THE DEVIL’S BRIDE Read online

  “I wish you would at least give him a shot,” Fiona said.

  “We’ve been down this road before, Fiona. Several times, in fact. He’s a drug addict.”

  “I told you—not anymore!” she protested. “And if you would just go out with him the one time, then maybe he would stop bugging me to bug you and he could move on.”

  “Shouldn’t you answer your brother’s call?” Melanie asked, trying to change the subject.

  Fiona rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’ll talk to you later,” she said. She quickly hung up with Melanie and switched lines, managing to catch Niko just in time. “What’s up, little brother?” she said when she answered.

  “Just checking up on my Fi,” he replied, charmingly using his childhood nickname for her. “How do you feel about some brother-sister bonding time? Tonight? Your place?” he asked.

  Fiona’s gut turned. It wasn’t unusual for the two of them to spend lots of time together. Growing up, they had only ever had each other, with Fiona as the primary caretaker. Fiona had even selected a college nearby so she and Niko could stay close. They never went more than a week without seeing each other.

  And yet…Was Melanie right? Did Niko want something? More often than not, during their brother-sister bonding time, Fiona paid for their dinners, the movie, and anything else that came up, even going so far as to buy him groceries on occasion.

  Fiona gave herself a mental shake. Niko wasn’t a bum, he was her brother, and he was just going through a rough patch. He was getting better, after all.

  “Sounds great, Niko,” she finally answered.

  “Awesome,” he said. She could hear the grin in his voice. “I’ll bring the booze!”

  “Niko, you’re nineteen,” she reminded him.

  “When has that ever stopped me before?” he said, chuckling.

  Fiona hung up after giving Niko a warning about underage drinking. She got into her car and resisted the urge to send Melanie a smug text about Niko paying for something for once.

  An hour later, he was at her front doorstep, brown paper bag in hand. Fiona brushed a chip of peeling paint from the doorframe as she answered. Her place was a piece of crap.

  “What’d you bring me?” she asked cheekily, putting her hands out.

  Niko reached into the bag and pulled out a box of wine. “Merlot, right?” he asked hesitantly.

  Fiona nodded, happy he remembered. Melanie would probably scoff at the fact that it was box wine, but Melanie could stuff it. As far as Fiona was concerned, it was another point in her brother’s favor. “I have lasagna or empanadas,” she told him as she grabbed two wine glasses.

  “Speaking from my vast knowledge of wine pairings, I think lasagna would go better with this oaky merlot. Once it’s been properly aired out, of course,” Niko said, opening the plastic bag inside the box and pouring the glasses for them.

  Fiona laughed. Her brother was always cracking jokes.

  “So, how have you been?” he asked once they had sat down to eat. “Are you still seeing Ass?”

  Fiona set down her fork and glared at Niko. “I told you not to call him that. He overheard you last time.”

  Ash, referred to as Ass by her brother, was a guy from the office a floor below hers. They had met in the building cafeteria one day two months ago and, from Fiona’s perspective, had been involved in a lukewarm, sporadic, half-formed relationship ever since.

  Ash, however, had a tendency to be romantically aggressive, as Fiona liked to call it. Niko just called him Ass. Ash frequently dropped hints about bringing her over for dinner with his parents, despite her obvious reluctance, and he had even once suggested the two of them move in together, though he later claimed to be joking.

  “Why are you still with him?” Niko asked. “Is he really that good in bed?”

  “No, not really,” Fiona admitted. “But it’s better than nothing.” She wasn’t too sure about that last part, especially as of late.

  Fiona wouldn’t consider herself a kinky person, but she still liked to mix it up a little in the bedroom. She couldn’t remember the last time Ash and she hadn’t had sex in the missionary position, if ever. She had tried to initiate sex with her on top once, but Ash had stopped her and moved so she was beneath him again. She stopped trying after that.

  Maybe it’s my fault for not being open enough with him, she thought.

  “Whatever you’re thinking,” Niko said, interrupting her, “it’s not true.”

  “How do you know what I’m thinking?” Fiona said defensively, knowing the question was pointless even as she said it. Niko always knew when she doubted herself.

  “I know there’s nothing you, or anyone else, can do to fix whatever problems that guy’s got,” he said with a snort of laughter.

  “Well, if it isn’t the pot calling the kettle black!” Fiona exclaimed. She may have defended her brother to Melanie earlier, but Niko had enough of his own issues to focus on without making fun of someone else’s.

  “Hey now,” he protested, “play nice.”

  Fiona reached forward to poke the ticklish spot under his arm. “How’s that?” she teased, just like she used to when they were little.

  Fiona had always had a solid, athletic build, with a narrow waist and thick thighs that gave her a much lower center of gravity than her skinny younger brother. Once she got a hold of him, she almost always won their fights.

  Niko let out a satisfying yelp and Fiona reached to tickle the back of his neck. She spotted an opening and dug her finger into his side, expecting a girlish squeal.

