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Two of my men address me.
We step off the elevator into the hospital’s private wing, which we keep staffed for our Bratva needs. A nurse rushes past us with a red flush and eyes trained to the floor. I glance in the direction she came to see two men laughing while standing outside a room. Nik’s voice yells into the hall.
“Told you, you both will never believe me!” His laughter rolls through the hallway, and I press Kate toward that direction. The men wipe the smiles off their faces when they see me approach, and a smirk ghosts my lips. I push open the door. Nik is lying down, slightly elevated in the hospital bed, with his right leg wrapped in a sling. It’s pathetic, if you ask me, to see him laid up.
A grin, featuring his one dimple, aims for Kate. “Well, well, Kate, you didn’t have to come all this way for me …” He trails off and gives her a wink. Her words falter.
“Someone blew up her building,” I snap, caring less that Nik is being his normal self with her.
“Was it you?” Nik jests. I shoot a pointed scowl in his direction and yank out Kate’s phone.
“Nyet. We got this message right before the building blew. I didn’t stick around to entertain the police or try to see who else was snooping. I need you to trace this number, and I want to know how Kate’s new number was acquired.” Nik takes the phone, reading over the message. He frowns.
“Hmmm. All Hope is lost. Riveting message, not one for words then.” Nik’s playful mood grates at me. Knowing him as I do, I know he is hurting, not only physically but emotionally, grappling with his cousin’s death and covering his guilt with the Nikolai charm.
But I see through it. Always have.
“And Kate was with you because …” Nik trails off with raised brows.
“I was taking her home. Listen, I need someone to go in as a bomb expert or detective and recover our”—I glance at Kate and wince—“our equipment. I don’t want any connection to this.”
“Don’t you own the building?” Kate pipes in. “Wait—equipment?”
Nik smiles at me, no doubt reveling in seeing me squirm.
“Da. Equipment,” I say.
Kate’s confusion swirls in the room, and her silence turns to annoyance. Her eyes widen, and she snaps.
“Cameras. You had cameras in my apartment. Are you kidding me? What in the fresh hell is with you invading people’s privacy? I wondered how that bill was paid. You can’t play big brother Luka; it’s wrong.”
I raise my eyes to hers, swimming with anger, and I’m impressed. I never thought she would have the guts to scold me. “I’m anything but your big brother,malyshka.”
Kate opens her mouth and shuts it again, then crosses her arms over her chest. Nik’s eyes dart between me and Kate.
“This is better entertainment than anything I’d find on TV. Please, continue.” Nik says.
I, however, have had enough of this.
“Enough, Nikolai.” I command.
He clears his throat and gives me a nod. My phone rings in my pocket, and I glance at the screen.
“I’ll be back in a moment.”
Chapter29
Kate
When Luka steps out of the room, I relax and plop down in a chair. Cameras? I can’t believe him. But also, am I surprised? I’m a pawn on his chessboard. He is free to move or eliminate the pieces whenever he wants.
When Luka does something that peels back his mask and shows the vulnerable man beneath, he pushes it back, voiding any progress.
The last several hours have been whiplash for my mind, and it is whirling. I was going to finally be home until I surrendered to my compulsion and kissed him. At the precise moment my lips met his, my mind was stupefied. The tingling still lingers on my lips, and longing flips low in my stomach.
My mind is broken—the complexity of him is jarring. A man who kills, deals weapons, and leads a group of criminals is the same man who paid my emergency bill and bought my apartment building. He didn’t want me to worry about rent.
I shake the tangled web of emotion from my head and try to think practically. I’m officially homeless. The frown must be showing on my face because Nik’s voice infiltrates the quiet room.
