“We’ll get around to that, but for now, I want you to meet Mariya.”
Though he had at least a dozen questions, he kept them to himself as he followed Fang out of the room and down into the main living area of the loft.
Thanatos and Invictus were standing on either side of her, doing what they did best.
The first thing he noticed was how she looked nothing like Aidra.
She was shorter, hair longer, and just looked far more delicate than the woman who’d stood at Nix’s side for so many years.
But when she looked at Fang, her eyes softened, and a hint of a smile formed, and Fang’s expression reflected hers.
Whoever she was, she didn’t have to be Aidra for Răzvan to like her—she’d brought Fang home.
***
“I need a hacker,” Fang said, turning the mug he was holding around in his hands.
Ever since he had walked in the night before like he hadn’t been gone for nearly six months, with a woman nonetheless, Răzvan was still trying to figure out what the hell was going on with him.
“Doesn’t Nix have one?” he asked, glancing up.
I know one, he signed, already digging out his phone before the other man could respond.
This would give him an excuse to get Winter over here anyway.
A week had passed since he’d last seen her and while he hadn’t thought this would bother him, he still found himself thinking about her constantly. They still talked every night, but he was ready for her to be back in New York.
Without thinking, he typed out a quick message. I need you. Straight to the point.
Not even a minute later, her response came in.
TWENTY MINUTES.
—They’ll be here soon.—
“They?” Fang asked, seeming to come out of the fog he’d been under since the minute he stepped back into the loft.
—Winter.—
His brow furrowed. “Why do I know that name?”
Răzvan scratched at the scruff on his jaw, reluctant to answer. Not because Winter embarrassed him, but because he knew how his brother would respond. —The one we met in California. Calavera’s friend.—
He almost thought the other man wouldn’t remember her—he’d had other things on his mind, after all—but as his expression smoothed and he arched a brow, looking like his former self, Răzvan knew he remembered her just fine.
“Robbing the cradle a little there, aren’t you, Răz?”
He didn’t dignify that with a response but did make a point to twist the knife he was holding, reminding him which of them was better with the weapon.
That didn’t seem to deter Fang, though. He merely smiled. “I guess my first question is, why are you even talking to the hacker?”
—Because I want to.—
Simple.
Direct.
It was the only explanation needed.
“That’s it? That’s your answer?”
—It’s the only answer you’re going to get.—
“Nicu and Vali, they know about this?”
—It never came up.—
“Bullshit. If it’s something—someone important, you mention it unless you have something to hide.”
—Right? Because you mentioned Mariya?— Răzvan shot back.
He knew why the girl was there. Fang had made that pretty clear before he’d dragged Invictus off earlier to meet her husband, but that didn’t mean he completely understood it.
“I was getting around to it,” he said uneasily, rubbing the back of his neck. “Time got away from me, but that doesn’t have shit to do with this.”
Do you need the fucking hacker or not?
Fang just stared at him for a long, uncomfortable moment before he let it go. “Yeah, I need the hacker.”
“Why would you need a hacker?” Mariya asked as she rounded the corner, her eyes going to Răzvan first then Fang before softening.
Whoever she was, there was no denying she had a thing for him.
She dropped down into the chair Fang pulled out for her. “I can tell you anything you want to know.”
“It’s not what you know that I need,” Fang explained. “It’s what you don’t. We need access to the shit Feliks doesn’t want anyone knowing. And if it’s stored electronically, a hacker can get to it.”
“Okay,” she said, accepting that in stride. “Where do you even find a hacker?”
Fang looked over at Răzvan. “Apparently, we already have one. We’re just waiting for her to arrive.”
Răzvan tuned them out for the most part as they talked, interjecting when needed, but it wasn’t until a while had passed before the bell rang throughout the loft.
He didn’t hesitate in going to the door and opening it, unveiling Winter on the other side.
Her smile was immediate. “Hey, big guy.”
She slipped by him before he even had a chance to explain anything, but her step didn’t falter as she caught sight of Fang and Mariya at the counter and Thanatos and Invictus who were only now entering the kitchen.
“I totally wasn’t expecting to meet any of you since Tăcut is keeping me his dirty little secret.”
Surprise hit him hard as his gaze cut to her, and like a fucking idiot, he could feel his cheeks warming.
“I’m kidding,” she said, laughing at his expression. “Mostly. So let me guess,” she added, looking past him. “Fang, right? Yeah, Tăcut’s told me a lot about you—Calavera too. She ranked you at like a nine. Don’t worry, though, only Nix gets a ten from her, but I’d say you’re more like an eight? Eight and a half, maybe? It’s not your fault, though—Tăcut has these cheekbones and all.”
A startled laugh left Mariya before she slapped a hand over her mouth when Fang glared at her.
Her sights went to the two watching her in amusement. “Thanatos and Invictus—the two halves of a whole?” She paused, her head canting to the side as she sized them up. “Is it really true you two share everything?”
Shit.
It was time to end this.
