Ultimate Vengeance (Wanted Men Book 4) by Nancy Haviland Page B

have no idea how relieved I am that you won’t be following in my footsteps after all.” He kissed the top of Alek’s head before taking the bunched up napkin and his dirty glass over to the sink. Once there, he took his phone out and read a text. “Maksim is going incommunicado.”
    Alek jumped to his feet. “What?” He ripped his phone out and called the idiot. “He can’t do that now.”
    “Said all the interruptions are hindering his work and he’ll call you the second he has her.”
    Frustration sizzled through Alek’s blood as the generic voicemail greeting came on. He stabbed his thumb on the screen to disconnect.
    “Now that there’s no chance you’ll go off with your lined trunk and ready body bag,” Vasily said with a wink. “I’ll leave you to get some rest.”
    Alek walked him out and said his goodbyes. He came back in with Anton and they talked for a while about what to expect from each other. Confident they were going to get along fine, he found himself wandering around the apartment. He kept thinking about the expression Vasily had worn when he’d talked about Kathryn Jacobs. It had been familiar.
    When he realized why, he took his phone out and called his cousin. His goddamn cousin who was working his way through something none of them could hope to comprehend. Alek had seen Sacha tonight, received another chance. He could have held her, kissed her, touched her. Tomorrow he might argue with her, then make up. They would sit down and talk, maybe laughed, hopefully love.
    His cousin never would again. Not with his wife, and not with his son.
    “You there, Alek?” Sergei’s voice registered when he spoke louder.
    He cleared away the knot that had formed in his throat. “Hey. Yeah, I’m here. Sorry. Are you busy?” He wandered down the corridor and into the master bedroom.
    “Not that busy. Do you need me?”
    His kept his eyes away from the bed that should have scorch marks around it. “No, brother. I’m good. How are you?”
    A heavy silence descended, lingering when Sergei got what was being asked. “Same. Why do you continue with this? That question is pointless because the answer will not change. Stop now, please.” The guy had hung from a thread for months but now seemed to be pulling himself up from his death spiral. Alek couldn’t imagine how.
    He stood in front of the window and felt ashamed as he watched the light flurries. He and Sergei had been living in their misery for the same amount of time, but when one compared the two…
    “I’m sorry. I can’t help it. Want to come over for a drink?”
    “No, thanks, man. I am getting shit done.”
    His lip quirked at the expression Sergei had laughed at when he’d first heard it upon settling in the States five years ago. Alek was convinced it had been Sergei’s mother who’d pushed her son to relocate. Vasily had gone to see his much older sister before she died and she’d told him to expect Sergei and his family in America within the year. They’d shown six months later, so a promise must have been made. The regrets and what-ifs must drive the guy insane. Had he stayed in Russia, he’d still have his wife and child.
    “If you finish up early, swing by the Flatiron apartment. I’ll be here all night.”
    There was a tense moment of silence. “It is true then? I heard the boys say something about Anton being assigned to you because you were bringing your female back into the fold. I was on the phone and thought I had to be mistaken. What has happened?”
    Almost feeling cruel, Alek kept it short. “We were at the restaurant and she walked in.” Sergei hadn’t come to the engagement party for obvious reasons. Watching a couple begin their new life together could only add insult to injury.
    A thump sounded. “Just like that? You are kidding me. Are you with them now?”
    “Who? The boys? Did you drop something?”
    “Yes. My gun. I almost shot Reynard.” He chuckled tightly and Alek heard Sergei’s regular