Page 34 of Brutal Secrets

I pick up my beer and take a sip as my gaze wanders over the rooftops. “It might not be that bad,” I say, sticking my fork in a dumpling.

“No?” His black brows rise. “You planning to drop her back over there and say you made a mistake?”

I grin crookedly. “Would it work?”

“No, you fucker.” He punches me in the arm. “It wouldn’t. And that’s before we’ve even gotten started with the fact that you fathered a kid with a pop star—one who’s all over the papers because she’s in court every other week.”

He gulps down half his beer and swipes a hand over his mouth. He picks up two dumplings and stuffs them into his mouth, his cheeks bulging as he watches me.

“What part of ‘let’s lie low for a while and let the money start rolling in’ didn’t you get? When did you find out about your daughter?”

“I don’t know. About six years ago, when they moved to New York.”

“You’ve known about them that long and now you suddenly have an urge to pretend you’re The Brady Bunch?”

“No, she found me at a nightclub. With the Polina look-alike, as a matter of fact, and I’d have been able to keep a lid on the whole thing if this angry little fucker in her band hadn’t started shouting in front of the boys about what a shitty father I am. I got one of the guys to kick him out of the club.” I sigh, closing my eyes and tipping my head against the seat before adding, “But not before he made a lot of noise and I had to tell her I might need her to disappear.”

He laughs darkly. “Oh, and how did she take that? Ready to give you a father-of-the-year award?”

“She didn’t say much, actually.”

I remember how she looked at me with her heart in her eyes. The way her face lit up when she saw me, her voice all breathy as she caressed the word Vadim. It hurt to see her like that. I had a minute to imagine what it would be like to have a woman who looked at me like that all the time before I shut it down. I wouldn’t be so stupid.

Looking at Sasha, I take a sip of my beer and blow out a long breath. “I gave her a burner phone and told her I’m not a good man.”

“Hmmm.” He regards me over the rim of his drink. “You’re one of the best, actually, you sentimental fool.”

“Well, with the company we keep, it’s a pretty low bar.” I roll my shoulders and dig my fingers into the knotted muscles of my neck. “You’re right. This is a clusterfuck. I knew I’d want the singer and my daughter out of town.”

Sasha puts down his drink and just watches me, waiting to see how I’ll explain the mess I’m in.

“I didn’t realize the redhead was anything more than a pretty girl who needed help. I thought it would be easy to do her a favor.” I look at the handful of people sunning themselves on the roof as Sasha waves over the waitress and orders more beer.

“Well, it won’t be easy. You kicked a wasp nest, and we might have a mafia war on our hands if we’re not careful.” The waitress drops off fresh drinks, and Sasha draws a pattern in the rings the beer mugs have left on the table. “Even if we’re careful, it’s going to be a mess.”

“Don’t you ever think about your sister?” I ask, unable to meet his eyes as I ask the question. “If you’d seen someone who looked like her, are you certain you wouldn’t have reacted?”

Sasha reaches over and turns my head toward him. “You are the only family I’ve got left. You and the other guys from the orphanage. Polina is gone.” Taking a swig of beer, he downs what’s left in his glass and stares into the bottom, avoiding my eyes. “Love killed my mother. She was a fool who took in her husband’s bastard, and other than proving my dad preferred fucking white women, raising Polina gained her nothing.”

I’ve heard this speech before, but Polina was his sister. Somewhere under all that bluster, I know he feels the pain of our failure to save her, so I let him jab the table knife in the air like it’s a weapon.

He slams the knife on the table and spears a dumpling with his fork. “Remember that. Remember who we are and what we’ve built. Love is a liability.”

“So, you won’t help me if I need to save my daughter?”

Sasha sighs. “Of course I’ll help you. What choice do I have?”

“There’s always a choice, brother.”

He shrugs like it’s no big deal, but I know it will cost him. “We always choose each other. Nothing has changed. I’m just pissed off.” He spreads his hands wide, as if he doesn’t have words for the mess I’ve created, and then adds, “They aren’t your family, though. You’ve just met them.”

“You know the Night Governor will never see it that way. I’ll have to protect them like they’ve always been mine. How safe are our safe houses?”

Sasha twists his mouth as he thinks about it. “Not as safe as they were last week, no thanks to you, but I can think of a couple of places you can use.”

My best friend’s temper is as violent as a summer storm but passes just as fast. Our boss is another matter. And now that I’ve ruffled the Spataro family’s feathers by spiriting away the don’s daughter, we’re in deeper shit than I could have realized.

Which also means Kesera and our daughter are in there with me.

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