Page 37 of Hunt Me

“Does this family have anything better to do than talk gossip?” I glared at my brother who shrugged.

“Not when it comes to the Pakhan,” Sasha offered.

“That’s my cue to leave. Just a reminder, boys,” Katya stated in her chastising voice she’d gotten so good at performing. “This is a birthday party. Try and pretend you’re having a good time.”

“We are having a good time. Aren’t we?” Alexsey threw out.

“Right.” Katya tossed her blonde hair, blowing us a little kiss before walking off.

I turned my attention to Nina, even noticing there was a piñata. My God. How things had changed since the little girl was born.

“You seem pensive,” Alexsey said when I remained quiet.

He was right. I’d been that way since dealing with Jax. Something about not only his blatant thievery but his lack of fear about being caught continued to bug the hell out of me.

“I have reason to be.”

“Sasha mentioned your run-in with a thief.”

“Possibly not just any thief. He’s Irish.” I noticed Kazimir in an animated discussion with our father and uncle Vissarian standing close. “What’s that about?”

Sasha sighed, taking a moment to ensure Nina wasn’t getting into any mischief. “There’s more talk on the street.”

I turned my full attention to him. “Why do I have a feeling I’m going to need a drink to hear this?”

“Your instincts are right. The talk is about the Irish making an underground move.” Sasha kept his voice lower, his eyes on mine until Nina suddenly bounced hard onto the ground, her sharp cry immediately drawing his attention. “Excuse me for a minute. Fatherly duty calls.”

One of the bars was off to the right. I immediately headed for it, Alexsey following.

“Whiskey, neat,” I told the bartender before turning toward my brother. “If what Sasha said is true, then we need to provide another extremely clear message they aren’t welcome here. If the man I interrogated last night is working for him, he’ll likely provide a preliminary warning, but it might not be enough. We’re signing the damn contract with the Italian gorillas tomorrow. You know the subject will come up.”

“Then we need to ask them if they’re having any issues. Keep in mind they aren’t our enemy, Mikhail. There’s other talk on the street about drugs coming in. Maybe you need to have a chat with your cop friend. It’s entirely possible Tristen is simply taking another swing at you for what happened at that damn park. Now that Ecstasy is considered toast of the town, a destination for vacationers, it’s like rubbing salt into a wound.” He lifted his sunglasses, giving me one of his hard looks, all while grinning as if he’d caught me in a secret.

“I get it, but that was a long time ago.” Everyone knew what had occurred twenty-two years before. With Ryan O’Shaughnessy’s murder, Tristen had sworn vengeance and he’d tried over the next two years only to have his entire operation face another round of extinction.

With the glass in my hand, I turned to face the party.

“Maybe so, but the need for revenge doesn’t have a time limit,” Alexsey noted. “I’ll take one of those,” he said to the bartender. “Birthday parties make my skin crawl.”

“Yes, they do.” Celebrations were ripe for assassination attempts even though things had changed in our business practices.

The place was crawling with soldiers dressed in casual clothes, pretending they were swilling back drinks. They were even conversing with the influential guests who had no idea they were spilling their guts to members of the Bratva.

“Incidentally,Batyarequested your presence.”

Batya. My brother had used the term for years yet had never done so in front of our father. The colloquial for ‘old man’ certainly wasn’t something the former Pakhan wanted to hear or believe.

“Great. Let’s get this over with.”

As we headed toward where he stood with Uncle Ivan and a city council member, I nodded toward several of the guests, a few celebrities who were currently in residence as entertainers at several casinos throughout Vegas. I was happy to say we had a waiting list of musicians longing to perform in our pristine settings.

“There you are.” My mother grabbed me, squeezing her fingers around my arms. At least she seemed more relaxed today. A plus for all of us although if I had to guess, I’d say she’d already driven Aunt Galina crazy with her insistence on taking over the festivities. “I was afraid you weren’t coming.” I bent down so she could kiss me on the cheek.

“Of course not, Mama. I know what you’d do if we missed Nina’s birthday.” I noticed my aunt standing in the background, waving her hand to me as if to beg me to keep my mother away. In her other was a tall glass of wine.

The family dynamics were like anyone else in the world. Only more complicated.

And dangerous.