He nods, his hands lacing together in front of him. "What for?"
I sit back in my chair and stretch. Then, I turn and grab the crystal globe sitting on the side table. It's a trinket from my father's office. Something given to him as a gift from another boss, maybe a past leader of the Japanese Yakuza. It means nothing to me, but I've kept it around. I spin the globe with my finger, watching it turn slowly.
"Why?" Sevastian repeats, his voice shaking. "What is going on? And why is everyone waiting in the other room? What is this about? Have I done something?"
"Have you?" I ask quietly, tilting my head towards him.
He licks his lips, and I can see his fingers shaking. Slowly, the tremor moves up his body, claiming him inch by inch. He can't stop it. Soon, his head is twitching back and forth, too.
Sevastian is terrified.
"Who told you?" he asks.
I appreciate his not trying to lie his way out of things, even if it's not like he stood a chance if he made the attempt.
"Does it matter?"
He bites the inside of his cheek.
"What did you tell them?" I ask calmly, letting my duty to the Bratva wash away everything else.
There are men waiting in the other room, expecting me to look out for them. To take care of them.
Who knows what Sevastian told the FBI? Who he turned over? Any one of my men could be hauled in for questioning and it's entirely Sevastian's fault.
And ultimately, my fault.
For trusting a traitor. For being loyal to a man who wasn't loyal to me.
Now, I have to rectify it.
"Does it matter?" Sevastian asks, repeating my own question back to me. "You're going to kill me regardless of what I say."
I nod. He isn't wrong. "I would respect you more if you confessed. It might lessen the severity of your punishment."
"Bullshit," he spits. "I'm dying tonight regardless. So, go ahead, Dmitry. Do what you brought me here to do."
When I don't move, Sevastian leans forward, his top lip pulled back in a snarl. "What? Are you afraid to hurt your best friend? Because that's what we are, right? Best friends. You know I only did what I did to save my own ass. It had nothing to do with you or the Bratva. I wouldn't have gone to the FBI if they hadn't found me first. That's why you didn't kill me the moment I walked through the door. Because you know I have an explanation. You know I only did what I had to do-what anyone would have done. You know-"
Before he can finish the sentence, I rear back and smash the crystal globe against the side of his head.
Sevastian drops to the floor without so much as a groan, knocked out cold.
I study the globe, and aside from a smear of blood over Europe, it's as if nothing happened at all. I replace it on the side table and stand up, stepping over Sevastian's body on my way out of the room.
I nod to Rurik as I pass. "Take him to the basement. Chain him up."
My men get to work without hesitation.
THE ROOM IS silent as I enter.
Sevastian is in the middle of the room-my personal gym-chained to the bench press. He can lift his arms a few inches, but otherwise, he's immobilized.
"I'm not going to tell you anything," he says, flinching away from me as I near him. "So you might as well kill-"
The wooden paddle cracks across his face before he can finish.
There's already a lump where I hit him with the globe, and now I've added a split across his cheekbone. Blood pours from the wound.
"Who did you turn over?" I ask. "Which stash houses did you reveal?"
Sevastian spits blood at my feet and glares up at me. I bring my knee up hard and fast into his chin. I hear his teeth smash together.
"Which of your brothers did you rat on?" I growl.
"Brothers," Sevastian laughs. "You were my brother once, too, Dmitry. What are we now?"
I bend down until we're nose to nose and growl, "Whatever we are is your doing. Remember with every flash of pain that you are the one who turned your back on me."
Sevastian looks away, and I see shame cross his face before he hides it with a scowl. He clenches his jaw and winces. I wouldn't be surprised if I cracked one of his teeth. "I'm not going to talk."
"You're loyal to the feds now?" I hiss. "Remember when you said you only did what you had to do to survive? Well, your life is on the line again. Suddenly you aren't so interested in begging?"
"Because it won't do any good," he said, lifting his chin like a petulant child. "You'll kill me, either way. At least this way, I'll take some of you down with me."
The lieutenants around me bristle with anger. I know they want to tear into Sevastian. They want a piece of him. They want revenge.
