1. Evgeny #2
“It sure did, Mr. Nikitin,” he says without missing a beat. “In front of several witnesses, too.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Dennis starts to say, but before he can continue, I cut him off.
“Careful, Dennis, you’re starting to sound like your witness now.”
Blood rushes to his cheeks before he grabs his briefcase and storms off. When I turn around, Roberto is grinning at me, and I’ve never wanted to punch someone so badly in my life.
“You’re a good man to have in the corner, Ev,” he says, holding out a beefy hand for me to shake. “Thanks for proving my innocence.”
The amusement in his voice is so obvious as I shake his hand that it makes me wish Dennis had done a better job and beaten me today.
“Anytime, Roberto. I’m always happy to help uphold the law,” I tell him while he laughs like I’ve made a joke.
The truth is I did my job today. The prosecution needed to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
I just gave the jury enough to doubt. Proving my client’s innocence was never part of the job.
I don’t have to prove shit. They have to prove his guilt, and they couldn’t.
The prosecutor fucked up, and I took the win.
As I leave the courtroom, I take a deep breath of the humid air and wish I could remove my jacket and roll up my sleeves.
Exposing the Grim Reaper Bratva tattoo on my inner forearm would delight Dennis to no end and bring a world of shit raining down on me, though, so I suffer through the heat and walk to my car.
Sinking into the Audi’s leather seat, I turn the AC on full blast and take a few minutes to close my eyes and forget about the courtroom.
The reprieve doesn’t last long. I feel my phone vibrate against my chest. It’s not the cell I keep for my daily life.
It’s the one that no one else knows about, the one that only my family has access to.
Before I answer, I scan the sidewalk outside my window, making sure I’m alone.
As soon as I pull the phone out and see who’s calling, I answer it.
“Hey, sweetheart,” I say, smiling when I hear my niece’s voice.
“Uncle Ev, when are you coming over for supper again? It’s been forever since we’ve seen you.”
“Forever?” I ask. “I was there last week.”
Veya gives a dramatic sigh that only an eight-year-old can manage to make sound full of sincerity.
My sister Yelena married our cousin Valentin when she turned twenty, and Veya is their oldest. My dad and uncles are a family by choice.
My mom and Uncle Roman are the only blood-related siblings, so no laws were broken when my sister married Val.
All my cousins are like sisters and brothers to me, and we’re all aunts and uncles to everyone’s kids.
They’ve all been very busy, and I’m the only one who hasn’t settled down and started a family of my own.
It’s not something I ever see happening, but at least I can be everyone’s favorite uncle.
“Will you please come over soon?” Veya begs.
“Are your brother and sister driving you crazy?” I ask, getting to the heart of the problem.
“Valentin is so annoying, and Lena follows me around everywhere.”
“You’re their big sister,” I say. “They both love you. I used to follow your mom around all the time when we were little.”
Veya laughs, the sound of it so carefree I can feel it washing away the stress of the day and the slimy feeling that’s still lingering from being near men like Roberto.
I may be a criminal, but my family and I are nothing like the scum I’ve been defending.
Some might see it as minor differences, but to me it’s everything.
It’s what allows me to sleep at night. It’s what keeps me going when I’m exhausted and barely hanging on.
My niece’s voice reminds me of that, of the morally grey lines that I cross and the reasons why I do it and why I’ll never feel bad about it.
If something were to ever happen to any of my nieces or nephews, I wouldn’t wait for the police to hand out justice.
I’d take it for myself, and I’d make sure the bastard paid for his crimes before I allowed him the mercy of death.
I hear my sister in the background before Veya says a quick bye and then hands the phone to Yelena.
“I’m sorry, Ev. I know you’re busy,” she says.
“I love it when she calls, Yel. Please don’t ever try to stop her. I may not always be able to answer, but I want her to know she can call whenever she wants.”
“Fine, but you might regret that one day. I have a feeling she’s going to really love to vent once she reaches her teenage years.”
