Page 75 of Beautiful Rush
“I bet Kosta is full of secrets too,” Anthony said.
“Nah,” I said with an easy smile. “I’m an open book. I’m just hard to read.”
Keira burst out laughing and the others, except for Anthony, joined in.
“All night I’ve been trying to remember why the name Nikolevsky sounds so familiar,” Ivan mused. “And then it came to me. It’s going back thirty years.”
I tensed but kept my face neutral, a trick I’d perfected over the years.
“There was a girl…a Russian girl. She worked in a strip club in Brighton Beach. She fell into the whore category. Someone to have fun with. Unfortunately, she didn’t understand the distinction. The silly girl went and got pregnant.” His eyes never left my face. “The little gold digger latched on to any man with money. Used her body and pretty face to get what she wanted. I did the right thing, of course. I gave her money for an abortion. I was already married to the woman who became the mother of my beloved son. May she rest in peace.” Ivan crossed himself.
I finished off the rest of the vodka in my glass. I wasn’t nearly drunk enough for this night. “Sounds like you did the right thing,” I said, keeping my voice even. “Why bring another poor bastard into the world?”
“Hmm. Yes,” Ivan said distractedly. “But still, I wonder…ever since I lost my boy…” He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. “Her name was Natalya. Does that name mean anything to you, Kosta?”
I shook my head. “Nope. Can’t say it does.”
* * *
Keira
I shouldn’t have sought him out across the table. I shouldn’t have looked into his eyes. But I couldn’t look away. I tried to tell him all the things I couldn’t say.
I love you.
It’s only you.
This is all an act. I’m doing this for you. For us.
But all those things took a backseat to this latest revelation. Was he really Ivan Petrov’s son? Sasha’sbrother? Could that be possible?
“Do you believe in fate?”
“I do now.”
I wanted to wrap my arms around him. Tell him that everything would be okay. That soon this would all be a distant memory. Nothing but a bad dream. He was going to take down Petrov, Anthony, Dmitri and whoever else was involved. When they were all sent to prison, we’d ride off into the sunset together. Seeing him tonight when I’d walked into this restaurant had shocked me, but it had also given me the strength to play along with this whole charade. I had complete faith in him. He would take care of it.
But now, on top of seeing me walk right into the middle of his assignment, Ivan Petrov had shocked him with this bit of news. Deacon had never known who his biological father was, and to think he could be sitting right next to me was a total mind-fuck.
What were the chances? There were over seven billion people on the planet but somehow, Deacon and I had found each other, and our lives were so intertwined, in more ways than we could have ever predicted.
I looked at him across the table. So heartachingly beautiful, his hair cut in short layers like it had been when we met, his face clean-shaven, but unreadable. I wanted to crawl into his lap and hold him and never let him go.
He had been so cool, so detached when he’d shaken his head and said that the name Natalya meant nothing to him. Everyone at the table would believe him. Except me.
Deacon and I were skilled liars, but our love was not a lie. It was our greatest truth. I just hoped, as Eden had predicted, that our happily ever after was right around the corner. But somehow, I knew it wasn’t.
We were playing with fire and we were going to get burned. My greatest regret was that Deacon had followed me into the fire.
23
Deacon
The morning after the disastrous dinner, Dmitri called. He wanted to meet me at the waterfront. That night the shipment of arms and drugs was being delivered to the warehouse. I knew that Keira was safe and that Anthony and Petrov hadn’t been anywhere near her since she was dropped off after dinner last night. Right now, her safety and finishing this job were the only things I cared about. My sole focus was on the job. I couldn’t afford to dwell on anything that had happened or had been said last night. Not until this was over.
I walked to the end of the pier and drank my coffee while I waited for Dmitri. Five minutes later, he showed up with Leon who stopped a good distance away, within earshot but not as close to Dmitri’s side as usual.
Dmitri took a drag of his cigarette and I waited for him to speak. “I’m starting to think you are not who you say you are.”
