20. Mikhail

20

MIKHAIL

I'm starting to get restless.

My brothers and I are no closer to taking down Alfonzo Morano despite our best efforts and Igor Ivanov is still potentially harboring my half-brother somewhere, that is if he's even bothered to keep him alive.

I need to do something. I can't just sit around this house twiddling my thumbs.

Alexei says he trusts me to take more initiative within the bratva, so perhaps, I need to use this as an opportunity to show him what I can do.

If Igor Ivanov is holding a potential Koslov heir hostage then we need to fucking know about it.

Taking matters into my own hands, I give my private investigator a call to see if I can dig up some more information on our missing half-brother.

"I was wondering when I'd hear from you." Rosa chuckles. "It was starting to get a little too quiet for my liking."

"Don't worry, I have something that will keep you busy." I perch on the edge of my bed.

"Hit me with it, then. The anticipation is killing me. "

"I need you to look into Katya Petrova for me, formally Katya Ivanov."

"What am I looking for, specifically?"

"She's the woman who my father had an affair with." The words are like poison on my tongue.

"You Russian men can't keep it in your pants."

I grind my teeth as she clicking away on her keyboard in the background.

"I didn't call you for your opinion, Rosa."

"No, but you know you're going to get it anyway." She scoffs. "So, you want to plan a hit on her or something?"

"No, I need information on her whereabouts."

"That's all? You said this would keep me busy, Koslov."

"Just get me a location, and the rest will follow."

"Give me an hour," she says before hanging up the phone.

Katya Petrova might be the woman who destroyed the memory of my father, but I can't let my personal feelings get in the way if I stand any chance of finding my half-brother before it's too late.

If it's not already.

As I wait for Rosa to call back, I head into the kitchen to make myself a coffee. I find Lucia and Bianca sitting at the kitchen table, feeding baby Leo his dinner, and I take a moment to watch the two girls chat with one another.

Lucia seems to be fitting into my family well, and that brings a smile to my face.

The moment my nephew spots me, he throws his bowl on the floor and waves his chubby hands in the air.

"Ro Ro!" he cries, his face covered in yogurt.

Lucia frowns. "What's Ro Ro?"

I clear my throat. "That would be me. "

She turns in her seat and grins at me as I walk over to the highchair to pick up Leo.

"He calls you Ro Ro?" Lucia is trying her best to hold in her laugh as I hold the squirming baby in my arms.

I huff, reaching for a wipe to clean the food out of his dark hair. "Trust me, it's better than what he used to call me."

"What did he used to call you?"

I silently curse myself for letting that slip.

Knowing Lucia, she's not going to let this go, and I might have just handed her the ultimate weapon…

"You don't want to know." Bianca tries to hide her smile behind her hand.

"Oh, come on. Please ."

I glare at Bianca, silently telling her not to say, but she can't seem to help herself.

"He used to call Mikhail Pee Pee ."

Lucia is silent for a moment before she throws her head back and laughs so hard she almost falls off her chair which only sets Bianca off. Even Leo starts giggling as he tries to wipe his mucky hands all over my face.

"If I wasn't holding your child right now…" I can't stop my lips from twitching as Bianca and Lucia wipe the tears from their eyes.

I don't think I've ever seen Lucia laugh so much, so even if it is at my expense, I'm glad to see she's having some fun.

"I think I'm going to start calling you Pee Pee from now on." Lucia laughs.

"You can try, but you'll suffer the consequences."

Lucia's breath hitches, and her eyes glaze, as if she's imagining exactly the sort of consequences I'm thinking of.

My own blood heats, and I clear my throat as I force myself to look away from her. Bianca takes that as her cue to take Leo from my arms.

"I think I need to get this little man in the bath." She makes a swift exit.

Lucia gets to her feet and strolls over to the coffee machine.

I lick my lips as I watch her hips sway in that short little skirt she's wearing.

"Bianca and I were thinking about ordering takeout for dinner," she says as she gets to work refilling the pot with water. "Is that okay?"

"Sounds great." I cross the distance between us.

I wrap my arms around her waist and bury my face in her hair, inhaling the sweet scent.

She squirms against me which only makes my cock start to stiffen.

"I'd stop doing that if I were you." I press myself against her ass.

"You're right, I'll save it for dessert." She grinds against me some more.

I bite back a groan as I let my hands trail up her stomach to cup her breasts. "I might be a little late to dinner."

"How come?" She runs her hands back and forth over my forearms as she rests her head against my chest, letting out a soft moan.

"I'm waiting on a call from Rosa."

Lucia's body stills in my arms as she glances around at me.

"Who's Rosa?" Lucia's tone instantly gets defensive.

I drop my hands to her waist, spinning her around to face me.

Is she jealous ?

I raise my eyebrows, my lips twitching .

"She's my private investigator." I pinch her waist. "So, keep hold of your pitch fork, woman. This is purely business."

"I think I've heard that before…" She pouts.

I bend down to take her lower lip between my teeth, and she lets out a gasp as I bite down.

"I'd be happy to convince you later tonight," I murmur against her mouth.

"Fine, but for the record, I wouldn't use something as soft as a pitch fork."

