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“Someone has to pay for the attack on my brother. Otherwise, the other family heads will think I’m a coward for pulling out of the fight. And I know for a fact they’ll put you through the ringer if you surrender. There’s no way out of this without one of us losing everything.”
Andrei grinds his teeth, casting his eyes to the floor. “Dammit. The fucker planned for this. He wanted to see us tear each other a part.”
“Ivanovich? But why?”
“He mentioned something about his wife and daughter… Killed in a drive by shooting. Innocent bystanders caught in a Bratva turf scuffle many years ago.”
“You think this is about revenge?”
“Definitely. Why else would he go to such lengths?”
With a defeated sigh, Andrei reaches out and combs his fingers through my hair, brushing a few loose strands aside. I sink into the warmth of his palm, my body leaning toward him. There’s no escaping the pull of his orbit.
“What are we going to do?” I whisper.
“Find him and force a public confession,” Charlotte pipes up.
Her comment surprises me, and I turn to face her. “What?”
“If buddy here is telling the truth, then you need to find this Ivanovich guy and force him to confess to the attack. Prove he was a lone actor. It’ll help you both save face and stop the war. Chalk it up to a massive and unfortunate misunderstanding. I’m sure everyone’s looking for an excuse for this conflict to end without looking like the weak link.”
Andrei presses his lips into a thin line. “They might buy it, but I have to find the bastard first.”
My eyes widen. “You don’t know where he is?”
“He’s gone into hiding. I’ve been looking, though, and it shouldn’t take me too much longer to sniff him out.”
“I can pour our resources into tracking him down, too. We’ll find him faster if we work together.”
Andrei nods. “Good. Together’s good.”
God, I want to kiss him. I want to hug him and apologize. It’s so good to see him again, but I’m afraid of making the wrong move. This is no place for a happy reunion. Not when my guards are everywhere, and the rest of my family could decide to pop in at any moment to check on me. As much as I want him to stay, I need him to go even more. For his safety—and my sanity.
He must sense my building urgency because he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a phone. “Here,” he says. “A new burner you can contact me on. We can coordinate better this way.”
“Coordinate?” I echo, dazed.
“I’ll tell my men to defend the territory we have. Halt advancement. We won’t have any reason to attack unless the Antonovs make a move.”
I nod, picking up the trail. “And I’ll do the same. Hopefully we’ll be able to stall long enough to find Ivanovich and end things once and for all without taking a hit to our reputations.”
He leans forward and gently taps his forehead to mine. It would be so easy to tilt my chin up and kiss him, but we don’t have enough time.
“I have to go,” he murmurs.
“I know,” I whisper back.
“Be safe.”
“You, too.”
“Ugh,” Charlotte groans behind us. “Alright, Romeo, wegetit. Now get the fuck out of here before my father catches you and buries you where no one will ever find you.”
With one last lingering look into my eyes, Andrei leaves the way he came, slipping into the night. I don’t see him leave, but the lack of startled patrol guards and quiet guard dogs tells me he must have escaped. With a heavy heart, I close the door and turn.
Charlotte has her arms crossed over her chest, appearing equal parts furious and confused. “Holy shit, Sandra. What the hell were you thinking?”
“Please don’t tell anyone,” I say.
