders are exposed to the cool night air once more. She crosses her arms over her chest in a defensive stance, her face stormy as she casts a glare at the man who dared to touch her.
Then she faces off with her brother, her dimples flashing as she presses her lips into a thin line.
“What are you doing withhim?” Ben demands before she can speak. He jabs a finger in my direction.
“Don’t act like you don’t know Efrem. You grew up with him. What is wrong with you?” Dani demands.
“Nothing’s wrong with me. I just witnessed him shoving his tongue so far down your throat I didn’t even recognize you. He had his hands all over you. Right here in the middle of a public park,” he barks, accusations flying.
“You want to be mad at me for kissing Efrem when this is whoyou’rehanging out with?” she counters, capturing the group of boys with a sweeping gesture.
“You make it sound like spending time with us is a bad thing, love,” teases the ring leader, his smug smile setting my teeth on edge.
My hands twitch to wrap my fingers around his throat. But I don’t move, waiting to see how this plays. Then I can decide if I should kill every one of the Zhivoder men or if I’ll have to back down. Because apparently, Ben is running with them, and I don’t want to risk Dani jumping into the middle.
It unsettles me to see Pyotr’s old friend on the wrong side of the conflict. And looking at me likeI’mscum right after his new buddies just suggested having their way with his sister.
“You don’t talk to me,” Dani snaps, pointing at Ben’s pockmarked friend and casting him such a look of hatred that his bravado actually falters.
Fucking Christ, she’s sexy when she’s mad.
But the slight wobble of her chin when she turns back to Ben tells me she’s still scared beneath her confident command. It takes every ounce of self-restraint not to go to her. To destroy everything in my path until I can pull her into my arms and comfort her.
“I’m taking you home,” Ben states authoritatively.
“You’re not taking her anywhere,” I growl, stepping forward despite the knife that stands between me and Dani. Even if Ben’s her brother, I don’t trust the men he’s with. He must be crazy if he thinks I’ll just hand her over.
The guy holding the knife grips the hilt more firmly and raises the blade as if to remind me it’s there.
“What, you think just because we wouldn’t hurt Dani here, that the same rules apply to you,kozol?” The Russian insult sounds harsh and foreign in the ring leader’s American accent.
I almost find the brutalization of my mother tongue more offensive than the slur itself.
“Ya voz’mu tvoy yazyk za to, chto osmelilsya proiznesti yeye imya,” I threaten darkly.I’ll take your tongue for daring to say her name.
“I’ll go,” Dani says firmly, cutting through the tension humming in the air.
Her eyes find mine and plead silently with me not to start a fight. Whether that’s to protect me or her brother, I don’t know. But I don’t like it. She’s gambling with her safety, putting her trust in her brother to protect her against nine other men.
What if his Zhivoder friends decide they want a piece of Dani as soon as I’m gone?
Ben won’t be able to stop them on his own.
I shake my head, warning her not to go with them.
