Chapter 12
ZORA
Iwalk past the training floor where two of our fighters are working the heavy bags and push through the door at the back of the club into Yefim's office.
He's behind his desk with a cigarette going and his laptop open, and he closes the laptop when he sees me and gestures at the chair without saying hello.
"You look like shit," I tell him as I sit down. The dark circles under his eyes are worse than normal. He really needs to start taking better care of himself.
"Thank you." He takes a drag and leans back. "You look like you slept in."
"I did sleep in. It was wonderful. You should try it sometime."
"Can't. Bogdan called me at six this morning.
" He scratches his jaw and the stubble there rasps under his fingernails.
"Makar called too… They’re asking about you, Zora.
" He wants me to think he cares about me and that's why he's telling me, which may be partly true, but he's also about to stick it to me and he wants me to know it's not his fault.
I've been around this block enough times to know him that well.
"About me or about the operation?"
"Same thing at this point." He reaches for his coffee and takes a sip then scowls. "How's your boyfriend?"
"He's not my boyfriend," I hiss, resenting that comment because it stings. The more time I spend with Kazimir, the more I wish this wasn't an assignment and that he really was my boyfriend. Probably not a good place to be, considering I know how this ends.
"Right, he's your assignment and we just want an update." He sets the cold coffee down and the corner of his mouth lifts in a smirk. He likes getting a rise out of me, but I'm over it.
"Did you call me in here to give me a hard time or is there an actual reason I'm sitting in this chair?" I have plans with Alisa later today, which I'm already on edge about. If I have to endure one more stupid lecture, I may scream. It's bad enough having to fight the guilt over what I'm doing.
"Both." He taps ash into the glass on his desk and the grin fades. "Bogdan's not happy with where things stand. He thinks one round of bad bets isn't going to be enough to turn the Kuzin allies against them."
"I did what you guys said." I shrug a shoulder, though I never really had a chance to hope this would be enough. Deep down, I know they're gonna make me totally ruin him, and any chance I have with him too.
"And it's a good start, but one bad night gets explained away." He shifts in his chair and props his ankle on his knee. "We can't let this look like an accident. It has to be a pattern—Kazimir making mistakes over and over until the people around him stop giving him the benefit of the doubt."
"That could take a while," I tell him, but the idea of Kazimir being in charge of things while his uncle is away pops into my mind.
I know with that opening, we only need one major failure to send him into a tailspin and bring things down.
I haven't told them about the honeymoon or that Kaz would be fully in charge of things. I'm not sure I want to.
I know I shouldn't be letting this affect me, but I am. It is.
"Makar thinks you're taking too long." He takes another drag and holds it before exhaling toward the ceiling. "His opinion is that you're getting comfortable and losing focus." I suck in a breath to snap back at him and he holds both hands up defensively, saying, "Those are his words, not mine."
"And yours?"
He shakes his head and won't look at me.
Of all of them, Yefim is the one I can trust to be kind most of the time, but I can tell he isn't happy either.
"Zora, we get one shot at this before they figure us out.
Once they align with the Radins and this gun thing, we're as good as buried.
" He leans forward as I scowl. "I'm more interested in perfection over speed, but moving quickly helps. "
I press my tongue against the roof of my mouth and stare at the desk between us.
He reads my silence and seems satisfied with the fact that I'm not arguing.
Then he stubs the cigarette out and folds his hands on the desk and his whole posture changes.
He relaxes and lets his shoulders droop a little as he says, "Bogdan and I have been talking about what happens after this wraps up.
If things go according to plan, the family absorbs pieces of the Kuzin fight infrastructure.
Their venues, their contacts, their betting networks. All of that needs someone to run it."
I feel like a woman trying to lure in a frightened, lost animal. If I make eye contact, he may back off and run away, and I've been waiting so long for this offer to come up, I don't dare spook him. My eyes lock on a knot in the wood of his desk as I listen.
"Your name came up. That's huge, Sis. Bogdan's never offered that to anyone outside the three of us," Yefim says, and he lights another cigarette and takes a drag. "The fact that it's on the table should tell you how seriously we're taking this mission you're on."
Finally, I raise my eyes and look at him to see he's being genuine.
