But Sergei only pulled out a handkerchief, blowing his nose loudly before speaking again. “You know, a deal with the Carusos would have benefited us.”
Ivan resisted the urge to scoff. He knew exactly who a deal with the Carusos would have benefited, and it sure as fuck wasn’t him. “Would it really?”
“Your father would have taken it.”
“My father’s dead,” Ivan said flatly.
Sergei tucked his handkerchief back in his pocket, making a quick sign of the cross. “May he rest in peace.”
“I’m sure the fires of hell are keeping him nice and toasty.”
Unsurprisingly, Sergei was unamused. He gave Ivan a heavy, knowing look and heaved a sigh. “I’m worried about you, Vanya.”
Somewhere underneath the ever-present rage, Ivan was curious. Where was Sergei going to try to steer him now? Did he already have a backup plan now the Carusos were a dead end? He must have. He was a traitor but not a fool.
“You should take a wife,” Sergei told him, with all apparent sincerity.
Ivan was so genuinely surprised by the suggestion he couldn’t contain his startled laugh. “I should?”
“Mm.” Sergei smiled at him, the picture of a caring older relative. “A good woman, Ivan. A few babies. It’ll settle you.”
Like it settled my psychopath of a father?
It was the most preposterous suggestion Ivan had ever heard, but he only nodded. “I’ll take that into consideration.”
Sergei grunted, apparently satisfied with that response.
For a moment, it felt like old times. A few months ago, Ivan would have broken out the vodka for them, settled in and talked with Sergei deep into the night. They would have planned for the future, reminisced about old times (always glossing over thebrutality, always painting Ivan’s father as a calculated leader rather than an unhinged sadist). Sergei would have played the role Ivan had once thought Alexei would fill. The loyal second-in-command.
Was it on one of those nights that Sergei had decided to betray him? Had Ivan let something slip, some tell that had made Sergei decide he wasn’t worth following any longer? Shown some weakness he wasn’t aware of?
Even knowing what Ivan did, he was still tempted to take out two glasses. It wasn’t like he had anyone else to drink with these days.
But Sergei stood abruptly before he had a chance. “I’ll see to the men, then. Make sure no stragglers are left to cause trouble, hm?”
He would too. Sergei’s play with the Carusos had failed, and he was smart enough to know a losing hand when he saw one. It would take time for him to regroup, if usurping Ivan was still on his agenda.
If that had even been the point of all this.
Sergei pushed the box of pastries closer to Ivan. “Eat. Get some sleep. And think on what I said.”
Ivan tipped his chin. “I always do.”
He watched Sergei leave. He took the vodka out of his desk drawer, followed by a single glass.
Nix appearedin the doorway of Ivan’s office sometime later, catching Ivan in the act of biting into one of the piroshki. He rested a hip against the doorframe. “You sure you should eat that?”
Ivan finished chewing. Swallowed. Washed it down with vodka. He sneered, or at least he tried to. His facial expressionsweren’t cooperating quite the way they should. “Sergei wouldn’t poison me. He’d shoot me point-blank, like a real man.”
Nix laughed, low and throaty. “Oh, Vanya. There’s so much wrong with that statement I can’t even begin.”
Ivan shut his eyes. Opened them again. “You sound like Sascha,” he accused. “Sascha on one of his rants about toxic masculinity.”
Ivan’s youngest brother didn’t contradict him often—or at least, he didn’t used to—but when he did, he always liked to do it with gusto and sass.
“Good.” Nix grinned, flashing sharp teeth, his tail flicking out from behind him. “I liked him.”
Ivan scowled down at his glass, which was empty again. He wondered if Nix controlled the tail’s movements or if they were involuntary. “You only met him for a moment.”
