Twilight Sins (Kulikov Bratva Book 1)

“Do you think this is funny?” Luna fixes me with her bright blue eyes.

I suppress a laugh. Sergey didn’t deserve her. What he deserved was a public beatdown, but he was so drunk that it wouldn’t have been any fun. There’s no satisfaction in fighting someone who can’t fight back. No matter how much the sloppy bastard deserved to have his head knocked in for a bit.

But Luna knows how to fight. She’s fiery.

I like it.

“Sit down.” I pull out her chair and pat the seat. “Let’s keep talking.”

She’s uncomfortable with people looking at us, but they’ve been looking all night; she just didn’t notice. No member of the Kulikov family can’t be in here without word spreading and whispers being exchanged. My father made it well known that this was his turf. It’s a small miracle no one walked over to our table and gave away my identity before Sergey stumbled in.

Luna sits down, but she crosses her arms stubbornly over her chest. “You mean, ‘Let’s keep lying.’ That’s what you’ve been doing all night.”

“I didn’t lie.”

Her mouth falls open. “You’re kidding.”

“I didn’t do that, either.”

“You told me your name was Sergey!”

“No, you thought my name was Sergey. I didn’t tell you anything.”

“But you let me believe it!” she hisses. “You let me throw myself at a complete stranger.”

I can’t stop the smile that curves across my mouth. “Were you throwing yourself at me, Luna?”

“Nuh-uh, no,” she snaps, wagging a finger at me. “You don’t get to do that. Your bedroom voice is not going to get you out of this.”

“I wouldn’t dare try to get out of this. I’m having far too much fun.”

Her full lips pout into a frown, which is only making things more entertaining for me. When Luna walked up to my table, flustered and nervous, she was intriguing. But now, all fight and fire and accidental confessions, she’s captivating.

She throws her napkin down on the table and flops back in her seat. Her legs are crossed. I trace the path of revealed skin from her knee to where her dress slit stops near her hip bone. I make a mental note to taste that spot later.

“I’m glad you’re having fun. But I’m not. Which might have something to do with being lied to all night.”

“I didn’t tell you my name. You should be thanking me for that. If I had, you would’ve gone to dinner with that mudak your friend tried setting you up with. Speaking of which: I’m not so sure she’s really your friend.”

“You think I should be grateful?” She snorts. “Yeah fucking right. Kayla may have terrible taste, but at least she isn’t a liar.”

She’s trying so hard to make me the villain here. It’s funny because, in almost every other area of my life, I am the villain. There’s evidence everywhere you look. Hell, just take that poor biker’s blood on the inside of my wrist if you need proof.

Not that she’ll ever learn about any of that. Luna is a distraction for tonight and tonight alone. In the morning, she’ll be nothing but a memory.

I lean forward. “You were having a good time with me.”

“That’s not a question.”

“It wasn’t meant to be. You were having a good time with me,” I repeat. “Whether I was here or not, you were going to be eating dinner with a stranger regardless.”

Her lips part. She wants to argue, but she can’t. She knows I’m right.

“The only difference between you eating with the asshole I just threw on the sidewalk or me is that, with me, you enjoyed yourself.” As the waitress walks past, I tap my glass to let her know I want a refill. “Am I wrong?”

“The difference is that I knew his name,” she snaps.

I hold out my hand. “I’m Yakov.”

She glares at my extended hand, but doesn’t take it. So I quickly grab her hand and curl her fingers against my lips.

Luna stops breathing. For a second, her eyes are wide and she just stares at me. When I finally pull my kiss away, she comes to enough to remember she’s mad at me and yanks her hand back.

“Now that that’s out of the way… am I wrong?”

“Wrong about what?” she asks, slightly dazed.

“Was I wrong in thinking you were having a good time with me?”

Luna is staring daggers into me, but it’s softened by the nervous twist of her lips. “No.”

“Then it’s settled. We’re finishing the date.”

Luna holds her stare for a few seconds before she blows a strand of hair off of her forehead. “Are you always this bossy?”

“Always. Professionally so.”

“You’re a boss?” She slides her bowl of stew closer and takes a bite. I’ve never seen someone eat resentfully before. Resentful, that is, until her full lips wrap around the spoon and she gets her first taste. Then her eyes flutter closed and I briefly lose my train of thought. The train derails completely when she lets out a soft moan. “Wow. This is good.”