After a quick double espresso, I reluctantly leave Lucia in the kitchen and head downstairs into the basement gym to work up a sweat.

Might as well hit the home gym while I wait for Rosa's call. I'm not one to sit around and do nothing, and my body is full of nervous energy, so I need to make use of it.

I'm barely twenty minutes in, my heart rate just starting to pick up, when my phone rings. I take the call.

"That was fast." I wipe my forehead on my shirt.

"I am actually good at my job, Koslov. It's why you pay me the big bucks."

"Don't I know it. So, what did you find?"

"Turns out this woman lives in Cobble Hill."

"As in Brooklyn?"

"Unless you know any other Cobble Hills," she retorts. "She fled New York after her divorce but moved back to the States three years ago."

I frown.

What would make Katya want to move back to the very city where Igor still resides? Surely, she would have built a life for herself in Russia, so there must be a pretty good reason for her to suddenly leave it all behind…

"Any idea of her motivations?" My mind spins with potential scenarios.

"Not yet. Is this the part that's going to keep me busy?"

"I think so."

Rosa chuckles. "Speak soon, Koslov."

Staring at my phone, I run my fingers through my sweaty hair. I need to try to devise a plan, and I want to do it without my brother's help.

I want to talk to Katya without Alexei and Dimitri, but it wouldn't be wise for me to go alone. For all I know, Igor could have orchestrated a trap knowing that one of my family would come looking for answers, and I could be about to walk right into it.

Unlocking my phone, I scroll through my contacts until I land on my cousin's name.

"How do you feel about a trip to Brooklyn?"

"Brooklyn? You do spoil me, cousin. Last time we went to Brooklyn, we ended up in the shady bar with those strippers who smelled like?—"

"Anton, this is business."

"So was that." He laughs. "But sure, count me in."

"I'll pick you up outside your apartment in twenty."

It seems a little redundant to drive all the way to Anton's place in Soho only to drive back toward Brooklyn, but I don't want Alexei to spot me getting into Anton's car and start asking questions. I don't doubt that he'll be pleased with my course of action regarding Igor's ex-wife, but I don't want him swooping in and taking over.

I want to be the one to see this through, and I want to do it without his help.

On the drive over to Anton's apartment, I start rehearsing what I might say to Katya in my head, but I can't deny that the thought of even looking her in the eye makes me feel sick to my stomach.

My knuckles turn white as I grip the steering wheel.

I'm not sure I can trust myself to keep my temper in check when it comes to Katya. After all, she's the reason my father betrayed my mother.

Perhaps, it would have been better if Alexei was the one to speak with her after all...

"What is this about?" Anton asks as he climbs into the passenger seat of the car.

"We're going to pay Igor's ex-wife a visit," I explain as I turn the car around.

"Okay… I take it that this hasn't been approved by Alexei?"

"No, so can I trust you to keep your mouth shut for once?"

Anton's shoulders shake with silent laughter.

"When it comes to business, yes. When it comes to your naked antics, I'm afraid that information is fair game."

I shoot my cousin a glare, and he only smirks.

"So, why are we visiting this woman?"

"I want to try and guilt her into giving me some answers on what happened to her kid."

"You sure you're ready to know?"

"No, but the thought of Igor having a card in his pocket that he could use as a bargaining tool feels dangerous."

Anton frowns. "Don't you think it's odd that Igor let Katya walk away?"

"How so?"

"I mean, she betrayed him. She literally went behind his back and fucked a rival Pahkan. It doesn't get much worse than that and yet, she lives. Igor is far from a reasonable man, so there must be a reason he didn't kill her."

"None of this adds up. Let's just hope that Katya's willing to talk."

The address Rosa gave me takes us to a small gated community with neat red-brick homes with wrap around porches and shutters. It's not where I pictured the ex-wife of a Russian bratva Pahkan living, which is probably exactly why she chose it.

I park across the street from Katya's home and kill the engine.

Anton looks at me. "Ready?"

"Not in the slightest."

My heart is hammering in my chest as we cross the immaculate lawn and climb the front porch steps.

Anton gives me one last nod of encouragement before I wrap my knuckles against the door.

Footsteps come from inside, and I take one last deep breath before the door opens a fraction, and a woman with graying, auburn hair and big, blue eyes peers around.

"Yes?"

I stare at her for a moment, trying to see her through my father's eyes. He was willing to risk his entire family for this woman and now because of his mistakes, my brothers and I are having to clean up the mess he left behind.

"Are you Katya?" I do my best to keep my expression neutral.

Her blue eyes go wide as she stares at me, the color draining from her face, but she dips her chin.

"My name is?—"

"I know who you are. Y-you look just like him."

My skin bristles at her comment .

"Can we come in? There's something I'd like to talk to you about," I'm trying my best to sound non-threatening.

Katya hesitates, glancing once at Anton before looking back at me.

I don't miss the way her hand trembles as she grips the edge of the doorframe.

"N-no. Please, I-I want you to leave."

"I'm just here to talk." I hold up my hands to show that I have no weapon.

"I have nothing to say to you." She slams the door shut in my face.

"That went well." Anton slaps me on the shoulder. "What do we do now?"

"I have no fucking idea."