5. Nikita
Nikita
Iwatch Savanna’s stunned face in my rearview mirror until she’s no longer in sight. The interior of my car now smells like her intoxicating scent, and I’d immediately gotten hard as soon as I’d smelled it.
Reaching for my own coffee, I down the last of it, needing the caffeine to keep me going.
After leaving her last night, I’d run back to my apartment to get what I needed and then snuck back over to her sorority house so I could install my own cameras, because no way in hell was I ever going to be able to sleep knowing how unsafe it is.
If someone is going to be using a goddamn ladder to sneak in, then I want to know who the fuck it is.
Now I can see every angle of their backyard, as well as the entire balcony, and I couldn’t resist adding a small camera that gives me a clear view of the hall that leads to her room.
I felt like it was a very acceptable compromise.
I won’t be seeing anything private, but I will be able to see if someone tries to sneak into her room.
After all that, I’d barely gotten two hours of sleep before I had to get back up so I could be at the Apple Store when it opened.
Savanna now has the newest MacBook Air and a brand-new iPad.
I’d set them both up so they’re ready to go, and by the time I had all the books loaded onto the iPad, it was time for me to go pick her up for class.
Seeing the smile that had lit up her face when she’d seen me outside waiting for her had been worth every minute of lost sleep.
Grabbing my phone, I shoot a quick text to my cousin Evgeny, checking to see if he’s free. When he tells me he is, I leave campus and head in the direction of his apartment. Savanna will be in class for ninety minutes, which gives me more than enough time to check in with Ev.
My cousin lives in one of the high-rise apartment buildings near campus, and it doesn’t take me long to get there. Leaving my car in guest parking, I take the elevator to his floor, and right as I get to his door, he opens it and lets me in.
“I see you’re taking advantage of the cameras I put in,” I say, glancing up to where I know one is hidden.
“I am, yeah,” he says and then ushers me in before shutting the door and leading the way to his kitchen. “I’m not so sure it’s necessary, though. No one knows who the fuck I am. I’m just some boring pre-law student.”
“And that’s exactly how we want it,” I remind him while he grabs us both a cold coffee from the fridge.
Despite the fact that I just finished my other coffee, I pop the top off and take a healthy drink while I look around.
The apartment is small and the exact opposite of the penthouse he grew up in.
Ev doesn’t seem to care, though. As long as he has a stack of books and a comfortable place to sit and read them, he’s all good.
I can’t help but laugh when he sinks into the large chair by the window and immediately reaches for one of his textbooks.
He’s a member of our Bratva just like the rest of us, but Ev’s future was never going to be one that had him on the streets getting his hands dirty.
He’s proven himself within our family, but his dream is to become a lawyer.
He wants to help the Bratva in a different way, and with his brain, I know he’ll make it happen.
When he grabs a pair of glasses and puts them on, I grin over at him and say, “You’re such a dork, Ev.”
“Says the computer geek,” he deadpans as he opens the thick, and I’m assuming very boring, textbook.
“True enough,” I agree.
Since we’re alone in his apartment, he doesn’t bother to hide the tattoos that cover his arms. He’s been very careful to not get any that he can’t cover up with a long-sleeved shirt.
The Grim Reaper on his forearm that marks him as part of our Bratva would be hard to explain to the cops he’ll be seeing on a regular basis once he becomes a lawyer.
I’ve made sure his record is clean and that all documents now show his last name as Nikitin instead of Melnikov.
He’d taken the last name his dad was born with in an effort to hide his ties to us.
He hates it, we all do, but it was necessary if he wants to keep up the illusion.
Evgeny Nikitin is just a nice boy who wants to make the world a better place.
Whereas Evgeny Melnikov is a criminal who’s a part of one of the most powerful Bratvas in America.
No law firm would ever hire Evgeny Melnikov.
While his eyes run over the page in front of him, he asks, “How’s the Cupid search coming along?”
I groan and lean my head back against the cushion.
“That good, huh?” he asks.
“He’s a fucking ghost, man,” I tell him. “I’ve scoured every inch of Tom’s laptop and phone. Everything leads to a dead end.”
