Page 41 of Mikhail Petrov

Roman answers the door, his new wife beside him, and greets me in the only way a younger brother would. “You look like shit.”

I chuckle and pull him in for a hug, clapping his back a little harder than he probably expects.

“Yeah, well, it’s been a shit morning,” I say, threading my fingers through Leah’s as we cross the threshold.

His wife, Nadia, greets us warmly, and we exchange introductions. While Leah and Roman have met in passing, their interactions were nothing beyond a cordial hello and goodbye. He’s heard what he knows of her through me, but mostly the broken version of us, post-Leah.

The women opt to remain upstairs while Roman and I take a winding staircase to a hidden cellar below the main floor landing.

“I’m glad to see your ball sack finally dropped,” he jokes as he punches a code into the slate metal door. “I was worried you were trying to be like Dad and swearing off women for a decade after that whole Celeste bullshit. Lev and I were this close to staging a goddamn intervention to get you some pussy, brother.”

I can’t help but laugh. “Don’t be a dick. Getting pussy wasn’t exactly the problem. But I’m flattered you care.”

Roman slides a black crate from beneath a shelf and flips open the lid. “This enough?”

I peer inside and take a quick mental inventory, nodding my approval.

“I wired the funds to your account and threw in a little extra as a thank-you and, of course, a wedding gift.”

“You didn’t have to do that, but I appreciate it.”

I observe my brother for a beat. Something is different about him. He’s still the same cheeky bastard as always, but he seems more...grounded and happier. The most telling is in the way he looks at his wife like she’s the only one in the room.

A feeling I know all too well.

“It looks good on you—married life, settling down. Never thought I’d see the day.”

Roman chuckles. “You know how it is. What’s that saying? Life throws you curve balls and all that shit. Well, I got clocked in the goddamn face, and I liked it.”

We share another laugh.

“And you,” he says. “It’s good to see you finally found your way back to her.”

“I did.”

Roman reaches for a decanter. “Yeah, I was tired of listening to you cry like a little bitch.”

I slap the back of his head like I used to when we were kids. Our laughter reminds me that I need to visit more often. Now that I have to move out of Texas, that might just be the case.

The mood suddenly shifts, as if we’re reading each other’s thoughts. I already briefed him on everything that happened with Emilio during our flight.

“You should have wasted him, Mikhail. One less reason to look over your shoulder,” he says, pouring a glass of whiskey and sliding it across the table.

I shake my head and sigh. “At the end of the day, that’s still her father. I didn’t want that kind of shit hanging over our heads.”

“You tell Dad yet?”

“Not yet. But we should spread the word and be on alert, just in case. Something tells me I’ll be seeing him sooner than expected.”

Roman tips his glass. “Agreed.”

CHAPTER 20

LEAH

Mikhail’s phone has been buzzing for what seems like the one-hundredth time in the last two hours. Between Ann and Rodri calling nonstop, I’m slowly losing it. Mikhail’s words about my brother still resonate, and as much as it pains me, I know his advice is sound. While Ann has always had a fractured relationship with our father, she’s close to Mom, who is as loyal to her husband as they come, no matter what.

It’s not something I’m prepared to deal with, especially after I’ve had time to let it all sink in.

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