Twilight Sins: Chapter 67

“All I’m saying is, you were just in a bar fight two days ago. You might be better suited than me at causing a distraction,” Nik says as he drives the car.

My brother isn’t so keen on my decision that I’ll be the one to end Akim Gustev’s life.

“It’s too late,” I tell him. “We’re not changing the plan.”

“It’s not too late until you pull the trigger. If anything, changing the plan last-minute will make sure Akim doesn’t get the jump on us. If there was a leak, now, we’ll surprise him.”

“We’re the only two people who know what’s happening tonight. How would there be a leak?”

He considers the question for a second and then screws up his nose. “Come on, man. Let me kill him. We can make a deal.” He sees the steel in my face and sighs. “This is bullshit. We should have drawn straws or something. You’re stealing all the fun.”

“You’re starting to sound like Mariya.”

The fact is, making the kill shot is dangerous. If Akim is smart, he’ll have guards stationed on either side of him by the doors. Those guards could spot me and take me out before I even get the chance to pull the trigger. Between the two of us, Nikandr has the higher chance of making it home tonight.

“It’s fine,” he grumbles. “I’m just glad we’re finally doing this. This has been a long time coming.”

It has been a long time coming. It also feels like I could have spent several more days thinking through worst-case scenarios and patching holes. I feel rushed. I fucking hate feeling rushed.

“Extra guards are stationed around the perimeter of the mansion?” I ask.

Nik nods. “They are under strict orders not to let our dearest little sis or Luna off of the property tonight. No repeats of last time.”

Last time. The last time things with Luna were good. The last time I saw her…

I wanted to go to her before we left the house this morning. I’m optimistic I’ll make it out of tonight alive, but I still couldn’t shake the idea that I needed to fix things with her before this all went down.

But she’d know something was wrong if I tried that. Like always, the less Luna knows about what’s going on with Akim, the safer she is.

Plus, I knew if I went into my room to see her, I wouldn’t want to leave again.

No distractions.

I grab my phone from the console and tap in a number.

“Who are you calling?” Nik asks.

I don’t say anything, letting it ring.

Dr. Mathers picks up on the third ring. “Good to hear from you again, Mr. Kulikov.”

“Well?” I snap.

This isn’t a distraction. I’m getting Luna off of my mind. As soon as I know Dr. Mathers is taking care of her, I can stop thinking about her.

The usually patient man sighs. “Are you calling for information regarding Ms. McCarthy’s appointment?”

“Why else would I be calling?”

“Charming,” Dr. Mathers mutters. “I can tell you that Ms. McCarthy is healthy. Anything more than that would be inappropriate to⁠—”

“She’s been throwing up for days. If she was healthy, I never would have called you.”

Nik leans closer. “Who is that? Who’s sick? Is this phone sex roleplay?”

Nik was busy enough with recon that he didn’t need to know that Luna has been sick. He definitely didn’t need to know that I scheduled a house visit to have her checked out. He already thinks there’s more going on between us than there really is. He doesn’t need more ammo.

“You know I like being there for you when you need me, Yakov,” Dr. Mathers says, “but I don’t feel comfortable breaking doctor-patient privilege.”

“Sure, I understand that.”

There’s a pause before a shell-shocked Dr. Mathers says, “You do?”

“Absolutely. You don’t want to break doctor-patient privilege, but you’re super comfortable writing pain prescriptions for patients who have never been under your care at doses far beyond industry standard.”

He clears his throat. “I really can’t discuss other patients’ prescriptions with you.”

“There’s a lot you ‘can’t’ discuss with me. Maybe you’ll open up when the state medical board comes knocking with questions about your connection to petty dealers all over the city.”

Mathers sucks in a sharp breath. “You wouldn’t do that.”

“You think I can’t find another doctor to discreetly patch up some bullet holes from time to time? There’s a line of doctors even shadier than you who would kill for the opportunity. Literally.”

“Ms. McCarthy could just tell you herself,” he says. “You could talk to her and⁠—”

“I’m not paying her. I’m paying you. Start talking.”

“Talking about what?” Nik grumbles. “What is going on?”

Dr. Mathers sighs. “Luna is experiencing all the signs of a perfectly healthy pregnancy.”

It takes a few seconds for the words to sink in.

It takes a few more seconds for my brain to power down and do a hard reboot.

By the time it’s up and functioning again, a million thoughts are flying through my head at once.

“She’s…”

“Pregnant,” Dr. Mathers repeats. “She has been experiencing morning sickness, so I prescribed her a prenatal vitamin and a B6 supplement. But she should really see an OB-GYN. I don’t have imaging equipment, so I could only guess at how far along she is.”

“How far along?” I growl, jumping on the question.

Was Luna pregnant when I met her? Is she carrying her asshole ex’s baby? The thought alone turns my knuckles white around the steering wheel.

“Estimated conception is around three weeks ago.”

I don’t need to do the math. Mine. The baby is mine.

Dr. Mathers is saying something about emailing me a list of recommended gynecologists, but I hang up. I drop my phone in my lap, every thought in my head devoted to the fact that Luna is pregnant with my child.

“What was that about?” Nik asks. “Who’s sick? Is this about tonight?”

Tonight? What’s tonight?

I must look crazed because Nik reaches over and grabs the wheel like he thinks I’m going to veer off of the road. “What the fuck is happening, Yakov?”

“I’m going to be a father.”

The words sound even more bizarre coming out of my mouth.

I never planned to have kids. Actually, I’ve never thought about kids enough to explicitly decide I didn’t want them. After my dad was killed and left us behind, I knew I never wanted to do that to my own children. The best way to avoid fucking them up was to never have them in the first place. Nikandr’s eventual kids could inherit everything as far as I was concerned. But now…

All the air whooshes out of Nik’s lungs. “What?”

“Luna is pregnant with my baby.”

She tried to tell me. That night in the kitchen when I told her I wanted to get rid of her. When she called me while I was drunk at the bar.

“Mariya tried to—” I clench my teeth.

Mariya told me Luna was throwing up. She knew about the baby, but didn’t tell me. I can’t even control my baby sister—what in the hell am I going to do with an actual baby?

It makes sense that Luna told her before she told me. I’ve been pushing her away. She tried to tell me herself, but I shut her out.

I’m going to be a father.

The Rouge Lounge comes into view a few blocks down. People are lined up around the corner, bathed in the red neon glow of the new sign. Akim is right there for the fucking taking.

And I have no earthly idea what I’m going to do about Luna.

Which is why I shove the thought away. No distractions. I can’t think about her now. Not when the future of my family depends on me pulling off this plan tonight.

Is Luna part of that family now?

“What are you going to do?” Nik asks.

I grip the wheel and clear my mind. “I’m going to kill Akim Gustev.”