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It’s a short drive, hardly worth the minutes it takes to find a parking spot, but I don’t mind. I love spending time with my brother, and today, Ben seems in a better mood than I’ve seen him in ages.
“So, what’s going on, big brother?” I ask as he leads me into the maze of wall space adorned with a mixture of beautiful artwork and riveting photos. “What’s new with you?”
“Well, if you must know, I think I’ve finally found a job that really suits me.”
“You? The perennial couch surfer? Nooo.”
Ben laughs and gives my shoulder a playful nudge. “I know, right?”
“Well, what is this miracle job?” I ask.
“Actually, it’s an office management position. Mikhail Sidorov has kind of taken me under his wing, and I’ve been coordinating his meetings, setting up conversations, and handling some business operations for him. Mostly to do with his restaurants. Which is pretty freaking cool. I got to meet the Michelin Star chef who runs the Aviary kitchen.”
My stomach drops at the mention of Mikhail’s name, but I fight to control my response because I don’t want to rain on my brother’s parade. While we definitely need to talk about Mikhail, I want to share in my brother’s excitement, at least for a little while.
“No way!” I gush, focusing on the upbeat part of the information. “Did you get to watch him cook at all?”
“Oh, man. No, but he pulled out all the stops. I mean, fresh Maine lobster and bison steaks flown in from Montana. He popped a bottle of Cristal for me and Mikhail just to go with our appetizers.”
We pause in front of a dramatic painting done in an abstract style. The bright reds, blues, and yellows that slash across the white tapestry mimic the chaos inside my brain right now.
“Wow,” I say, swallowing my nausea at hearing Mikhail’s name a second time in as many minutes.
“Don’t get me wrong. I mean, the perks have beenamazing. But for the first time in my life, I feel like I’m actually doing something useful with my time. Something that interests me. And Mikhail sees promise in me. He thinks someday I might even have the stones to be a big dog like him.” Ben flashes me another brilliant smile.
Then he seems to really see me for the first time, and slowly, his face falls.
“What?” he asks, deflating slightly.
“It’s nothing,” I say, steering him to the next piece of art as I try to rein in my facial expression.
“Dani, I know when you’re lying. You look genuinely upset. Is it because I’ve been gone so much lately? I promise it’s not the job, and now that I’ve got my head on my shoulders, I’ll come around more. I swear.”
His earnest tone tugs at my heartstrings, and I do my best to really be happy for him. But I just can’t. Not with what happened between Mikhail and me the other night—and definitely not if he has something to do with Efrem’s warning about a Russian Bratva.
“I’m glad you’ll try to come around more,” I say, trying for a smile.
“But…?”
“I don’t know, Ben. I just… don’t trust… Mikhail.”
“Don’t trust him?” Ben asks, stopping short, his face shifting from open and caring to guarded in an instant. “Why do you say that?”
We’re not even trying to look at art now as he confronts my concerns head-on. I bite my lip, suddenly nervous to say anything. Ben’s finally trying to reach out and spend time with me.What if I say something, and it pushes him away?
But Efrem’s warning keeps echoing in my brain.
“I’ve just heard some stuff—you know… that he might have some shady connections?”
God, I sound so uncertain, even though I know without a shadow of a doubt that the guy’s a creep. Maybe I don’t have hard evidence about his connection to the Zhivoder Bratva. Still, I have firsthand experience with the fact that he’s a sleaze.
Ben releases a heavy sigh, his arms crossing defensively over his chest. “We’ve already been over this, Dani. I don’t get where you find the nerve to criticize the people I choose to hang out with when you literally just got grounded for skipping town to hang out with Pyotr Veles. I promise you that Mikhail is a far better person than that dishonest piece of shit.”
“Ben!” I gasp, shocked that he would say something so low about Pyotr without a hint of remorse.
“No, seriously, Dani. Enough. You’re always trying to get me to reconnect with Pyotr, who I know for a fact is selling drugs around town and haskilled people, Dani, over some stupid boundary line that he’s drawn in his head. But Mikhail is a legitimate businessman, someone I work with closely, and I’ve never seen him do anything even remotely shady. So maybe you shouldn’t believe everything you hear.”
That’s rich, coming from the guy who, just a month ago, was talking about how I shouldn’t hang out with Pyotr based on rumors he’d heard. But I don’t want to fight with my brother, so I shut my mouth.
