Page 140 of Twilight Sins

Yakov throws Sergey to the ground and towers over me. The familiar edges of him are trembling with barely contained rage. “If you cared about her, you wouldn’t have let her out of the house. I thought you would watch her. I trusted you to—” He bites off whatever he was saying, anger flashing over his face.

Tears blur my vision. Yakov is wrath itself in front of me before he spins around and yanks Sergey up from the ground. “Get up,” he barks.

I swipe at the tears pouring down my cheeks. “Yakov, please. I want to fix it.”

I want to get Mariya back. I want Yakov to look at me the way he did in the club upstairs. The way he did this morning before he left with Nikandr, and I started down the path that led us here.

“You’ve done enough.” He doesn’t turn around before he and Sergey round the corner.

56

YAKOV

Nikandr is standing on the sidewalk in front of the apartment building Sergey led me to. I pull along the curb and roll down the window.

“Aw, shit,” he says, assessing Sergey. “I hate when you have fun without me, brother.”

It wasn’t fun. Not for a single second.

Usually, I’d relish punishing someone who deserves it the way Sergey does. But my mind was elsewhere. With Mariya.

And Luna.

“I can’t go,” Sergey groans. He slumps down in the passenger seat. “I’ve lost too much blood.”

“Let me see.” Nikandr grabs his hand and yanks it to the window. Sergey groans as Nikandr tosses it back to him. “You’re not gonna bleed out from a few missing fingers, fucker. Be grateful it wasn’t your dick.”

Never say never. The night is young.

“How are you here, Nik?”

I should have called Nikandr when I left the club. I wasn’t thinking clearly. My head hasn’t been on straight since I saw that bruise on Luna’s face.

“I tracked Mariya’s phone here. She’s inside somewhere.”

Her phone is inside, at least. I’ve lived in this bloody world for too long to have hope without proof. I’m not going to assume the best-case scenario until I see Mariya alive with my own two eyes.

“Looks like I didn’t need this deadweight, after all,” I say, hitching a thumb towards Sergey. “I could’ve left him to rot in the alley like he deserves.”

Sergey starts to say something, but Nik leans across him to look into the backseat. “Hold up. Where’s Luna?”

“Home,” I say flatly. I don’t let my face show all the shit burning up inside of me when it comes to that infuriating woman.

Sergey struggles to sit up, his eyes suddenly wide. “I’m not deadweight. I’ll take you to the apartment. Right to it. It will save you time.”

Nikandr snorts. “I thought you were too weak to walk?”

“I want to help!”

“You mean you want to keep the rest of your limbs where they are.” I walk around the car and drag him through the door. “But what you want doesn’t matter. Take me to my sister. I will decide what happens next.”

Sergey limps through the rotting apartment building as if I cut off his toes instead of his fingers. There are yellow water stains on the drop ceiling tiles and molding trash accumulating in the corners. The whole fucking place should be condemned.

After tonight, I might make sure of it.

“I can’t believe Mariya didn’t run screaming when she saw this place,” Nik mutters.

“She probably didn’t have that choice.”

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