Tom Sullivan had been our best lead at the Alpha frat house, the man with the closest ties to Cupid, but not even he knew the real identity of the man who continues to elude me.
Sasha had questioned him before he’d killed him.
If Tom had anything to share with us, my cousin would’ve been the one to get it out of him.
“You’ll find him,” Ev says, but I’m starting to have serious doubts. I’ll never stop hunting him down, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little worried.
“You will,” he says again when I stay quiet. “You’ll find him because he’s not better than you, Niki. He’s hiding because he knows as soon as he shows himself again, you’re going to find him.”
“And if he never shows himself again?” I ask, voicing my biggest fear. “What if he just stays quiet until he grabs her?”
Ev’s blue-green eyes meet mine from behind his dark glasses. “He won’t. I’m guessing you know where Savanna is at every moment of the day, right?”
“Yeah, I do,” I say, not even bothering to downplay it. He knows me too well for that, anyway. He’d see right through my bullshit.
“Then she’ll be safe, and as soon as Cupid shows himself, you’ll get him.”
“I hope you’re right,” I say.
He looks back at his book, but there’s an amused grin on his face when he says, “Damien said you had dinner over at Sasha’s and that Savanna was there. How’d that go?”
“It was nice,” I say and then tell him all about how I’d helped her and then how the night had ended with me sneaking back and securing her sorority house.
After a few seconds, I add, “I should’ve kissed her, right? I fucked up, didn’t I?”
Ev laughs and waves a hand at the large stack of books behind him. “You’re asking the wrong guy. All I do is study.”
“You’re not seeing anyone? No cute college girls have caught your eye?”
“Like I said, all I do is study, and it’s not like I can have anything serious.
Don’t you think it’d be a little suspicious if I never take my shirt off around a girl?
Maybe I could get away with it for a quick hook up, but anything long term?
No way, and I’m not so sure I’m cut out for one-night stands, so it doesn’t matter anyway. ”
“You can’t give up your whole life for this, Ev,” I tell him. “No one in the family would want you to do that.”
“I’m not, but I’m not risking anything right now. After I have my degree, then maybe I’ll try to find someone who I’ll eventually be able to trust with the secret of who I really am, but I’m not about to risk fucking everything up before it’s even started.”
I can hear the determination in his voice, and I know he won’t budge on this. This same stubborn streak is what’s going to ensure he accomplishes every single goal he makes for himself, but it’s also going to keep him closed off from everything outside of work if he isn’t careful.
“I’m not done bugging you about this,” I warn him. “I’m not going to let you sacrifice everything, Ev.”
He ignores me and says, “If you’re wanting to get to your apartment before Savanna’s class lets out, you’d better hurry. You know how traffic is at lunchtime.”
I check my watch and then look back at him. He grins to let me know he’s not upset and says, “Let me know when you set the wedding date.”
“She’s out of my league, Ev, like painfully so. I feel like an idiot anytime I’m around her, sweaty palms and everything.”
He laughs, but there’s nothing mean about it. My cousins have always had my back, just like I’ve always had theirs.
“She likes you, Niki. I could see that at Sasha’s wedding. You’re just used to dealing with computers instead of people, and it’s made you a little shy. You said you should’ve kissed her last night. Did she look like she wanted you to?”
I think about the way she’d looked at me, the smile that showed off her dimple, the heated look in her blue eyes, and the way she’d leaned towards me and squeezed my finger.
It’s easy for me to second-guess things when it comes to people, I’m much more confident with computers, but there had been no denying the desire I’d seen on her face.
“Yeah,” I say.
“Well, there you go,” Ev says like it’s a done deal. “Next time, kiss her.”
Grabbing my bag, I stand up and say, “I’m gonna have to because this is driving me crazy.”
“That’s the spirit,” he says, gently making fun of my grim tone. “Try to bring that kind of enthusiasm into the kiss if you really want to wow her.”
I laugh and throw my empty drink away. “See you soon, Ev. Try not to study too hard. You’ve already ruined your eyes with this shit.”
“I’m fine. It’s just a little bit of eye strain,” he says, but he’s already buried himself in another dense book before I’ve even stepped out of his apartment.