I learned a long time ago to read my brothers, though Bogdan can be a bit flighty.
But I know when they're lying. Still, there is a reserved part of me that knows even if I do this perfectly, they could still change their minds.
They dangle the carrot to make me run, and then when I'm heaving for breath and sweaty, they change their minds.
But how do I stop chasing when it's everything I want?
"I'll get you what you need," I say. "Fight schedules, venues, fighter cards…" It makes my gut tighten into a sickening fist that threatens to drown me in guilt. I have to do this—I know I can do this.
"Make it fast." He points the cigarette at me and winks. "We're running out of patience."
I grab my jacket and walk out through the club and into the street where I finally blow out a breath and visualize my guilt going with it.
Alisa is going to ask me about Kazimir and I'm going to tell her how incredible he is—which only reminds me how much I like him and makes me feel worse and makes me want him. I hate this.
I stalk into the bakery across the street and walk up to the counter to order a cup of coffee.
I have a bit of time before I have to go meet Alisa, and I need this time to get my head on straight and remind myself of what's important. Men come and go, but my brothers are forever. They’re my lifeline.
They are the ones who will set me up for a career that will last my whole life.
Kazimir is just—
"Zora?"
My whole body goes stiff. I turn to see Kazimir standing in the doorway with his hands in his jacket pockets, his eyebrows up, his mouth half open.
For a few seconds my mind races through every bad possibility—he followed me, he saw me leave the club, he knows who I am—but his face is too unguarded for any of it.
He's genuinely caught off guard, and the surprise on his face melts into a grin before he's taken two steps inside.
"What are you doing here?" I keep my voice light even though my pulse is racing now. My God, if he'd have seen me five minutes earlier, what would he have thought? What if he'd have watched me walk out of the club doors?
"I train at a gym a couple blocks over. I come here afterward sometimes.
" He points over his shoulder with his thumb.
"You?" I know the gym he's talking about, not one of ours, so probably one of theirs.
We always wondered who ran it, and now I know.
Not really useful information for my brothers, but it relaxes me a little to know he's just genuinely here randomly.
"Visiting a friend in the area." I nod at a booth nearby as I pick up my coffee from the barista. "Sit down, Kaz. Get a coffee."
He orders at the counter and comes back with a black coffee, dropping into the seat across from me.
He's so beautiful, and I don't use that term for a man often.
But Kazimir has perfect, flawless skin, eyes that sparkle when he smiles, and a personality to match it.
Those facts tighten the noose around my neck until I almost want to cry.
Alisa would ask me what I'm doing to this perfect man to hurt him when all he’s done is pay attention to me and care.
"I'm so glad I ran into you. I wanted to ask you something." He grins over the rim of his mug and I squirm a little.
"What's that?" I sip my coffee, mostly to hide my unease.
"My uncle's getting married in a few weeks. The whole family's gonna be there." He takes a sip and sets the cup down. "I asked him this morning if I could bring a plus-one and he said yes. His woman's been asking about you, apparently." His ears get pinker. "I want you to come with me."
"To the wedding?" Oh, my God, this isn't good.
Men ask women to attend weddings with them when things are getting serious.
Now it's my turn to have pink rising in my cheeks.
I can't go with him to a wedding. People who go to weddings think about getting married and romance is in the air, and Alisa would say it's serious now.
I swallow hard and try not to show how panicked I feel inside.
"To the wedding. As my date." He grins, and it's the kind of grin that takes years off his face. "I know it's a big thing. Meeting the family and all of that. But I want you there."
"Kaz…" I start to protest, but I watch his eyes shift. His smile stays locked in place, but the almost microscopic change in his expression shows me he's bracing for rejection. Then I let my shoulders relax and blink a few times to keep myself from revealing my own micro-expressions. "I'd love to."
He sighs and grins. "You had me there for a second. Look, I know it's huge but I want you on my arm. You'll be the most beautiful woman in the room."
I love seeing his face light up, which means when he's crushed, it's gonna kill me.
"Other than the bride, right?" I lift both eyebrows and he chuckles at me.
One day at a time, Zora… You've got this. You just have to keep your head on your shoulders and know it’s gonna hurt like hell when this is over.