Page 54 of Claimed By Desire

“I’m sure you think that.”

“Seriously Lev. She misses you. Me and Nat fucked up, but you don’t owe me anything. I’m just some guy. But she’s your sister and you can’t keep blocking her out forever. That baby’s going to be your niece or nephew.”

His lips press together. “I know that.”

“Talk to her. She’s been in a bad place and I think that’ll help.”

“Why the fuck do you care?” He glances at me again and shakes his head. “Yeah, alright, I get it. Same reason you’re cleaning the watches.”

“Smart man.”

“Fuck off.” He sighs and leans back against the headrest. “Yeah, alright, I’ll think about it, okay? Not for you though. Fuck you. I’ll call because I know she’ll need me.”

“Thank you,” I say quietly.

“Fuck off.”

We lapse into silence again. I know Lev will follow through. He’s a good person at heart and his relationship with Natalya is important to him. Right now he’s angry, but this is our new reality, and sooner or later he’s got to get past it. At least enough to forgive her.

I hope it helps.

She’s been miserable. I know I’ve been making it worse. It drives me fucking crazy, the way she comes into my apartment and starts ignoring the very simple things I ask of her. It’s not like I’m forcing her to scrub the fucking toilets—I just want her to pick up after herself.

But I also know it’s not the biggest deal in the world and I should just keep my fucking mouth shut.

I’m a prick. I’m stubborn, like her, and obsessive. But I do care about her, and I want her to patch things over with her brother.

“Holy shit, look,” Lev says, sitting up straight. He nods with his chin toward where a man’s hurrying down the block, walking away from the restaurant we’ve been staking out. “The fucker’s finally on the move.”

“Meet me a couple blocks over,” I say, jumping out. “Take the truck.”

He doesn’t argue. We’ve been working together long enough to know how this goes. I jog to the sidewalk and hurry until I’m on the guy’s tail, a tall Italian kid named Rico Malone. He’s a mid-level lieutenant in the Marino Famiglia, and we heard from legit sources that he was there the night they smashed and burned Fed to the ground.

Rico’s clueless. He’s a little drunk and he’s got his phone plastered to his face. I can’t hear him, but he’s jabbering away at someone, weaving along the sidewalk in his expensive Jordan sneakers and a gold chain that’s probably worth a fifth of what he paid for it. Unless the cheap idiot stole it from our shop.

Up ahead, the block breaks for a narrow alley, one of many in Philadelphia. The street’s dirty and covered in puddles from arain earlier, and as Rico gets close, a truck suddenly turns down in front of him.

Rico curses and throws up his hands. Lev cut that one fucking close and nearly clipped the kid. The truck stops, blocking his path, and Rico’s cursing and kicking the tire.

I approach from behind, flip an extending baton into my hand, and crack it across his left knee.

He goes down with a scream. His phone hits the pavement and clatters away. I smash the steel baton using the hard tip to break his other kneecap. If the bone isn’t shattered, he’s one lucky mother fucker. I grab his collar and drag him into the alley, away from the light. Lev pulls the truck in, blocks the entrance, and kills the engine.

Rico rolls side to side, groaning. I crouch down and shove him up against the wall until he’s in a seated position, face sweating and twisted in agony.

“You know who I am,” I say, staring into his face.

He’s breathing hard through his teeth. “You’re that Russian fuck. You stole the girl.”

“My name’s Alexander. This is my friend, Lev.”

“Not friends,” Lev mutters as he flips a knife open. “More like reluctant colleagues.”

“The complicated nature of our relationship isn’t important.” I shove the tip of my baton into his chest. “What’s important is this. You fucked with our shop.”

“Fuck off. I didn’t do shit.”

I flick my wrist down, snag the chain, and rip it off his neck. He groans as the clasp bites into his skin before breaking. I hold it up and pass it back to Lev, who appraises it.

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