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Nikolai balks, his eyes bugging out even further. Gritting his teeth, he smooths out the paper, holds it up to his face, and starts reading loudly.
“‘Ax the upcoming takedown—”
“For fuck’s sake, Niko, I read the goddamn note—”
My brother only reads louder. “—you are planning on The Black Rose or else your man is dead!’”He glares at me. “It’s signed by Sobakin.”
“As I said, I saw the damn letter. And I can read. So I don’t need you reciting it back to me.”
“Then why are you standing there acting as though it’s some silly prank? It’s got his seal on it and everything!”
If Niko wasn’t so sure that Igor’s life was still hanging in the balance, I’d have rolled my eyes. “His seal doesn’t have the power to make me shit my pants.”
Nikolai narrows his eyes. “What are you implying?”
“I’m not implying anything; I’m saying it outright: you’re playing right into his hands.”
“Fuck you.”
I snatch the letter from Nikolai’s outstretched hand. “He sends us one threatening letter and I’m supposed to just crumble to sobbing pieces and do whatever he says?”
“He’ll kill Igor!”
“Don’t you get it?” At this point, I’m shouting, too. Nikolai is the only one who can still get a rise out of me. I used to think that was a good thing. “Igor’s already dead. And if by some miracle he’s not, then he’s as good as dead. Boris isn’t just gonna release him back to us because we ask nicely.”
“He might—if we give him what he wants.”
I grimace, forever shocked that two brothers born from the same two parents can be so different when it comes down to the wire. “And what precedent does that set,brat?”
“The precedent that we will not abandon our men.”
“No,” I growl. “It sets the precedent thatallour men are vulnerable now, because the moment he takes one, we’ll cave and give him what he wants. He’s counting on us reacting to this move because if we do, he’ll keep pulling the strings and we’ll be reduced to his little dancing puppets.”
A sound escapes through Nikolai’s teeth, some cross between a growl, a hiss, and a retch. “I think you’re making a mistake.”
“You frequently do.”
He glares at me. Our eyes are pretty much the only thing we have in common at this point. That and our loyalty towards the Bratva. They just manifest in different ways.
“What’s happening with the girl?” he spits out.
I frown. “What girl?”
“Thegirl,” he spits. “The one in Lev’s basement.”
Right.Thatgirl.
“She’s still here,” I mutter reluctantly. I have no desire to debate this with my brother but I can see he’s jonesing for a good argument.
“Are you serious? When are you going to start using your head and stop thinking with your dick?”
As much as I hate to admit it, that hits a nerve. I pull my lips back to bare my teeth. “The situation is under control.”
Nikolai shakes his head. “You need to think about Lev and Pol. You need to think about this Bratva above all else.”
That’s the thing about siblings—they know exactly which nerves to hit. “You think I don’t spendallmy time thinking about this Bratva? This family?”
“I think you’ve been distracted lately.”
