Sinful Promise (Koslov Bratva #6)

14. Danil

14

DANIL

I’ve fucked up, big time.

This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen, and now I’m pretty sure Emily is never going to want to be my friend ever again, let alone anything more.

How could I have been so stupid to go along with Dimitri’s plan and not tell her I knew all about everything?

Dimitri folds his arms and glares at me. “Care to explain how the hell Emily found out you were following her?”

“Not now, Dimitri.”

“We need to talk about thi?—”

“I said, not now !” I sprint up the stairs after Emily.

Her door slams shut as I head down the hall, and I know she’s not going to want to talk to me, but I have to at least try.

Perhaps if she’s willing to hear me out, we might be able to get past this.

When I get to her door, I press my ear against it and catch the faint sound of her crying on the other side.

I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut.

I hate being the reason behind her tears.

I tap my knuckles softly against the door, and the muffled sobs immediately cease. “Emily? Can we talk?”

“Go away.”

“Please, hear m?—”

“Leave me alone, Danil.”

I breathe out a sigh and rest my forehead against the door as I try to think of something to say that might get through to her.

I’ve known Emily for a while, and she’s stubborn, but if I can make even just a slight crack in her hard exterior, it might just be enough to get her to let me back in.

“I never meant to hurt you. I want you to know that your safety was my main priority, which is why I did this.”

The door unlocks, and I hold my breath as Emily opens it just enough for me to see the fury in her green eyes.

“My safety or your brothers’ praise?”

Before I even have a chance to say anything, she slams the door in my face.

Is that what she thinks?

Fuck.

Of course, it is.

I’ve made no secret that I work my ass off not just for my own gain, but to prove my worth to my brothers. It’s a sore spot for me, and Emily knows it, so the fact that she’s thrown it back in my face shows how much I’ve hurt her.

I want my brothers to realize I’m as capable as they are, but not at the expense of my friendship with Emily. Her safety and happiness have always been my number one priority, and the fact that she can’t see that means I’ve fucked up even worse than I thought.

“Emily, come on.”

“Leave me alone .”

I’m tempted to keep knocking until she has no choice but to come out. But I also know that she has an exam tomorrow, and if I have any chance of ever getting her to forgive me, I should probably leave her alone.

Earning back Emily’s trust won’t be easy, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get it back.

Until then, I need to get started on cracking down where Igor might be or who he might send next. If I can take care of him, maybe it will prove to Emily how much I care.

It’s concerning to me that not even my brothers’ top private investigators are able to find any leads. Then again, this is Igor Ivanov we’re dealing with. He’s not exactly an easy man to take down.

A dull ache is starting to build in my temples as I walk away from Emily’s room, but maybe it’s best if we both take some time to cool off.

She’s likely just in shock, and the stress of her exam tomorrow isn’t helping matters.

Dimitri is lounging on the couch with a drink as I head down the stairs. When he takes one look at my face, he sets down his empty glass on the coffee table.

He gets to his feet. “Come on, we’re going out.”

The last thing I want to do is go out. I’d much rather wallow in my own self-pity and how much I’ve screwed up the one good thing in my life.

But Dimitri doesn’t like to take no for an answer, so I have no choice but to get into his car and let him drive us to wherever the hell we’re going.

“Where are we going?”

“ Espionage .”

Fucking great. The last thing I need is to run into Anton tonight.

I swear, if my cousin decides to give me a hard time too, I’m actually going to lose my shit.

For once, Dimitri is quiet as he drives us, which surprises me. I was sure he would use the drive as an opportunity to reprimand me for getting caught following Emily, but he didn’t.

I really must look like shit if even Dimitri is leaving me alone.

He pulls up outside the bar, and I eye the line of people that are waiting to get in. It’s clear he’s hoping I’m going to pick up some chick to occupy me for the night, but little does he know that the one girl I actually want is back at his penthouse.

“Dimitri, I’m really not in the mood.”

“Which is exactly why you need a drink.” He slaps me on the shoulder.

We both dip our chins at Reid who’s working the door, and he waves us in.

A few girls waiting in line give me the look that lets me know they’re interested, but I avert my eyes and quickly head inside.

The sooner I get this drink with Dimitri over with, the sooner I can get home.

Though it seems my brother has other ideas.

My eyes fall on the private booth in the back. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.”

Dimitri chuckles. “Surprise, little brat .”

My entire family is already here, including Nikolai and Lev. Countless empty glasses already litter the table and from the slightly glazed expression on Mikhail’s face, it’s clear they’ve been on the vodka for a while.

We approach the booth.

“Dimitri, is this some sort of intervention? Because I could really do without you all telling me how badly I’ve fucked this up.”

“Is that what you think?” He grabs me by the arm, halting me in my steps.

“That’s what always happens.”

Dimitri glances over at the table and frowns.

“There’s been a lot of tension between all of us over the past few months, and Alexei and I figured we could all use some bonding time without any shop talk.”

“What about Emily?”

“I’ve got it covered, Danil. Try to relax.”

He’s joking, right?

How the hell am I meant to relax when Igor Ivanov has a target on Emily’s back?

Mikhail smirks as I take a seat beside him. “Nice outfit.”

“Fuck off.”

If I had known we were meeting with the rest of the family, I would have insisted that Dimitri stop by my apartment so I can change. My brothers and cousins don’t need more ammunition when it comes to taking the piss out of me.