“I told you.” I knew she’d like it. I just had no idea how much I’d like watching her like it.

“Of course you did.” She rolls her eyes, but she can’t help but smile. “You’re right about everything, or so you’d like me to think. I’m sure it helps in your line of work.”

“It helps in every line of work. I recommend it.”

She snorts. “What kind of boss are you?”

I’m not used to dating women who don’t already know my story. Being in a family business, everyone knew I would carry on the torch. It’s what I was bred for.

That doesn’t mean it’s safe to go spouting off about it to every woman I meet. No matter how tempting.

“Tell me what you do for work,” I say abruptly.

Luna drops her fork. “No way. You don’t get to dodge another question. Not after your lies before.”

“Omissions,” I correct. “I didn’t lie to you. Even if I did, you’re the one who asked for pretty lies.”

“I was kidding! No one wants to be lied to.”

I shake my head. “That’s not true.”

“Okay, then who? Who on Earth wants to be lied to?” she challenges.

“You do. Right now.” I hold her gaze. “You don’t know it, but you want me to lie to you, Luna.”

Her smile falters. “Why?”

“Because a pretty lie doesn’t ruin a nice evening the way an ugly truth can.” The waitress brings me a new drink and I tip my head in thanks. Then I turn back to Luna, who hasn’t taken her eyes off of me. “If you really want to know what I do, I’ll tell you. I won’t lie. But be prepared to hear an answer you won’t like.”

She chews on her bottom lip. I’ve never seen a mouth I want to taste more. “What’s the alternative?”

“You tell me what you do, you don’t bother asking me the same question in return, and we see where the night takes us.”

There’s a beat of hesitation. A second where I’m sure this distraction is going to go up in flames.

Then Luna sighs and turns her attention to her stew. “I’m a saleswoman for an industrial plastics manufacturer.”

Good choice.

“And here I thought I was the bad guy. Next, you’ll tell me you club baby seals.”

Laughter burns behind her eyes. The spark we had before is brighter than ever. Despite her better judgment, Luna is still here. Still having a good time. I’ll keep it that way as long as she doesn’t try to overcomplicate things. As long as she doesn’t need the truth.

“I didn’t tap you for an environmentalist, Yakov.” She squints at me, scanning me from head to toe. “I don’t see any ‘Tree Hugger’ pins.”

“I don’t lead with my soft, bleeding heart on a first date.”

She smirks. “Ah. Well, if you must know, I work for a recycled industrial plastics manufacturer. I could give you the spiel on our sustainably-sourced polycarbonate, but I wouldn’t want to bore you.”

“Bore me? It’s almost like you’re talking dirty.”

She leans her head back and laughs. “That’s a first. My job isn’t particularly sexy. People usually move on pretty quickly when I bring it up.”

My phone buzzes. I want to ignore it, but I don’t have that luxury.

I pull it out and see Nikandr’s name on the screen. I actually forgot about him. He was supposed to meet me half an hour ago.

NIKANDR: I thought you had a date with me. Should I be jealous?

“Now, I’m worried I really am boring you,” Luna says. She eyes my phone.

“Unfortunately for both of us, my brother doesn’t know the meaning of boundaries.”

“So you weren’t lying about that. You really do have a brother.”

“I haven’t lied about anything, remember?”

She smiles and holds up her hands in surrender. “Sure, sure. We all have our dirty secrets, I suppose.”

More than you will ever know.

I text him back. It’s a long story.

NIKANDR: Explain it to me later. You need to get the hell out of there. Now.

I tense up. Without being obvious, I scan the restaurant. It’s the same crowd as it was when I arrived. Couples and small families at their intimately-lit tables. The only difference is that, when I first got here, it was light enough that I could see out to the sidewalk. Now, the interior of the restaurant is reflected against the inside of the glass. Nik is behind that glass somewhere, watching.

And if he’s this panicked…

That means someone else must be watching, too.

“Is everything okay?” Luna looks over her shoulder and then back at me. “Are you looking for somebody?”

The real question is whether someone is looking for me. I ignore her question and tap Nikandr’s contact.

He answers immediately, skipping a greeting to give me the pertinent information. “Gustev Bratva.”

“How many?”