  Instead, Niko grunted loudly and dropped to one knee, holding his ribs where Fiona had poked him.

  “Niko?” Fiona cried, alarmed. “What did I do?” Before he could stop her, she pulled up the hem of his shirt to take a look.

  Huge bruises, blue, black, and purple, spread across his chest and sides, their edges tinged with green. Niko had always been skinny, and even now his ribs were clearly visible beneath the boot-shaped bruises.

  Fiona gasped. “What happened?” she demanded. “Did you get into a fight?”

  “Not exactly,” Niko said.

  “Then what happened?” she repeated. “And don’t even think of lying to me right now, Niko Arthur Brown!” Fiona said, using his full name.

  “I’m handling it, Fiona,” Niko said, glaring at her. “I don’t need your help, you know.”

  “Have you taken a good look at yourself recently? Or, better yet, been to a hospital? I’m willing to bet you’ve got at least one fractured rib, by the look of you.” Fiona went into the kitchen and returned with her purse, which she sat on the dining room table and began to sort through.

  “What are you doing?” Niko asked suspiciously as Fiona pulled out her phone.

  “Since you won’t tell me what happened to you, I’m calling you an ambulance to take you to the hospital,” she replied smartly, dialing.

  Niko lunged forward to knock the phone out of her hand. “I won’t let you. You can’t be getting involved in this, Fiona! It’s too dangerous for you!”

  Fiona easily moved out of his way, holding the phone just out of reach. “Too dangerous for me?” she said. Niko crumpled as Fiona viciously stabbed a finger into his side. “You can’t even defend yourself against your sister right now. What hope do you have of defending yourself against these people again?” she asked, waving her arm towards his discolored midsection.

  Niko said nothing. He merely lay on the floor, clutching his stomach. He was furious with his sister, but only because she pointed out something he already knew to be true. He had no hope of standing up to the Russian mob. Not by himself, anyway. He certainly wasn’t going to ask his sister for help, but perhaps there was someone else who could help him. Someone who already had a vendetta against Alexei and his men.

  Fiona sank down to the ground next to her brother. “Please, Niko. Tell me what happened,” she begged. The longer Niko sat in silence, the more creative her imagination became. She closed her eyes. “How much mo
ney do you owe?” she asked resignedly.

  Fiona knew there was only one reason Niko wouldn’t want to tell her how he had gotten his bruises. He was ashamed of them. Which could only mean one thing: Niko was in trouble again.

  ***

  Fiona went into the kitchen and pulled an icepack from the freezer, throwing it to Niko, who winced as he raised a lean arm to catch it.

  “Start from the beginning,” she ordered him, pouring herself another glass of wine.

  Niko sat back, tousling his cropped brown hair. “I don’t know…” he moaned.

  “Well, you’d better figure it the fuck out, Niko,” Fiona said, unconsciously falling into Mom-mode, with her fists squarely set on her wide hips, “because you getting killed by the Russian mob isn’t an option!”

  He rolled his eyes. “Right, because that’s what I want. To be murdered. Very helpful, Fiona. This is exactly why I didn’t plan on telling you about this.”

  “Yeah, and your cover lasted all of an hour and a half before I found out. Great job, Niko!” Fiona shot back. “I can tell you’ve really got a handle on the situation.”

  She saw the hurt flash in her brother’s eyes and she mentally cursed herself. Yelling wasn’t going to help anything now. If she freaked, Niko definitely wouldn’t come to her the next time something happened.

  She sat down next to him, sighing deeply. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I just worry about you, and when I worry, I get angry. Will you please tell me what happened now?”

  “Are you going to get mad?” Niko asked testily.

  Fiona bit her lip at his tone. “I promise I won’t get mad.”

  Niko leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “You know my friend Paul who got me the job? Paul Ivanov?”

  She felt her heart sink and tried not to let the disappointment show on her face. It was something Fiona was well practiced at by now.“You said his cousin’s friend hired the two of you to work at a bar,” she said evenly. “That wasn’t true, was it?”

  Niko shook his head. “That part is true. His cousin Patrick did hook us up with the guy we were working for, Danny, but…” He trailed off, too ashamed to continue.

  “But what?” Fiona pressed. Despite her promise, she was quickly losing patience with Niko’s reluctance.

  “It’s not like I said before. Not anymore, anyway,” Niko said, hanging his head. Fiona thought she was going to scream if her brother didn’t spill in the next thirty seconds. “About a month ago, Paul and I were bussing tables one night when this guy walks in. He’s a tall, snooty-looking guy, like how dare you breathe the same air as him, y’know? Anyway, as soon as he walks in, the bartender goes to the back and gets Danny, who shuts the place down. Like, kicks everyone out except the staff. It was crazy.” He paused to take a sip of his wine and Fiona mentally screamed at him to get to the point. Niko seemed to be in a much better mood now that he had an audience.