One of the waitresses appears, and her cheeks immediately turn red when she looks my way. Poppy’s a sweet girl, and if Emily wasn’t around, I’m sure I would have hooked up with her multiple times. But it wouldn’t be fair to her to take her to my bed when I’m so hung up on another girl.

Which means I will spend yet another night alone, with nothing but my hand, to offer me some relief.

She turns to Anton. “Would you like another round, Mr. Koslov?”

“Yes, thank you, Poppy.”

“Would you like a vodka too, Danil?”

I shake my head. “Actually, I’ll have a Macallan, neat.”

Alexei lifts his hand. “No, you fucking won’t. You’re a Koslov. We drink Vodka.”

Poppy’s eyes widen, but I offer her a warm smile.

“Ignore my brother. It seems he has something stuck quite far up his ass.”

Dimitri roars with laughter, and Poppy’s lips twitch as she types out the order on her tablet.

Mikhail smirks. “He fucking loves it, though.”

Anton scowls as Poppy walks away. “Please don’t scare off my staff. Now I’m going to have to give her an even bigger tip.”

Mikhail winks at me. “I’m sure Danil could take care of that for you. Unless, of course, you already have?”

Nikolai chuckles.

“Not my type,” I mutter.

Dimitri catches my eye and for a moment, I wonder if he can read the truth on my face.

Anton scoffs. “Fuck off. Since when do you have a type?”

Nikolai frowns. “Her tits not big enough or something?”

I scowl at my cousins.

This is exactly the sort of thing I wanted to avoid tonight.

“Can’t you guys pick on Mikhail for once?”

“Go ahead if you’ve got a death wish.” Mikhail swirls the vodka around his glass.

Dimitri chuckles. “He’s got a point. I’m not sure even Alexei would pick a fight with Mikhail.”

“Hell fucking no.” Alexei lifts his hands and Mikhail’s lip twitches.

Poppy delivers our drinks.

Nicolai takes a sip. “Remind me why we’re all here again?”

It’s rare Anton’s brother makes an appearance at family meetings. He’s often not in the country long enough to stop by, but I’m actually glad to see him.

He’s a lot like Dimitri in the sense that he doesn’t take life too seriously, unlike Anton or Alexei.

“I thought it was about time the whole family got together.”

Mikhail mutters, “And what, talk about our feelings?”

I smile at my brother’s lack of enthusiasm, and even Lev’s mouth twitches.

He’s keeping quiet as usual, but that doesn’t mean he’s not paying attention to every tiny little detail.

He’s been a valuable addition to our bratva over the past year. Perhaps he needs to be my point of contact for trying to track down Emily’s mystery stalker…

I make a mental note to discuss it with him at another time, when the rest of the family isn’t around to weigh in with their opinions.

Alexei sips his vodka. “Sort of.”

Mikhail’s answering groan has Dimitri howling with laughter.

Alexei leans back. “We’re family?—”

Nikolai chuckles. “No shit.”

“And that means we have each other’s backs, no matter what.”

When Alexei doesn’t say more, we all look at each other.

Nikolai frowns. “Is that it? Fuck me, don’t quit your day job, Alexei.”

Dimitri raises his glass. “I thought it was a very touching speech, brat .”

Alexei chuckles. “I thought so too.”

Anton lifts his glass. “To the Koslov Bratva.”

We all follow suit, and we clink our glasses. “To the Koslov Bratva!”

The first sip of whiskey sends a shiver through my body.

It would be all too easy just to get blind drunk and wake up in some girl’s bed, but I know that won’t solve my problems.

And neither will drunk-calling Emily at two A.M., begging for forgiveness.

I reach into my jeans pocket for my phone and switch it off before I have a chance to fuck things up further.

After another round of drinks and another terrible speech from Dimitri, my headache is only getting worse, and my brothers are only getting louder. So, I set my glass down on the sticky tabletop and get to my feet.

Dimitri eyes me. “Where are you going?”

“To take a piss. I am allowed to do that, right?”

“Sure you don’t need me to hold your hand?”

I roll my eyes at my brother.

In truth, I just need a moment to myself, so I bypass the bathrooms and head straight to the bar to order another drink.

Luca is busy down the far end talking to a girl, so I reach over the bar top for a glass and a rogue bottle of whiskey that has been left out and pour myself a finger's width.

The alcohol burns my throat, and I know after another glass or two, I’ll be completely numb to all the thoughts that are flooding my head.

Though, it doesn’t take long for one of my family to catch on to where I’ve gone.

Anton appears beside me. “You doing okay?”

“What do you think?” I take another sip of my drink.

Dimitri was right; a drink was exactly what I needed.

Anton leans against the bar and waves at Luca for another round.

My friend catches my eye and frowns.

“You good?” he mouths, and I nod, though I know I look about as far from it as possible.

My cousin looks at me. “I just wanted to say that I know I’ve been an ass lately.”

“Have you? I didn’t notice.”

“Danil, come on. What I’m trying to say is I’m sorry for giving you such a hard time. You work incredibly hard, and I want you to know it doesn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated.”

Well, shit.

That was the last thing I expected my cousin to say, and I have to admit, it feels good to be acknowledged.

“Come on, let’s get back to the table. We don’t want to miss another one of Alexei’s motivational speeches.”