She narrowed her eyes at him. “We’ve got it covered.”
She made to pull me past Max when his arm shot out and stopped her. “I insist. It’s against the guy code to let Kirill down. He’s detained at work and worried about Lori. That’s not so difficult to understand, is it, Federica?”
“How do you know her name?” I asked.
Max turned and gestured for us to go ahead of him.“I’m sure your friend can figure it out for you,” he said with dark amusement.
I raised an eyebrow at Fede, but she avoided my eyes. We took the elevator down to the lower level of the building, and Max walked toward a shiny black SUV that looked straight out of a VIP motorcade.
“Yeah, this is a poor guy car, for sure,” Fede muttered as she got inside.
I slid in after her, running my hands across the buttery-soft white leather. She had a point, but I couldn’t help the raging excitement that I was sitting in Kirill’s car. My Kirill.
“I’ve been charged with passing on this gift for you,” Max said, twisting in the front passenger seat to hand me a slim black box.
I stared at it. It was the newest model of the hottest brand around.“I already have a phone,” I stated dumbly.
Max chuckled. “I’m not sure I’d call that brick you carry a phone. You’ll like this one better. I took the liberty of setting it up for you and transferring your info from the old one.”
“Invasion of privacy much,” Fede snapped at him.
She wasn’t vibing with Max’s cocky, playboy personality. I didn’t mind too much. He was Kirill’s friend, and that made him all right in my book.
“I bet he unlocked your phone with your fingerprint while you were passed out in the hospital,” Fede muttered, crossing her arms over her chest, and staring out the window.
I guessed he had, which did feel a little invasive, but complaining seemed ungrateful. “Where is Kirill?”
“Work. No one works as much as him, but you’ll see that soon.”
We drove slowly through afternoon traffic, working our way downtown toward the shitty area where my fifth-floor walk-up lurked on a dilapidated street.
Max whistled when we pulled up.“He isn’t going to like this neighborhood.”
“Why not? You look like you’d fit right in,” Fede snapped at him.
He turned in his seat and gave her a wolfish grin. “You have a sharp tongue on you,kotenok. Be careful someone doesn’t teach you how to curb it.”
“Who? Someone like you?” Fede challenged.
“Maybe. I like pretty things with sharp tongues,” he muttered, his eyes running over my friend in a way that mademyskin heat, and I was just sitting next to them.
“Thanks, Max. Um, I’m going,” I said, starting to open the door.
Fede opened her door. “I’m coming too.”
“See you soon, ladies,” Max called as we reached the sidewalk and watched the SUV pull out into traffic.
“Well, that was something,” I muttered, turning the phone over in my hands and wondering how much it had cost.
“Nothing good,” Fede muttered and linked her arm through mine. “Let’s go upstairs and order takeout. My treat. You can tell me all about your best friend, the mysterious Kirill.”
10
KIRILL
Viktor ran the business out of an office at the far end of Brighton Beach. The bratva operated several different fronts, and I preferred the glass monolith uptown in the heart of the city for my business needs that didn’t involve bodily fluids and murder. Viktor was old school. He liked to smell the scent of old blood with his morning coffee.
I strode through the building, seeing the familiar faces of men loyal to my father above all others and all else—even money. These men would turn their backs on fortunes to follow Viktor wherever he commanded them. Nikolai trailed behind me, his soft laughter dogging my steps. Given Nikolai’s bombshell, I’d found time to come and see our father. Was Niko trying to irritate me, or had Viktor finally put his son up on the auction block?