8. Emil
EMIL
Iwatch Kiera's ass sway as she practically runs away from us, her hips moving with an angry rhythm that makes my cock twitch despite the situation.
She's got fire, this one. Most women would've crumbled under the weight of four overprotective brothers and a man like me circling her, but not Kiera Walker.
She lifts her chin, tells us all to fuck off in her own polite way, and walks away like she owns the goddamn world.
I smirk. I like her spunk.
The parking lot feels suddenly smaller as her brothers turn on me in unison, their blue eyes blazing with protective fury.
They form a semicircle, blocking my path to the limo where Luca waits.
I don't move. I don't need to. I've faced down men far more dangerous than four angry brothers, though I'll admit there's something almost admirable about their loyalty to their sister.
"What the hell are your intentions with our sister?
" The oldest one, Kevin, steps forward first. I know about the brothers, of course, since I had Luca perform an extensive check on Kiera, her background, and her family.
He's got the build of a man who sits behind a desk but tries to stay in shape. Not threatening. Not even close.
I tilt my head, studying them with the same detached interest I'd give to a business problem. "My intentions? I thought the engagement announcement in the newspaper made that rather obvious."
"That's bullshit," the gym rat, Devin, snarls. His muscles are impressive, I'll give him that, but muscles don't mean shit when you don't know how to use them. "You don't just announce an engagement without even dating someone first."
"Don't I?" I keep my voice quiet, controlled. It's always more effective than shouting. "Your sister claimed me as her fiancé in a very public setting. I simply made it official."
The teacher, Kaleb, looks less aggressive than his brothers but no less concerned. "Look, we don't know you, and Kiera's been through a lot lately. We just want to make sure she's safe."
"Safe." I taste the word, let it roll around in my mouth. "And you think she's safer with that piece of shit ex-boyfriend stalking her?"
That gives them pause.
Then the fourth brother steps forward, and I know immediately that he's going to be a problem.
He's younger than the others, maybe twenty-nine, with a cop's eyes that see too much.
His build is solid, muscular in a functional way that speaks of training rather than vanity.
And the way he looks at me, recognition flickering in those blue eyes, tells me everything I need to know.
"Jack Walker," he says, his voice hard. "I'm a police officer with the metro department." He pauses, letting that sink in. "And I know exactly who you are, Mr. Nikitin."
The other three brothers go still.
"Emil Nikitin," Jack continues, his voice getting harder with each word. "Pakhan of the Nikitin Bratva. The most powerful Russian Mafia boss in America." He moves closer, and I have to respect his balls even if I want to break his fucking jaw. "And you're not going anywhere near my baby sister."
Kevin's face drains of color. Devin's jaw drops. Kaleb takes an actual step back.
"Jack," Kevin starts, his voice strangled. "Mafia? Are you serious?"
"Dead serious." Jack doesn't take his eyes off me. "He runs everything from drugs to weapons to human trafficking in this city and half the eastern seaboard."
"I don't deal in human trafficking," I correct quietly. "I have standards."
"Oh, well, that makes it so much better," Jack snaps. "You're still a criminal. A murderer. And I'll be damned if I let Kiera get tangled up with someone like you."
Devin looks like he might throw up. "Holy shit. Kiera's engaged to a mobster?"
"She's not engaged to anyone," Jack says firmly.
"Because this ends now." He turns back to me, and I can see his hand twitching toward where his service weapon would be if he were on duty.
"Stay away from my sister. I don't care what she said at some club.
I don't care what you put in the newspaper.
You're not seeing her. You're not talking to her.
You're not even thinking about her. Do I make myself clear? "
I study him for a long moment, weighing my options. I could have him killed. It would be easy. An accident, a random mugging gone wrong, a thousand different ways to make a cop disappear. But that would hurt Kiera, and for some reason I can't quite explain, I don't want to hurt her.
Not yet, anyway. Not unless she pushes me too far.
"Your sister is a grown woman," I finally say. "She makes her own choices."
"Not this choice," Jack growls. "Not with you."
Kevin finds his voice again. "Jesus Christ, Kiera. What were you thinking?" He's talking to himself more than anyone else. "A mobster. Our baby sister is involved with a mobster."
"She's not involved with him," Jack insists. "Because he's going to walk away right now and never come back. Aren't you, Mr. Nikitin?"
