Page 87 of Mafia Prince's Secret Baby

I nod, grateful for the lead, however small. But Aleks’s next words catch me off guard.

“How are things with Katya?”

I glance at him sharply, debating whether to shut him down, but the look in his eyes tells me he’s not letting this one go. With a low sigh, I lean back against the scorched wall, crossing my arms over my chest.

“The jury’s still out,” I admit, my voice quieter now. “But… for the first time, she looks content.”

Aleks’s brow lifts knowingly, the corner of his mouth twitching. “She fits with you.”

I grunt in agreement. She always has, even if she fought it for much too long.

My lips twitch into a reluctant smile as I drop my arms and glance down at the floor. The mess doesn’t bother me as much when I let myself think about her—about the way she handled the chaos tonight, the way she held onto me like I was the only thing keeping her steady.

“Yes,” I say finally. “She does.” I glance at Aleks, the thought hitting me as I say it aloud. “I just hope she realizes it soon.”

Aleks snorts, his arms folding over his chest. “Why wouldn’t she?”

I don’t answer, brushing off the question with a shrug. The topic’s too raw to dissect right now. Instead, I shift gears. “The Colombians are getting restless.”

Aleks’s expression hardens instantly, his mind snapping back to the larger threat. “Yeah.”

“That means we have to work faster to find the missing shipment,” I continue, pushing off the wall and stepping over a pile of charred debris. “Any ideas?” I glance back at him, my frustration bleeding through. “Because right now, I’m willing to listen to just about anything, no matter how stupid or ridiculous.”

Aleks hesitates, which immediately puts me on edge. When he finally speaks, there’s a tension in his jaw that tells me I’m not going to like what he has to say.

“In that case,” he starts carefully, “we should give Nikolai a call.”

I stop dead in my tracks and turn to face him, narrowing my eyes. “Did you smoke something before this?”

“I’m serious.” Aleks exhales heavily, like he’s already bracing for the argument. “Katya and Sofiya are his family. We are Kata’s family. If anyone’s going to want to help keep them safe, it’s Nikolai.”

I glare at him, trying to find the words to articulate just how stupid that sounds, but the problem is, it’s not stupid. Not at all. And that pisses me off even more.

“That bastard doesn’t care about us,” I growl. “He’ll use this as leverage. You know it as well as I do.”

“He’ll help because ofthem,” Aleks says firmly, his voice dropping lower.

I stare at him for a long moment, my jaw tight and my pulse pounding in my ears. I hate that he’s right. Hate that this is the move we have to make.

Finally, I sigh deeply, dragging a hand through my hair and shaking my head. “Fine,” I bite out, my tone sharp with reluctance. “I’ll call Nikolai fucking Volkov.”

Aleks nods, not bothering to gloat. Instead, he steps past me, his eyes scanning the room one last time. “I’ll handle the lab work,” he says over his shoulder. “You handle the call.”

31

IGOR

Ilean forward, resting my elbows on my knees as I meet Nikolai’s gaze head-on. His gray eyes are like polished steel—cold, sharp, and unyielding. I hate that I’m here and need this man’s help, but hate won’t solve my problem. And right now, the only thing that matters is Katya and Sofiya.

“There was an attack,” I say plainly. “Someone threw aerial fireworks into my bedroom last night. Could’ve burned the whole place to the ground if we hadn’t acted fast.”

Nikolai’s expression doesn’t change. He doesn’t so much as blink. He’s listening, but there’s no telling what he’s thinking. His fingers curl around the rim of his vodka glass. The wolf, lying in wait.

Aleks shifts beside me, but he keeps quiet, letting me take the lead. Konstantin sits perfectly still, his hands clasped loosely in front of him, his watchful eyes never leaving Nikolai.

“That’s bold,” Nikolai finally offers, his tone clipped. “And stupid.”

“Agreed,” I reply. “Whoever did it wasn’t trying to kill us. This was a warning. But I don’t have the luxury of waitingaround to see what comes next. My family is at risk. I need to find out who’s behind this—fast.”