Page 59 of Deadly Legacy
“Secondary team reporting in. All surveillance equipment destroyed. No traces left.”
Nikon stared down at Dmitrii’s body once more. “Confirmed. Clear out.” He turned away without another word.
Outside, the boatyard lay quiet under the gray light. Nikon pulled out his phone and read Reuben’s message again:
I love you. Come home when it’s done.
He typed a simple reply:
Done. Coming home.
Chapter 18
THREE WEEKS LATER
Reuben stepped from Nikon’s Bentley onto the gravel drive, and the cool evening air carried the scent of Natalia’s prized roses.
It had been weeks since Dmitrii’s death, but Reuben’s shoulders still tensed at open spaces.
“You’re scanning for threats again.” Nikon’s voice held a hint of amusement as he closed the car door with a solid thunk.
“New instincts die hard, I guess.” Reuben smoothed his tie, eyes checking the perimeter of Grigorii’s suburban estate. The place looked different somehow. Less fortress, more home.
The massive oak door flew open before they reached the steps. Samuil burst out like a small tornado, his dress shoes skidding on marble as he nearly toppled down the stairs.
“Uncle Reuben! Uncle Nikon!” The boy’s face split with a grin that transformed his usually serious features into pure seven-year-old excitement. “You’re finally here! I’ve been waiting forever!”
“Since after lunch, I heard.” Reuben crouched to meet the boy at eye level. “That’s quite the wait.”
Samuil grabbed his hand with surprising strength. “I learned a new card trick. The one with the four aces. Been working on it all week.”
“Have you now?” Reuben allowed himself to be pulled toward the doorway. “And does your mother know you’re ambushing guests at the door?”
“She knows.” Samuil’s chin lifted with an expression so reminiscent of Grigorii that Reuben had to suppress a smile. “I told her it was important business.”
Natalia appeared in the doorway, elegant in a simple black dress that managed to somehow look both casual and formal. “Samuil, what did we talk about earlier?”
“But Mama, I’ve been waiting so long!”
“Ten minutes isn’t forever, you little drama king.” Natalia stepped forward to kiss Reuben on both cheeks, then Nikon, the warm gesture as natural as breathing after all these months. “He’s been impossible all day. Nothing but‘When’s Uncle Reuben getting here?’every five minutes.” Her smile softened the complaint. “Come in, both of you. Grigorii’s opening that ridiculously expensive bourbon he’s been saving.”
Samuil tugged Reuben’s hand. “Can I show you now? Before dinner?”
Reuben glanced at Nikon, catching the subtle softness in his partner’s gaze. Something unreadable flickered across Nikon’s face—something that made Reuben’s heart skip.
“I think we have time for one trick.” Reuben allowed himself to be pulled through the doorway, into the warmth of the only real family he’d known in years.
After drinks had been poured and greetings exchanged, Nikon leaned against the doorframe of the formal dining room, bourbon glass cool against his palm. The gentle clink of ice cubes punctuated the low hum of conversation.
Across the room, Reuben sat with Samuil at the far end of the mahogany table, their heads bent together over a deck of cards. The boy’s small hands moved carefully as Reuben guided him through the motions, his face scrunched in concentration.
“He’s good with him.” Alexei appeared beside Nikon, his own glass half-empty.
“He is.”
Reuben’s face lit up as Samuil successfully completed some sleight of hand, the boy’s triumphant smile mirroring his teacher’s. Nikon watched them, struck by an unexpected tenderness that made him grip his glass a little tighter.
The way Reuben guided Samuil reminded him of his mother’s patience when teaching him chess as a boy before her passing. It was a memory Nikon hadn’t revisited in years.