I smile, and I know it doesn't reach my eyes. "No."
The single word hangs in the air like a threat. Because that's what it is. A promise and a threat all wrapped up together.
"I could arrest you right now," Jack says.
"For what? Putting an announcement in the newspaper?
Your sister grabbed me, Officer Walker. She claimed me in front of witnesses.
I'm simply following through on her very public declaration.
" I straighten my cuffs, a deliberate show of how little his threats concern me.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have places to be. "
"This isn't over," Jack calls after me as I turn toward the limo.
I glance back over my shoulder. "No. It's not."
Luca opens the door as I approach, his dark green eyes assessing the situation with the practiced ease of a man who's been by my side for decades. I slide into the back seat, and he closes the door behind me before rounding to the driver's side.
"That looked intense," he says as he starts the engine. "The cop brother?"
I loosen my tie, feeling the familiar weight of a complication settling over me. "He knows who I am."
Luca whistles low. "Shit. That's not good, Brother."
"No. It's not."
We pull out of the parking lot. I should tell Luca to take me home.
I should walk away from this mess and find another woman to satisfy the council's demands for a wife. There are plenty of options, plenty of women who would jump at the chance to be the Pakhan’s bride, who wouldn't come with the baggage of four overprotective brothers and a stalker ex-boyfriend.
But I can't get Kiera out of my head. The way she looked at me in the club, all fire and fear and desperate courage.
The way she felt in my arms when we danced, her body fitting against mine like she was made for me.
The way she told me no in the limo, refusing my offer even though I could see the temptation in her blue eyes.
She intrigues me. And it's been a very long time since I've been even slightly interested in a woman, let alone actually intrigued.
"Take me to Kiera's apartment," I hear myself say.
Luca's eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror. "Emil. Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"No. But do it anyway."
He sighs, the sound of a man who's had this argument before and knows he won't win. "Look, I get it. She's beautiful. She's got spirit. But getting involved with her, especially now that we know one of her brothers is a cop? That's asking for trouble."
"I don't recall asking for your opinion."
"Yeah, well, you're getting it anyway." Luca navigates through traffic with easy confidence. "You've got the council breathing down your neck about getting married. Fine. Pick someone else. Someone who doesn't come with a police officer brother who knows exactly who you are and what you do."
"No."
"Emil—"
"I said no." My voice drops to that quiet tone that makes grown men flinch. "She's the one I want."
Luca is quiet for a moment, then shakes his head. "You're going to tell me why eventually. You always do."
He's right, but I'm not ready to examine my motivations too closely. Not yet. All I know is that I have this gut feeling, this nagging instinct. And right now, that instinct is screaming at me to check on Kiera.
"How long have we known each other?" I ask.
"Since we were kids in that shithole foster home. Twenty-six years, give or take."
"And how many times has my gut been wrong?"
Luca grunts. "Point taken."
We drive in silence for a while, the city lights blurring past the tinted windows.
I think about Kiera's brothers, about the cop who's going to be a persistent problem.
Jack Walker isn't going to back down. He's going to dig into my business and try to find something he can use to arrest me or at least scare his sister away from me.
Good luck with that. I've been evading law enforcement for over two decades. One determined cop isn't going to change that.
"She really got under your skin, didn't she?" Luca says finally.
"Yes."
"When was the last time you were actually interested in a woman? Not just looking for a warm body, but actually interested?"
I think back, sorting through years of meaningless encounters and strategic alliances. "Ten years. Maybe more."
"Shit." Luca shakes his head. "And it had to be a woman with a cop brother."
"Life's funny that way."
"Life's a bitch that way."
We pull up outside a modest apartment building in a decent but not expensive neighborhood. I'm about to tell Luca to wait in the car when I see them.
Kiera and her ex-boyfriend, Arnie, at her apartment door on the second-floor exterior walkway.
He's got her by the arm, trying to drag her out of the doorway. Even from here, I can see her struggling, trying to pull away from him. Her face is twisted with fear and anger, and something primal and violent surges through my chest.
"Fuck," I snarl, already reaching for the door handle.
Then I hear it. A single gunshot that cracks through the night air like thunder.
And I watch in absolute horror as Kiera collapses to the ground.