From the day he took over Haven he’d immersed himself into the dark underbelly of Chicago, walked among criminals all in the name of justice. Deep down it went against his core beliefs. He spent his entire life avoiding the family business—pushing against those forces cost him his brother.
Disgust mounted in the pit of his stomach until it swirled into a fiery ball. He knew the youngest of the Volkov crew dealt with shady shit, but the things Sevastyan learned in the last few months about his younger brother, Mikhail, made bile rise to the back of his throat. He stretched his hand out, palm up. He knew better than to leave his little brother unchecked, and look what it got him.
Taking another draw on his drink, Sevastyan savored the penetrating burn.
He paced between the window on one side of his office and the wall of glass that opened up into the club. High above the main floor, he looked on as the waitstaff stealthily moved among the clientele, his eyes easily drawn to the curly-haired brunette standing by the bar.
What the hell had management been thinking when hiring someone like her? He made a mental note to have a long talk with Lucian that involved fewer words and more fists. She didn’t belong here and he would find out what the hell brought her to his world and dropped her in the middle of a sex club.
“Brother, I see you’re sulking again. How long have you been standing there in the dark this time? Continue standing there all night or join me for a drink. Your choice.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Sevastyan watched Matteo walk through his door. Their door. All four of them shared the office. With them constantly on the move, there was no need for more.
Sevastyan gave an easy shrug and he turned to watch Matteo make a beeline for the couch. Dressed in a simple black T-shirt and jeans, the man eased himself down onto the leather sofa, propping a foot on his knee.
“You know you can be a real fucking asshole.” Sevastyan turned away from the glass separating them from the guests below to see him grin, uncaring. Some guys just never left well enough alone. His childhood friend was one of them.
“At least I’m not a creep watching her from a dark room.”
“Are you going to run your fucking mouth about what I do in my spare time or drink?”
Matteo rolled with the jab and chuckled with a half shrug. “Honestly, both sound fun.” Matteo dangled a fresh bottle of Sevastyan’s favorite vodka between his fingers. “But let’s kill this first. Get the blood going a little.”
He nodded stiffly. “Good plan.”
A thunderstorm rolled in from the south, and he watched the bolts of lightning tear through the sky as he swirled the contents of his glass.
He turned to Matteo. He sat perfectly still except for one small tic that Sevastyan learned to pick up on in the years they had together. When something bothered the man he continuously wiped at the corners of his mouth. Suspicion barreled through him. Walking from the window, he joined Matteo on the couch.
“What brings you around so early?” They normally didn’t turn up at the club until well after sundown. Sometimes they slept here, but Matteo preferred his space when the nights were quiet.
As they’d been for too long.
Sevastyan watched Matteo’s expression turn from calm to tortured.
Matteo threw up a hand and waved toward the window, “I don’t know. I couldn’t stay away. I can’t stop fucking thinking about her. I was so fucking close to taking her to my place and tying her to my bed last night when I walked her out.” Matteo let his words die off.
Sevastyan grunted. “And then what? Have Lucian and Roman busting your door down to get to her. You know how they feel about Seraphina.”
“I know. Would have been fun watching them suffer a little.” Matteo’s eyes burned into him. “Last night. Fuck me, Vastyan.”
He took another swallow. “I know. But she’s off-limits. From here on out. No touching.”
“Fuck you. You can’t expect me not to seek her out.”
Sevastyan turned a hard glare on Matteo. “I expect you to follow orders. If I have to suffer. You sure as fuck do, too.”
“And Lucian? Roman? What are you going to tell them? No way you’ll be able to deny what we did last night.”
“I sure as hell can. And so can you. We can’t get distracted. Not now. We’ll cancel her employment, send her fucking packing.” They didn’t even want to be here so why the fuck would they drag her into this life? To suffer alongside them? Fuck no.
Being his only friends in this dark world, Lucian, Roman, and Matteo all followed him into his hell. All he had to do was ask. He felt terrible to step between them and the one woman it seemed they all liked but life sucked hairy balls on a good day.
And he hadn’t seen a good day in years.
Matteo dropped a string of curses in his native language.
“They’ll be so fucking pissed when they hear we tasted her and they didn’t.”