Răzvan snapped his fingers in front of her face, the quickest way to grab her attention without saying her name. Neither reacted to her words, but she still looked expectant.
“What?” she asked innocently. “I only meant the interchanging masks.”
Before he could think of an answer, Fang spoke. “Introductions are over, no? Because I have a job for you, and talking isn’t required.”
Răzvan stiffened, glaring over at his brother, but Winter didn’t need him to speak for her.
“Did you know I’ve been hacking government databases since I was twelve? If I could do that then, imagine what I can do now while I’m inspired to see how much money you have tucked away in accounts you think no one knows about.” She barely paused to take a breath, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “And no, dipshit, introductions aren’t over.”
Now, she smiled at Mariya as though nothing had happened. “I’m Winter. I’m ready to work.”
Răzvan was in love.
Within five minutes of meeting them, Winter decided she rather liked Mariya, but Fang was a complete dick.
Sure, he was nice to look at, just as the rest of The Wild Bunch was, but he was annoying. Besides, Răzvan had him beat by spades.
Despite his bad attitude, though, it was a little sweet that his brutish behavior was sparked out of his desire to keep Mariya safe.
As she dropped her bag on the bed, she turned back just in time to see Răzvan walking into his bedroom behind her.
Maybe a week had passed since she’d last seen him, yet it felt like ages.
“Miss me?”
He frowned. —I never wanted you to leave.—
Why did those words have to feel like a punch in the gut? Surprise shouldn’t have assaulted her the way it did, especially when she knew all too well that Răzvan didn’t sugarcoat his words.
He said what he meant and meant what he said.
But that didn’t stop her from feeling the ache th
ose words caused.
It also didn’t stop her from walking right over to him, and instead of him kissing her, she kissed him.
She might not have said it, but she’d missed him too.
“So do you want to give me a quick rundown of what the hell is going on?” she asked once she pulled away, but only as far as he’d let her.
He didn’t obviously, not when he just kissed her again.
Was this what it was like to lose yourself in someone?
To crave someone more than you craved air?
“I was coming back,” she whispered once he pulled away again.
She didn’t think she could have stayed away from him any longer than she had, but The Kingmaker had called on her unexpectedly, and she’d lost track of time.
—Fang needs a favor.—
“Your brother is a bit of a dick. I’m not sure I want to do him any favors.”
—Then a favor for me.—
“Depends. What do I get in return?”
When he laughed, she smiled.
“That’s a serious question, Răz.”
—What do you want?—
“You, big guy. I want you.”
Because once wasn’t nearly enough.
“So Russian Bratva, huh?” she asked once they rejoined the others, looking over at Mariya. “I know somebody who has the stars on his chest, so I totally know what that means,” she added with a tilt of her head at the tattoo Mariya was trying unsuccessfully to hide.
Red, one of the mercenaries in the Den, had explained to her once the meaning behind them—she’d been curious why he’d gotten them in the first place since he wasn’t actually Russian Bratva, but then she had learned about his twin brother and their daddy issues and figured it was best not to ask any more questions.
“Is the finger thing true, though?” Winter asked, launching into another question, holding her hands up in a crude impression of someone getting their fingers cut off.
She had always been curious whether the Bratva’s means of torture were as horrific as she thought.
Fang looked annoyed by the question, but Mariya shrugged. “Occasionally.”
“Wicked.” Winter frowned over at the man standing to her right. “All right, Fang. What do you need from me?”
If she sounded annoyed, it was because she was.
“Anything you can find on Feliks Sokovich.”
Winter started typing. “What’d he do to piss you off?”
Fang shook his head. “I don’t see the relevance.”
“Are you always like this?” she asked with an arch of her brow. “I thought you’d be cooler.”
His gaze went from her to something just beyond her shoulder—or someone. She knew Răzvan stood there, and judging from the look on Fang’s face now, he was probably doing that scary thing where his jaw got hard, and his eyes narrowed.
This was why he was totally a ten.
“He’s my husband,” Mariya supplied, shooting a look in Fang’s direction.
“Ex,” he enunciated. “You’ll be a widow soon enough.”
Mariya rolled her eyes, but there was a touch of a smile on her face before she looked back at Winter.
One look back and forth between them told her everything she’d missed. “Oh. Now, I get it.”
“Feliks Sokovich, please,” Fang said, probably knowing what she intended to ask next.
“Right. On it.”
It didn’t take very long to find information on the man, but she hadn’t anticipated just how much she’d find. “I’m going to need a bigger setup for this presentation.”
She spoke directly to Răzvan, not sure if he wanted her to let on that she knew the layout of the loft.
Actually, she didn’t know what they knew about them. She enjoyed it just being the two of them, where there were no obstacle or rules.
But now everything was about to change.
Răzvan nodded for her to follow him.
The others followed with Fang speaking quietly with Invictus though she couldn’t hear what they were saying.
By the time they were in the computer room, and Răzvan had her laptop hooked up to the set of monitors, she put it to the back of her mind.
