Page 166 of Twilight Sins

67

YAKOV

“All I’m saying is, you were just in a bar fight two days ago. You might be better suited than me at causing a distraction,” Nik says as he drives the car.

My brother isn’t so keen on my decision that I’ll be the one to end Akim Gustev’s life.

“It’s too late,” I tell him. “We’re not changing the plan.”

“It’s not too late until you pull the trigger. If anything, changing the plan last-minute will make sure Akim doesn’t get the jump on us. If there was a leak, now, we’ll surprise him.”

“We’re the only two people who know what’s happening tonight. How would there be a leak?”

He considers the question for a second and then screws up his nose. “Come on, man. Let me kill him. We can make a deal.” He sees the steel in my face and sighs. “This is bullshit. We should have drawn straws or something. You’re stealing all the fun.”

“You’re starting to sound like Mariya.”

The fact is, making the kill shot is dangerous. If Akim is smart, he’ll have guards stationed on either side of him by the doors. Those guards could spot me and take me out before I even get the chance to pull the trigger. Between the two of us, Nikandr has the higher chance of making it home tonight.

“It’s fine,” he grumbles. “I’m just glad we’re finally doing this. This has been a long time coming.”

It has been a long time coming. It also feels like I could have spent several more days thinking through worst-case scenarios and patching holes. I feel rushed. I fucking hate feeling rushed.

“Extra guards are stationed around the perimeter of the mansion?” I ask.

Nik nods. “They are under strict orders not to let our dearest little sis or Luna off of the property tonight. No repeats of last time.”

Last time. The last time things with Luna were good. The last time I saw her…

I wanted to go to her before we left the house this morning. I’m optimistic I’ll make it out of tonight alive, but I still couldn’t shake the idea that I needed to fix things with her before this all went down.

But she’d know something was wrong if I tried that. Like always, the less Luna knows about what’s going on with Akim, the safer she is.

Plus, I knew if I went into my room to see her, I wouldn’t want to leave again.

No distractions.

I grab my phone from the console and tap in a number.

“Who are you calling?” Nik asks.

I don’t say anything, letting it ring.

Dr. Mathers picks up on the third ring. “Good to hear from you again, Mr. Kulikov.”

“Well?” I snap.

This isn’t a distraction. I’m getting Luna off of my mind. As soon as I know Dr. Mathers is taking care of her, I can stop thinking about her.

The usually patient man sighs. “Are you calling for information regarding Ms. McCarthy’s appointment?”

“Why else would I be calling?”

“Charming,” Dr. Mathers mutters. “I can tell you that Ms. McCarthy is healthy. Anything more than that would be inappropriate to?—”

“She’s been throwing up for days. If she was healthy, I never would have called you.”

Nik leans closer. “Who is that? Who’s sick? Is this phone sex roleplay?”

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