  “So after everyone leaves, in walks this other guy, biggest guy I’ve ever seen. His shoulders practically touched the doorframe when he came in. Scary guy. He gave me the heebie-jeebies.” Niko shivered dramatically to make a point. “He and Danny went to the back and Paul and I went back to cleaning. Cut to an hour later, the guy comes back out. He spots Paul and me and comes over to us.” Niko paused. “This is where I start to get stupid,” he warned her. “He asked us if we wanted to make quick cash running an errand for him. Paul said yes before I could say anything, and I figured I could use the money.”

  He paused for a long time.

  “What was the errand?” Fiona asked hesitantly, unsure if she really wanted to know.

  “It was a drug run,” Niko blurted out finally. “Almost a pound of meth. Paul carried it and I was lookout.”

  “Why did they beat you?” Fiona asked, trying to maintain her carefully constructed I’m not judging you face.

  “They didn’t,” Niko told her dully. “Alexei, the big guy who sent us on the run, he was so pleased that he gave us five hundred bucks each, and a bonus: some coke.” He laughed bitterly. “I’m sure you can imagine what happened next. I got hooked on the coke and the cash. So did Paul —for the cash, anyway.”

  “So then…” Fiona was still struggling to understand how Niko had gotten hurt in the situation.

  “Everything was good for a few weeks,” Niko continued, seeing her confused face. “We got bigger and bigger runs, for more and more money. Then a couple of days ago Paul and I got jumped. They stuck guns in our faces and told us to hand over everything we had. The drugs and the money.”

  “Niko!” Fiona gasped. “You refused to hand it over? They could’ve killed you!” she exclaimed.

  Niko laughed again, anger beginning to creep into his voice. “Oh, we handed it over. That’s what nearly got us killed. They didn’t do this to me, Fiona,” Niko said, gesturing to his stomach. “Alexei did. When we got back, and he found out what had happened…he lost it. Went fucking nuts. He grabbed a bat and started swinging, then kicking when I finally fell down.”

  “What about Paul ?” Fiona asked timidly, terrified of the answer.

  “Alexei beat the shit out of him, too,” Niko said. “But he got off lucky,” he added.

  Fiona made a face, bewildered. “How is that? You said he got beat up, as well.”

  Niko sighed. “Yeah, well, do you remember that cousin of his I told you about?”

  “Yeah, what about him?”

  “I guess he’s pretty rich,” Niko told her, explaining nothing. Fiona bit her lip until she tasted blood to keep from screaming at her brother. “Alexei expects us to pay him back for what we lost. Paul ’s cousin Patrick paid for his half,” he clarified, continuing. “I still have to come up with mine.”

  A long silence stretched between them.

  Fiona stood up, pacing the living room. “I guess asking what happens if you can’t come up with the money would be a stupid question,” she said, finally breaking the quiet.

  Her brother nodded. “I don’t think they would be quick about it, either.”

  Fiona turned green and her stomach did a flip. “So, how much?” she asked him again, continuing to pace. Fiona wasn’t stupid. She knew her brother had been purposely avoiding this particular fact during his story hour.

  Niko bit his lower lip and said nothing.

  “Niko…” Fiona threatened, stopping in her tracks to glare at him.

  He mumbled something under his breath.

  “Niko!”

  “Ten grand!” he yelled back, snapping. “Fucking ten thousand dollars, okay?”

  Fiona sank back down to the couch, her eyes wide.

  “Yeah,” Niko said solemnly. “I’m fucked.”

  “Not necessarily,” Fiona said, optimistic. “He had to have given you some time to get the money together. How long do you have?”

  “One week,” he replied heavily, nearly crushing her hopes with his fatalistic tone.

  She jumped up from the couch and began to pace again. “Okay,” Fiona said, her mind going a mile a minute. “Okay, so I’ve got a couple grand in my savings account. I might be able to open a credit card and get a cash advance on it within a week, that should be at least another three thousand dollars right there, so that’s half of it taken care of…”

  Niko watched as his sister walked back and forth across her small townhome living room, muttering to herself about accounts and advances. A slimy pit of shame grew in his gut as he realized he had gone his entire life allowing his sister to clean up his messes for him.

  Every time he got into trouble, there she was to bail him out, no matter what he had done. And every time, the trouble he found himself in was worse and worse. Eventually, a time would come where Fiona wouldn’t be able to help him.

  Is this that time? he wondered, hating himself that he was so weak. He tuned back into his sister’s ramblings. The least he could do if she was going to save his sorry ass was pay attention.

  “…if I sell my car I could get another three, ma
ybe four thousand, so that leaves a thousand…let’s say fifteen hundred dollars we need to come up with in a week,” she finished, looking at him expectantly.

  He stared back at her. “Yeah, uh, that sounds great.”

  “Do you have any ideas where you can get fifteen hundred dollars?” she asked, though what she really wanted to say was, You had better start helping me save you or I’m going to let them murder your ass.

  “I might be able to borrow a couple hundred from Paul ,” he suggested.

  “Okay, why don’t you give him a call and ask him while I go get more wine,” Fiona said, heading to the kitchen before Niko could respond.