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“What do you want?” I demand, my tone shifting in an instant. “And how did you get my number?”
“I’m calling about Ben,” he states, cutting right to the chase and making my heart pound. “He got into a fight at one of my nightclubs. He’s alive, but he’s hurt and asking for you. He wanted me to call.”
Icy fear grips my chest at his words. Ben wouldn’t call unless it was serious. And the fact that he would need Mikhail to make the call for him sends me into a full-on panic.Sure, he’s alive right now, but what if his injuries are life-threatening?“What club?” I demand, rushing back toward the kitchen.
“I’ll drop you a pin.”
“I’m on my way.” I hang up as I step back into the kitchen, and from the looks on Pyotr and Silvia’s faces, they heard my half of the conversation.
“What’s wrong?” Silvia asks, rising from the table.
“Ben. He got into a fight. He’s hurt and needs me. I’m so sorry, but I have to go.”
“Who was on the phone?”
Efrem’s low voice makes me whirl, and my heart hammers in my chest. “Mikhail.”
The tendons in his jaw pop as Efrem grinds his teeth, his head tilting with suspicion.
“I have to go,” I repeat, silently imploring Efrem to understand.
“Of course you do,” Silvia cuts in compassionately.
I give her a grateful smile and a quick hug.
“What club?” Efrem presses, his tone businesslike, but I can see the tension in his shoulders.
“Um.” Glancing down at my phone, I check the pin Mikhail sent me. “Kaleidoscope,” I read. Then I click on the pin to find it’s located on the east side of Manhattan.
“Be careful, Dani,” Pyotr warns, squeezing my shoulder.
I nod. “I’ll see you guys soon,” I promise, then race for the front door.
34
EFREM
My feet carry me into the entry, following Dani before I have time to think about my actions. And I clench my fists as I realize I can’t follow her. I have responsibilities. Still, I don’t trust Mikhail Sidorov at all. I want to go with Dani, to keep her safe because something feels off.
“You think she’s in danger?” Pyotr asks behind me, and I stiffen.
Turning, I try to force reason into my tone. “I don’t like her going into Zhivoder territory alone.”
But Pyotr’s intelligent eyes see through me, spotting the depth of my inner conflict in an instant. “You and Dani have something going on. Don’t you?”
His voice is gruff, possibly laced with disapproval. But before I can respond, Silvia cuts in.
“I think Efrem should follow Dani,” she insists, holding Isla on her hip. “See her home safely. After what happened to me, I don’t want to risk Dani’s safety, and she just spent the day with us.”
Pyotr turns to her, his brows pressing into a deep frown, and I know he’s considering the likelihood she’ll come to harm. It doesn’t matter right now whether I’m seeing Dani or not. She’s walking into the lion’s den with only her injured brother for protection.
Then an ear-splitting crash fills the living room, and I step forward to shield Pyotr and his family as they flinch. The house is in motion in an instant, Val racing from around the corner of the hall.
Several Veles men raise their guns toward the shattered window and the brick lying guiltily in the middle of the floor.
“Protect thepakhan,” I bark in Russian, drawing my gun as I aim it at the gaping hole in the glass.
Something dark moves swiftly below the windowsill, and I step forward, take aim, and shoot. Isla screams behind me as my ears ring from the shot. But I’m rewarded with a grunt that tells me I hit my mark.