Luna is staring at me. Her brows are pinched together. I hoped to eke out a few more hours of distraction from our night together, but my ugly truths came knocking faster than I would have liked.

“Four,” he replies. “They’re two buildings down, parked in front of the deli. They came in two different cars, but shifted into one. I think they’re planning something.”

I should have expected it. Akim Gustev never did know when to call it quits. Neither did his father. I should have killed them both at the same time. Total eradication.

“You need to leave and take your girlfriend with you,” he concludes.

Luna is still watching me. She can’t hear what Nik is saying, but her head is tilted like she’s hoping she might pick up a few stray words.

I want to ask him if he’s sure the men staking out the restaurant saw us together. I never planned to take her back to my house—a hotel would’ve sufficed for the activities I had in mind—but if Akim has his men after me, a hotel is out of the question. I also don’t want to lead them back to wherever she is staying. I might as well hang a bullseye on her front door.

But I don’t have to ask. Nikandr knows what I want to know.

“The two of you might as well be the pretty display in the shop window,” he confirms. “I have a clear shot at your table. It didn’t help that you made such a scene with the drunk dude. I know what she looks like and it wouldn’t take me five minutes to figure out who she is and where she lives. She isn’t safe.”

An hour ago, I didn’t know Luna.

Now, I’ve put her life in danger just by inviting her to sit at my table.

“Get out of there,” Nik repeats. “Go through the back. I’ll meet you with the car.”

I hang up and Luna doesn’t waste a second. “Is everything okay?”

The pretty lie is sitting on the tip of my tongue. Yes, it’s fine. Eat up.

But I haven’t lied to her yet tonight and I won’t start now.

“Do I not seem okay?”

“You seem tense. And evasive.” She leans forward and places her chin in the palm of her hand. “That’s also not how anyone I know talks to their brother. It was cryptic and now, I’m wondering if I shouldn’t circle back to a few of those personal questions you avoided earlier.”

“I’d love to sit through your interrogation, but I have to leave.”

She sits tall. “Oh. Okay. Well…” She looks over the table and our half-finished dinners. There’s no hiding her disappointment. “Family comes first. I get that—even if my family is kind of a mess. Oh God, I’m not going to reopen that can of worms. Um, I hope everything is okay with your brother and⁠—”

“We have to leave.”

She blinks. “Pardon?”

“You’re coming with me.”

She watches the movement of my thumb like I’m hypnotizing her. Maybe I am. When she looks up, she’s dazed. “You want me to leave with you? Where?”

“My place.”

I have cameras, gates, motion sensors. It’s tight security and the only place she’ll be safe for tonight. Until I can make sure she’s not under threat and send her on her way first thing tomorrow morning. Distractions can last one night. Longer than that and they quickly become complications.

“I don’t—” She bites her bottom lip as she thinks. “I just met you. I just learned your real name. Going back to your house seems kind of crazy, doesn’t it?”

“A lot of people would argue this entire night has been ‘kind of crazy.’”

She blows out a breath. “Which might be a sign that I should pack it in for the night. Cut the evening short before you reveal yourself to be a mass murderer.”

“Or take you home to introduce you to my grandmother.”

She laughs, which seems to put her even less at ease. “I don’t know you, Yakov. You could hurt me.”

I have to repress a snort. She has no fucking idea.

“Yeah, I could,” I say. “You saw the way I dragged Sergey out of here. If I wanted you to come with me, you wouldn’t be able to resist.”

She swallows. Her throat bobs. It’s not the subtlest threat I’ve ever made, that’s for fucking sure.

“But I’m giving you the choice,” I continue. “I’m asking you to come with me, Luna. Make things simple and just say yes.”

Luna does have a choice. If she chooses correctly, then we’ll take this distraction back to my mansion. If she doesn’t… then the ugly truth will be revealed. I’ll force her out of this restaurant and into my car if I have to. Anything to protect her from a danger she doesn’t even know exists.

Her blue eyes are pensive. I’d love to know what she thinks she’s deciding. What she thinks is on the table right now. Whatever it is, it’s not nearly as dangerous as the reality of what awaits us outside this cozy restaurant.

Slowly, she stands up and reaches for my hand. “Okay. Let’s go.”

Without another word, I lead her through the back door of the restaurant.