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Damien walks into my office, regarding me with a flat expression. “I have news from the western okrug,” he says. When I don’t immediately answer, he continues anyway. “Our men are pushing ahead. I don’t think the Antonovs were expecting us to have so much firepower. Not to mention our strategy of rolling up and making a quick escape is proving incredibly efficient. If this keeps up, another large chunk of the map will be under our control.”
I nod, just once, too preoccupied with flicking my lighter on and off, on and off. It’s not as soothing an action as it used to be. “Anything else?” I grumble.
He pauses. “I can try and get a message to her, if you want.”
My eyes flick up at him. “What?”
“Sandra. You’ve been seeing her.”
I rise rapidly from my seat, stride across the room, and grasp Damien by the collar. “The fuck are you implying?”
“Nothing,” he says quickly. “Iknow. I know the two of you are… involved.”
“You’d dare accuse me of—”
“I know the signs, Andrei.” Damien grips my wrists, pries them off him. “When our father was sneaking around on your mother to see mine… You think I didn’t notice? The shiftiness. The late nights. The secret text messaging when you think no one’s looking. Iknow, brother.”
I give the bastard a shove. “You’re wrong,” I hiss. “And don’t youevertalk about my mother again.”
Damien puts his hands up. “I’m not trying to start a fight.”
“Good, because you’d lose.”
“I’m not going to pry and ask questions, okay? What you get up to in your free time is your business. All I’m asking is if you want to get a message to her.”
I glare at him for a long time, unable to parse out his motivations. “Why would you do that for me?”
Damien takes a deep breath. “I know you guys don’t think much of me. I’m a reminder of what our father did. But you’re still my family. And if I can help you, and maybe even figure out a way to end this conflict before things get out of hand, then I’ll do it. I’m not completely useless, Andrei, and you don’t have to admit to anything, but I can see in your eyes how much you care for that woman. I have contacts who might be able to put you in touch.”
I stare at him dumb amazement, guilt shredding through me. I confess that my treatment of Damien has always been less than stellar. That he would go to such lengths and show me kindness despite all that… Maybe he isn’tsobad.
“How would you even find her?” I ask.
It’s a fair question. The Antonovs are known for their tight-knit circles and secrecy. Anyone who works for them would likely be amongst their most loyal, so I doubt Damien has an in with any one of them.
“As far as I’m aware, there’s only one member of the Antonov Family who has a job outside of serving the Bratva,” he says. “And as far as I’m aware, it’s part of a doctor’s Hippocratic oath to never turn away a patient in need.”
I frown. “Cut to the chase, Damien. What are you on about?”
He flashes a toothy grin. Some days I think he looks more like our father than any of us. “Dr. Natalya Chekov owns a small clinic in the middle of the city. When she isn’t busy stitching up gangsters, she has a small handful of patients she cares for.”
“What about guards?” I ask. “If she works in the public sector, surely the Antonovs have given her an army of guards.”
My half-brother shakes his head. “Not from what I understand. There’s a reason she kept her maiden name. So she can run her practice without Bratva interference. She might have a guard or two, but she’s our best bet if you want to get a message to Sandra.”
I swallow hard. This is risky. The chances my message won’t get to Sandra at all are staggeringly high. It’s not like I can go by myself, either. I’m far too recognizable, but whoever I send to deliver the message might get caught. I shudder to think what the Antonovs might do to them.
But I have to try.
“Let’s do it,” I tell him.
Damien nods. “I’ll grab a pen and paper.”
“No. It could be discovered and destroyed before it ever gets to her.”
“Then what do you propose we do?”
It takes me a moment, but an idea suddenly pops into my head. “Ever heard of an AirTag?”