“Feliks Sokovich—thirty-four, about six-foot, two hundred and something pounds, etcetera, etcetera. A rumored enforcer for the Kuznetsov Bratva based out of Chicago. He’s married to a Mariya Kuznet—oh shit, that’s you. Kuznetsov Bratva? So does that make you like mafiya royalty or something?”
“Or something,” Mariya said.
She didn’t look particularly proud of that fact.
“I would say cool, but considering you’re here and not there, it’s probably not all that cool. Anywho, I found a few bank accounts, and if you give me another fifteen, I can probably find every offshore account he has.” She turned to Mariya. “I won’t even charge you my regular fee—consider it a divorce present.”
Because from what little she’d read about Feliks Sokovich, she didn’t like the sound of him very much.
“What does Russia have on him?”
“Your usual bad guy resumé,” Winter said as she turned back to her laptop. “Assault and battery, theft, theft by receiving, murder … Jesus, when has this guy not been in trouble.”
“I also need to know any property he owns, and all transactions he’s made over the past fourteen months, but before you do that, look at this for me.”
Fang handed her a flash drive that looked a little old.
She didn’t think anything of it as she plugged it in and waited for its folder to open, but when it didn’t, which told her one thing.
“Shit, what was supposed to be on this?” Because whatever was there was likely gone now.
“What do you mean?” Mariya asked, a trace of alarm in her voice that made Winter think whatever this was, it was important to her. “There’s supposed to be a file on it.”
Biting her lip, she removed the USB, looking at the end of it, wanting to confirm her suspicions before she answered. “It might be fucked.”
“That’s not possible. It has to work.”
“It could have gotten corrupted,” Winter returned gently. “They’re not as durable as most people think. If you were in a rush when you put whatever you put on this and snatched it from the drive the second it finished, that could mess with the wiring, and yeah, you didn’t ask me all that,” she finished on a mutter. “I can see if I can extract something from it, but I can’t make any promises. I’ll get the rest in a sec, Fang.”
But she already knew, even as she lied, that there was nothing she could do to get anything off the USB.
The only thing she could try now was to look for something else they could use.
Something incriminating, if she had to guess.
Something beyond what any law enforcement would need.
She thought of the files The Kingmaker kept on his Persons of Interest and all the information they provided. It was always the little things he exploited that turned into the best way for the person to be blackmailed.
What was Feliks hiding?
She ignored the flash drive entirely as she started another hunt on the web, focusing on what might have been connected to him without having his name on it.
Ten minutes later, she found a building.
Nothing that seemed out of the ordinary at first, but considering when he’d bought it, there must be something they could use.
“Hey, hey,” she called, not realizing the pair had stepped out of the room. “I may have found something you’ll like!”
They were back in a second with Fang asking, “What’d you find?”
“This address. I looked it up, and it’s for one of those check cashing places.”
“It’s one of my father’s old places,” Mariya explained, though her frown said she didn’t understand.
“Probably money laundering,” Fang said with a nod. “What’s so special about it?”
“Apparently, he bought the building behi
nd it—one of those old abandoned places that probably needs to be remodeled.”
Which had made her wonder why he’d need it in the first place.
“He could be using it for the same money-laundering operation, but I bet he’s keeping something in that building, though,” Thanatos suggested as he rapped his knuckles against the table.
Relief made Fang more animated as he and Thanatos went back and forth on what to do next.
Winter tried to pay attention, but as Răzvan leaned back against the table beside her, she turned her focus to him.
And when he smiled at her, silent and pleased, she felt like the luckiest girl in the world.
Chapter 10
Later, after the voices had gone quiet and they were finally alone in his room, Winter rolled over onto her stomach, watching Răzvan at his desk as he worked on a puzzle composed of seven blocks.
He’d explained absently the intricate way in which it was meant to be put together. Seven difficult, intricate moves that were meant to be done in a very specific order.
One wrong move and he’d have to start from the beginning.
She was careful not to disturb him, just watching him work and found herself rather enjoying it. She liked seeing the complicated emotions flickering across his face when he concentrated.
Over the many weeks she had known him, she quickly realized what the puzzles did for him—they helped him work through his stress. Stress that was currently keeping him from the bed she was laying in.
It was Fang—she had no doubt.
Though Fang was back, and she was pretty sure he was happy about this fact, it wasn’t as if he’d come back of his own free will.
Răzvan was worried, and she didn’t like that.
“Whatever’s going on with Fang, we’ll fix it. You know that, right?” She waited for him to turn and face her. “Besides, he has you to help him.”
—Fang is never one to ask for help. The fact that he is worries me.—
“Tell me a story,” she said suddenly, figuring it would probably be easier to distract him than to get him to stop worrying by telling him to stop worrying.
—I don’t have one worth telling.—
“It couldn’t have been misery at the orphanage or wherever you grew up the entire time, right?” she asked—she hoped. The idea that he’d suffered all his life made her hurt for him.
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