Page 246 of Lethal Obsession

“Ha.” His laugh is completely humorless as he turns away from the mirror, and the vodka he pours is large enough to put a lot of men on the floor.

I raise an eyebrow. “Something on your mind, Stevanovsky?”

His eyes meet mine over the glass. “Nothing I want to talk about, Petrovsky.”

“Ah.” I give him a sly smile. “It’s Naryshkin now. You should remember, since you were the one who did the honors.”

He frowns. “Have you had a chance to look over the fault list I sent you? Before we launch we’re going to need to tackle them, so it’s not going to be much of a honeymoon, even if you are gallivanting around on that yacht of yours.”

“Mickey.” I shake my head. “It will get done, but not today, of all days. Today I’m getting married. Tonight your sister and I are sailing off into the sunset. And for the next week at least, the launch is the last thing I’m going to be thinking about. We don’t have a set deadline, and there’s no rush on this, so for fuck’s sake, can you just relax? For a day, at least?”

“Relax,” he says flatly. “Right.”

I stifle a smile. I know enough about the swamp to be well aware that relaxation hasn’t been high on his agenda lately—and probably won’t be in the near future.

“Hey,” I say, attempting to lighten the grim demeanor that appears to be Mickey’s new normal. “Be grateful you’ve at least been spared the full Russian carnival.”

We’ve eschewed a lot of the traditional Russian customs in favor of a more traditionally Italian-style wedding. Not least because when the members of at least three major crime families are all in one place, playing games where people steal from each other or kidnap the bride for ransom isn’t a good idea.

I eye Mickey warily, wondering if I either should—or even want to—ask about how Miami is going.

He meets my eyes in the mirror. “Whatever you’re about to say,” he heads me off before I even have a chance to start, “for Chrissakes, don’t. Respectfully, you’re the last person in the fucking world I’m likely to take relationship advice from.”

“Relationship advice?” I stare at him in surprise.

He frowns. “What were you thinking?”

“Miami, I guess.”

“Work?” It’s his turn to look surprised. “Work’s just work, Lex. I try not to overthink it. But I’m not going to lie, I do wish it was Lars running shit down in that basement.” He grimaces. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be.” I grip his shoulder briefly. “I wish he was running Phantom, too.”

And that he was standing at my side today.

I’ve been debating for days whether or not to go to the hospital to see him before I watch Ofelia come up the stairs of the church. But somehow I feel like I said what I needed to say to him on the day I returned to Sicily.

And I genuinely don’t know if I can face seeing him lifeless on that bed again.

Not to mention that Benny has been even more protective than usual the last couple of days, although given the grim conversation we had with Lars’s team a few days ago, I guess that isn’t surprising.

I love you, brother. I close my eyes briefly, hoping that I might find his voice again, today of all days. But he remains stubbornly silent.

I open my eyes to find Mickey staring grimly out the window, in the direction of the church far below.

“Do you know if she’s staying at the villa?” he asks abruptly, still staring down the hill. “I didn’t want to ask Ofelia, with everything going on.”

“She—? Oh.” Suddenly it all makes sense. “You mean Lourdes?”

He rolls his eyes. “Who the fuck else would I mean, Lex?”

“Lourdes isn’t here, Mickey.” I ignore the jibe. “Ofelia didn’t want her at the wedding, and neither did I.” I half smile. “Nor did Benny, if it comes to that.”

“That’s bullshit,” he says tightly, his face hard. “Lourdes is Ofelia’s best friend. She has every right to be here—”

“Best friends don’t run out when the going gets tough, Mickey. And if they hurt family, then they’re not friends at all. Not to your sister, and not to me.”

He stares at me, color slowly returning to his face. “You didn’t have to do that,” he says quietly. “Any of you. I know how close Benny and Ofelia have always been with Lourdes. I never wanted to break that up.”