Twilight Sins (Kulikov Bratva Book 1)

The back of the restaurant is dark. The light above our table flickers every couple minutes, but otherwise, we’re dealing in shadows.

It’s the way I planned it.

When Boris walks through the door, he doesn’t even see us at first. He sits down on a bench in the waiting area before he finally spots us and makes his way through the grid of tables.

“Fucking useless,” Nik mutters. “He should know we’re here. I would have been surveilling this place for hours before the meeting. I was surveilling it for hours.”

“Which is exactly why I didn’t,” Boris booms as he approaches, clapping Nikandr on the back. “Ever heard the phrase ‘work smarter, not harder’?”

Nik scowls at him. “Your brothers are the reason we had to drive an hour north to have a meeting. If anyone should’ve been standing watch, it’s you.”

Boris unwraps a fork from the table and picks at the space between his two front teeth. “Hard for me to get you all the information you want if I’m stuck on guard duty. I ran some errands for Akim to cozy up to the boss. Now, I’m here. There wasn’t time. So again, thanks for looking out.”

“I don’t even know why we’re here,” Nik says. He turns to me. “I already told you Akim greenlit you.”

“You did. And then I found out your source wasn’t sure where the hit came from,” I grit out.

It’s safe to assume Akim is behind the hit, but I’m not going to risk my family’s safety on a hunch. I want it in stone before I decide what my next move will be.

Boris clicks his tongue. “You always gotta verify your information.”

“Is that why you didn’t warn our father there was a hit out on him?” Nik hisses. “Too busy ‘verifying?’”

“Nik,” I warn.

Boris shakes his head. “It’s alright. Nikandr doesn’t like me. That’s alright.”

“You worked for the previous pakhan of the Gustev Bratva. You were there when they planned our father’s assassination. A heads-up would have been nice.”

“If I was on your payroll at the time, I would’ve warned you. But,” he shrugs, “my loyalties were elsewhere.”

Nik snorts. “Wherever the pockets are deepest, that’s where you’ll find Boris.”

“Which is why I’m here,” Boris says, an uncharacteristic scowl on his face. “At great personal risk to myself, I might add.”

“You’re being paid just fine for your ‘great personal risk.’ Get the fuck outta here with⁠—”

“Stop wasting my time with a pissing contest,” I bark. “Boris, are you here to confirm or deny?”

Boris dips his head in apology. “Confirm.”

“Big fucking surprise,” Nik mumbles.

Boris ignores him. “I overheard Akim putting out the hit. He wants you dead even if he isn’t the one to do it.”

“Because he can’t do it. He knows he’d never survive the attempt.” I shake my head. “He’s a fucking coward.”

“A coward with a wide network of people desperate enough to take the money he’s offering.” Boris glances over his shoulder. “I wouldn’t be wandering around the city if I were you.”

“That’s why you aren’t me. Akim Gustev isn’t going to scare me into hiding.”

Boris holds up his hands. “You’re right. I’m here to give information, not advice.”

“So far, you haven’t told us a single thing we didn’t already know,” Nik growls. “If you don’t have anything new to say, we should end this before we’re spotted.”

“We won’t be spotted thanks to all your surveillance.” Boris winks at Nik, which only enrages him further. “And I do have something else.”

“Then say it now,” I spit. “I’m done here.”

“There’s a woman,” Boris says.

Nik frowns. “Where?”

“On Akim’s hitlist. There’s a woman.”

“Who?” I ground out.

Boris leans back and shrugs. “I don’t have a name, but it must be some bitch who rejected him. Akim isn’t low enough to go after women.”

“Except he already has,” Nikandr spits. “Akim went after⁠—”

“You don’t have a name?” I ask, cutting Nik off.

Nikandr is right not to trust Boris. He followed the money to us, which means he’ll turn his back the moment he gets a better offer. I’m very careful to ensure that Boris never knows more than I want him to.

Boris shakes his head. “No name yet. I don’t think it’s a big deal, though. He wouldn’t⁠—”

I scrape my chair across the tile floor. “We’re done here. Wait ten minutes before you leave.”

I step onto the sidewalk and Nikandr is at my side immediately. “You think Akim has put a price on Luna?”

“Or Mariya.”

“Shit,” he hisses. “Should I call them?”

“They’re at the mansion watching movies. They’re safe.” I hear myself say it, but the words don’t sink in. They won’t stick until I see them alive and breathing inside the walls of my mansion. “Stay here and watch Boris. Make sure he does as I asked and doesn’t talk to anyone else.”

Nik will keep eyes on Boris while I haul ass home and check on Mariya and Luna.

“You don’t trust him?” Nik asks.

I laugh bitterly. “I don’t trust anyone.”