I laugh at the image. “I hope she does. I can’t wait to hear about all the high school drama.”
“Well, be sure and fill Val and me in on it. I think you’ll know more about what’s going on than we will. She really loves her Uncle Ev.”
“I wish I could be in her life more,” I admit, knowing if anyone will understand, it’s my older sister. “I’m sorry I can’t.”
“We’re making it work,” Yel says. “You promised you’d take a vacation this year, and when you do, we’re all spending it together. You’ll get all the family time you can handle.”
“Sounds good,” I tell her.
“So how’d it go this morning?”
“I won.”
I can hear the smile in her voice when she says, “Of course you did. My little brother never loses a case.”
“He was guilty as hell,” I say.
“You’re not supposed to say that.”
I laugh and say, “Everyone already knows. They just couldn’t prove it. I need to get back to the office. Tell Val I said hi and kiss the kids for me.”
“Will do. Be careful and let me know when you can come over for supper again. Love you, Ev.”
“Love you too,” I tell her before hanging up and tucking my phone away.
Traffic is the usual nightmare, and I think about my next case while I play the stop-and-start game all the way back to the office suite I rent.
I pull the Audi into the underground parking beneath the Midtown high-rise and slip into my reserved spot.
The building itself is huge and shared by a variety of businesses.
I’d chosen it for that exact reason, and the 24-hour security.
Safety in numbers and all that. I prefer to hide in plain sight, and that’s exactly what I do as I enter the marble-floored lobby and nod to the guard on duty.
The elevator is full when I step on and push the button for the thirty-third floor.
I recognize one of the women in the corner, a receptionist on one of the lower floors, and when she smiles at me, I quickly look away.
It’s not the first time she’s tried to catch my attention.
I’ve toyed with the idea of wearing a wedding band just to discourage this exact thing, but in the end I know it would bring in more problems than it would solve.
I’ve decided to go with the tried-and-true ignore-and-deflect route.
I’d rather be seen as an ass than available.
When we get to her floor, I pretend to read something on my phone while she exits.
As soon as she’s gone, I pocket it and wait until it’s my turn before stepping out and into the hall that’s lined with frosted glass doors.
The polished wood floors, cream walls, and expensive artwork give it an elegant feel that continues throughout the entire building.
I walk past the other suites before stopping in front of my door, the one with Evgeny Nikitin, Attorney at Law written along the front.
Every time I see it, I feel like there’s been a mistake.
No matter how many times I see Nikitin, a part of me always thinks Melnikov.
I’d taken the last name my dad was born with, the one he’d had before he’d changed it and united with my uncles and the Bratva.
I don’t hate the name. It just doesn’t feel like mine.
Pushing open the door, I step into the reception area, relieved to see the waiting room is empty. Gertie, my secretary, grabs a stack of papers as soon as she sees me and holds them out.
“Messages, and this fax just came in,” she says before opening her drawer and grabbing the Italian sub she has hidden. We all eat when we can, so I’m not about to call her out for it. She sees me eyeing it and grins around her mouthful. “Yours is in your office, along with the coffee you like.”
“You’re an angel, Gertie,” I tell her.
She scoffs and dabs at the corner of her mouth with her napkin, careful to not smudge her fire-engine red lipstick. Brushing back a strand of her platinum blonde hair, she says, “Careful, Ev, or I’m going to try and make you husband number four.”
I grin and ask, “Don’t you have grandkids older than me?”
She smiles while reaching for her sub again. “Does that matter?”
I laugh and start to walk to my corner office, passing the conference room and waving a quick hi to Caleb when I pass his office before stepping into my own.
Floor-to-ceiling windows cover two walls, giving me a view of Manhattan and making me feel like I’m not stuck in a basement all day.
The hardwood floors continue in here, but I’d added in a cream rug and had the walls painted a robin’s egg blue to make it feel more inviting to my clients.
Bookshelves line the two remaining walls, and the rest of the space is taken up by the large walnut desk and small seating area with a leather couch and chairs.