Page 101 of Goodnight, Sinners

“H… Halil?”

Halil stepped from the shadowy doorway, allowing the harsh bedroom light to fall on him. He was thinner, lankier, haggard, as though he’d lost most of his muscle tone. His eyes were brittle and hard; the carefree sparkle that used to be there was gone.

Nikolay slid his hand toward his bag where his gun was resting.

Halil lifted his arm, the metal of his gun glinting in the soft light.

Nikolay might still have gone for his own gun, but two men followed Halil into the room, each armed and ready to shoot. Jozef stood on one side of Halil while Cooper took the other side.

Nikolay fucking hated Cooper. He should have shot him when he had the chance. He’d hesitated because he hadn’t wanted to shoot the other man in the back, which would have raised suspicions.

It was looking like his careful planning had been for nothing. He hadn’t gotten away with anything. Instead, these men had played him for over six months, like he was the mouse to their cat trio.

“What took you so long?” Nikolay tried to sound brave.

His mind was racing. He wasn’t going to get out of this, not with three of the most experienced combat mercenaries he knew pointing weapons at him. Nikolay was good too. He wouldn’t have been part of Jozef’s team if he wasn’t, but he couldn’t take on these three by himself. He’d needed Krystoff and his army at his back.

“Knew from the start you were shady as shit,” Cooper drawled. “You were the only one who went down that hallway after I set the explosives. Yet, somehow, the explosives didn’t go off and Koba and his men got inside the building. It had to be you.”

“My question still stands. What took you so long?” Nikolay snarled, narrowing his eyes at Cooper. Fucking smug American.

“Gunshot wounds take time to heal.” This was from Halil. His voice was level, resigned, no censure. “I was in a medically induced coma for three weeks after the shooting, then it took months to relearn how to function again.”

Nikolay swung his gaze back to Halil. Regret rose. It always did. Shooting his best friend was the one thing he regretted in his life of crime.

“I’m sorry.”

Halil’s lip lifted in a sneer, giving away emotion for the first time. “Words, Nikolay. They mean about as much as your honour.”

Nikolay flinched, but straightened his spine. If he was going to die, then he was going to say his piece. He fixed a glare on Jozef.

“It should have been me. I wanted the mantle of leadership, but I was passed over for the cripple. The man without a voice who everyone treats with kid gloves because he has a good party trick. Well, fuck you and your sign language. If I’d been in charge, the Koba organization would’ve been on top of the world years ago. Krystoff would have been King of the Bratva, and I would have been his loyal prince. Instead, you’re left with the ashes of a great man and a back seat to the Bratva.”

Is that what you think?Jozef signed, gun still in hand. It should have looked awkward, but it didn’t. The move was menacing.

Nikolay lifted his chin and stared at the three men. “What are you going to do?”

“We’re going for a walk,” Halil told him. “Just you and me.”

Hope lit a small fire in Nikolay’s chest. If it was just him and Halil, maybe he could talk to the younger man or overpower him. He looked as though he’d lost muscle tone in his recovery. He wouldn’t be a match for Nikolay’s bulk.

Silence reigned heavily in the room.

“Let’s go.”

Halil gestured toward the door.

The drive wasn’t long. They took Nikolay to the same cemetery that housed the Koba crypt.

“You gonna be okay alone with him?” Cooper asked, looking back at Halil who sat with Nikolay in the back seat of the SUV. Jozef had driven.

Halil nodded. “Yes, this is what I want.”

“Have fun then.” Cooper turned forward in his seat.

Halil led Nikolay through the cemetery. It was spring and the flowers were blooming. The graveyard smelled sweet, like freshly cut grass and incense. It was strangely calming as they walked.

“I really am sorry,” Nikolay said, losing his belligerence in the face of his imminent death.

---