Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
“I don’t think of these as my KGB, mind-fucking skills, but my concerned uncle skills,” Gabriel replied in a low, tight voice.
“I’m pretty sure there are no other uncles out there with the kind of scary skills you have,” Alexei said, “though Uncle J is a close second.”
The soft huff of laughter helped to ease some of the tightness that had squeezed Alexei’s lungs and heart. There was no question of the love Justin and Gabriel had for each other, but after ten years of marriage, the two men were still incredibly competitive when it came to who was the most skilled assassin.
“Now that you’re digging yourself out of your hole, do you want to tell me what you’re doing in London?” Gabriel’s voice was calmer now, almost friendly.
“A job.”
“Yeah, I figured that much out on my own.”
Alexei smiled at the dry humor in Gabriel’s voice. It was strange that a small pang of homesickness was cutting its way through his heart. When he’d left Colorado nearly two years ago, he’d been excited to escape and break out on his own. But recently, he’d been plagued with thoughts of how much he missed his uncles. He missed the place that had become his home, with the sun-dappled trees, massive lake, and abundance of wildlife.
It was peaceful but a bit lonely. He was a social creature. He liked being in the middle of the action and insanity. He liked being around people. Colorado had been about learning and healing. Leaving had been about standing on his own two feet and building his own life.
But some part of him wanted to go home.
Shaking off the unexpected flash of melancholy, Alexei smirked and started pacing again while his eyes swept over the crowd still on the patio. Gabor was seated on a large outdoor sofa with a couple of women on either side of him, while a few more people were standing in front of him. He had a big enough audience that striking now was not Alexei’s first choice.
“Ukrainian arms dealer,” Alexei whispered.
“Kalman?” Gabriel murmured.
Alexei blinked and took an extra second to find his voice. “Really? You know about him?”
“Justin mentioned the contract coming up. Kalman has been on his list for a while now, but he doesn’t leave Eastern Europe.”
And because of Justin and Gabriel’s mutual past—aka a bloody path of death, destruction, and chaos—neither man worked in Eastern Europe.
“He’s in London on holiday,” Alexei said. He paused and licked his lips. “Would you like me to walk away?”
Gabriel’s soft chuckle surprised him. “How did you end up being such a good kid?”
“Uncle—” Alexei started, growling in warning.
“I know. I know. You’re not a kid, but you’re also too good for this business. You took the contract. Justin had a shot at it and turned it down. I think he might have even mentioned this would be a good one for you. He’ll be glad that it went to you.”
Alexei might have done a little happy dance, but only on the inside. It was nice to believe that at least Uncle Justin was thinking of him as a capable assassin. Maybe even passing the torch on to him. Not that Gabriel or Justin were talking about retirement yet. Even though they probably should. Both of his uncles were in their forties. That was ancient enough to consider hanging up their holsters, right?
Not that he was stupid enough to say those words out loud.
“Why, Alexei?” Gabriel whispered.
He didn’t need to ask what his uncle was asking about. He knew. It had been in his uncle’s eyes right before he left Colorado, but he’d never given voice to it. There was a good chance Gabriel had always believed that Alexei wouldn’t go through with it despite years of training. Gabriel probably thought it was only a phase. But this was never a phase. This was what he was born to do. Right?
“How could I not?” Alexei said with a chuckle. “You and J always made it so much fun.”
“That was Justin’s fault,” Gabriel grumbled.
“Plus, you showed me that some good could come out of it. You were the one who saved me from Uncle Sacha and Grandfather.”
Gabriel sighed heavily and Alexei smirked. Yeah, Gabriel couldn’t argue with that. Gabriel started to say something, but a woman walking past Alexei laughed loudly and Alexei cringed. There was no question Gabriel had heard that.
“Are…are you on the job right now?” Gabriel stammered.
“Maybe,” Alexei murmured, wincing once again.
Gabriel shouted, swearing loudly in Russian. Something that only happened when he lost his strong hold on his temper. Yeah, Alexei was breaking all kinds of rules by talking to Gabriel while he was in the middle of a job, but he figured it would have been worse if he’d avoided Gabriel’s call yet again.
“It’s fine,” Alexei reassured him the moment Gabriel stopped swearing. “It’s a crowded party. No one is paying attention to me.” He took a sip of his drink and turned slowly on his heels, scanning the patio crowd yet again.