“Your situation was different.”

“How? My father was a wastrel. Your father betrayed his vor trying to satisfy the needs of a woman he loved and paid for his actions with his life. How are they not the same?”

“Because your mother didn’t sell you to save her own ass and buy a new life!” The raw and painful admission ripped up his throat with the tenderness of multithreaded barbed wire. His breath sawed in and out in the aftermath, and his grip on the armrests left his knuckles straining and white.

Sergei waited, somehow knowing Kir needed the time to reconcile the violence coursing through him. When he finally found his voice, it was ragged and broken. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. You needed that.”

Bit by bit, Kir’s muscles relaxed.

Sergei went back to his silent study of the stars and the crescent moon overhead. By the time he spoke again, a good minute or two had passed and, from the pondering in his tone, he’d spent it revisiting his own past. “I never thought I would keep to only one woman. Never thought I would enter any type of relationship, let alone marry. Not with what we do for a living. There was too much risk. Too much to lose.” He paused a moment and his gaze narrowed on the sky. “But Evette made the risk worth it. Showed me I was worth another’s love and trust.”

It was the last statement he’d expected from Sergei. They’d navigated countless treacherous situations together. Faced down hardened enemies with all manner of weapons and borne the scars to go with them. But never once had he shared something so personal. So vulnerable. Even if he demonstrated how much he loved his new bride and son on a daily basis.

“What are you trying to tell me?”

Sergei lifted one shoulder in a negligent shrug, stubbed out his cigar and stood. “There is nothing to tell. Just sharing the benefit of what I have learned. What you do with it is up to you.” He stood, nodded to Kir and strolled toward the back door. “I look forward to meeting your woman Sunday night.”

Your woman.

If Kir hadn’t already been shaken to his core, he’d have likely scoffed out loud at the parting remark.

Behind him, the door opened.

“Kir?”

Kir lifted his head and stared back at his pakhan. His brother in arms. One of two friends in the world he knew he could always count on.

“You are worth another’s love and trust as well. Don’t let your parents’ past rob you of it.” With that, he closed the door, leaving Kir alone with the darkness and his jumbled thoughts.

Chapter Nine

It was official. Aunt Frieda was a veritable genius when it came to wardrobe selections for tricky situations.

Cassie turned from one side to the other in front of the full-length mirror, appreciating the cherry-red romper her aunt had suggested at their impromptu get-together Thursday night. The spaghetti straps and gathered waist gave the outfit a playful look, while the flowing pant legs paired with taupe heels added an elegant flair. A perfect compromise for either a casual or more elegant venue.