I try to imagine stepping back and giving them free rein, but no matter how much Sevastian has changed, I still see the pale boy peeking out from the dark black hair. I see the friendly little ghost who existed next to me for most of my life. My best friend. My brother-in-arms.
The paddle clatters across the floor when I toss it aside and trade it for the gun at my hip. I lift my arm, the muzzle pointed at Sevastian's mouth.
"Do you have anything left to say?" I ask.
Sevastian looks up at me, his eyes narrowed. "Yeah. Fuck-"
I pull the trigger and he slumps forward.
My ears are still ringing when I tell my men to clean up the mess. I don't look at his body before I leave. I've shown my family I don't stand for traitors, and I've maintained my authority. There is no need to carry the image of Sevastian's dead body with me. My job here is done.
Up in my office, I make a few calls, announcing Sevastian's actions and my sentencing, ensuring the news spreads quickly to the rest of the Bratva. When I'm done, I look down and realize there is blood spattered on my shirt.
The maid has washed enough of my bloody clothes that I know she could get the stains out, but I take it off and stuff it into my trash can. I have more than enough shirts that I don't need to worry about saving this one. Plus, I'm not sure I'd ever want to wear it again.
I pull a new shirt from the closet behind my desk and slip into it just as my phone rings. I recognize the number as Amanda's and answer.
"Any change?" I ask without saying so much as 'hello.'
"Nothing," she says.
I nod and take a deep breath.
"I'm sorry," Amanda says quickly. "I was told you wanted nightly reports on Tati. Is that still true?"
"Yes. I want to know the second there is any change. No matter what time."
Amanda agrees, and we hang up.
I stare in the mirror hanging behind the closet door and button my shirt with slow fingers. It's late, and I should go to bed, but I can't imagine sleeping. So, instead, I sit down at my desk and go through the list of collections I have to make the next day.
Usually, Sevastian and I collected together.
But tomorrow I will go alone.
2
COURTNEY
I
stare at the page and widen my eyes, trying to keep my vision from going blurry. At this point, I can't tell if it's because I'm wired with caffeine or because I haven't slept more than a few hours at a time for the last three days.
My highlighter has become a permanent fixture in my hand, and I'm not sure I'll be able to put it down come test time.
Which is in one hour.
"Shit," I whisper, hunching down over my textbook. My professor told us over and over again throughout the semester that the best thing any of us could do would be to study the material periodically throughout the semester rather than cramming right before tests, but what did she know?
Well, probably a lot, considering she teaches behavioral neuroscience.
That's what I want to do. Not teach, but work in the behavioral neuroscience field. I want to be a clinical psychologist and help people.
But that won't happen if I fail this test.
I close my eyes, focusing my mind for a moment, and then begin reading again. Half of the page is highlighted. Hell, half of the book is highlighted. There isn't enough time for me to memorize all of this before the test. I'm going to fail. I'm going to have to drop out of school, and then what?
In the midst of my downward spiral, my phone rings.
I groan and dismiss the call without looking to see who it is. Everyone in my life knows I have this test today. I told my dad I would be coming home tonight and not to bother me until then since I'll be staying with him for the entire winter break. And Sadie is going to pick me up after the test to take me home, so she knows not to call. Whoever it was-probably a telemarketer-is not worth the energy it would take to read the number.
I sigh and focus on the page again.
When my phone buzzes a second time, I actually let out a scream, which my roommate-a Chinese exchange student who has been in a perpetual state of jet lag since she arrived four months ago-does not appreciate. She glares at me and then rolls over, pulling the blankets over her head. I have no idea if she has any finals, but based on her sleep schedule, I'd have to guess that she has missed them all.
I don't recognize the number, so I dismiss it with a quick flick of my wrist and go back to studying.
I'm in the middle of highlighting an important sentence I missed the first ten times I read through the chapter when my phone buzzes once more.
"Goddammit," I mutter, grabbing my phone off the charger and answering it. "What?"
"Courtney?"
I frown and pull back to look at the number on the screen.
My heart drops.
Then, I bring it back to my ear. "Mom?"
