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“Can I ask you something? Did you freak out about me having a kid?”
He wasn’t sure if he was going to bring it up or just go with the flow and see what happened on this date. But at that moment, he needed to know.
Alice sighed, her shoulders slumping. “I just…It’s about Alek.”
Nickolay’s brow furrowed. He wasn’t expectingthat. “What about him?”
“He’s intimidating, and for some reason, when I heard that you had a kid, I just couldn’t help thinking about your friendship with that man. It made me wonder what kind of man you must be for being friends with him.”
Nickolay tried not to be offended. She was insinuating that his ability to be a good father could be compromised by his association with the Bratva, but he tried to see it from her point of view. Alek gave off a dangerous vibe, it was a part of how he held onto his power as a mafia boss. If Alice picked up on that, it could easily make her wary.
“You want to know what kind of man I am?” He cupped her chin, angling her face toward him. “I’ll show you.”
He kissed her, surrendering to the desire that burned so brightly every time she was near. She tasted like saltwater and cream cheese icing. He couldn’t get enough.
* * *
Spending the afternoon on the lake with Alice was the most fun that he’d had in a long time, but that evening, it was back to business. Max was with his Aunt Gina, freeing him up to meet with his brother. Vlad was waiting for him at the curb in front of his apartment building.
“What’s the plan?” he asked as Vlad got into the car.
“The vigilante assholes struck again. Attacked some young kid selling coke on a street corner last night. Gunned him down.”
Nickolay shook his head, disgust turning his stomach. “Did we at least get some information out of this mess?”
“My source at the police department told me there was a witness. Got a partial plate number and vehicle description. They found a match in the DMV records, but they’re sitting on it for us for tonight, giving us a chance to follow the lead first.”
Nickolay grinned. “We’re lucky that you’ve got such good connections.”
Vlad put an address into the car’s GPS and fifteen minutes later, they pulled up in front of a cookie-cutter house in a subdivision full of the same two-story homes with carefully manicured lawns and children riding their bicycles down the sidewalks.
“You’re sure about this address?” Nickolay asked skeptically.
“Crazy comes in all forms. Even in a place like this.”
Vlad had a point, but something in his gut told him that whoever lived in this yellow house wasn’t a part of the vigilante group. Still, the two of them went to the front door together, ready to confront whoever answered when he rang the bell.
But that plan was immediately scrapped when they found themselves facing a young girl. Nickolay would guess she was around twelve or thirteen and way too trusting based on the bright smile she gave both men. Her braces glinted in the sunlight.
“Are you looking for my dad?” she asked.
Nickolay nodded. “Is he home?”
“No, he’s at work.”
“And your mom?”
“She’s shopping.”
The father in him was horrified. “You really shouldn’t tell strangers that you’re home alone.”
Her smile faltered, and he internally cursed himself for scaring her.
The sound of a vehicle pulling into the driveway behind them made him turn, and he saw a woman behind the wheel of an SUV.
“Is that the car we’re looking for?” he asked Vlad.
“No. It’s a sedan.”
