** Still at the dark alley**
Luxury froze for just a millisecond. Nik caught it and chuckled darkly.
"Don't worry, your secret's safe. I don't snitch… unless I'm paid really well."
Luxury's hand twitched dangerously close to her pistol again.
"Dominik!!!." she called uttering out his full name.
"Relax," he said with a lazy grin as he backed away a little— his hands raised up in mock surrender.
"I didn't come to sell you out tho. I came to warn you. You just gotta be careful!"
Luxury narrowed her eyes. "Why would you warn me?"
Nik shrugged.
"Call it old times. Or maybe I just like watching you sweat. But still watch your back, Zhenya. The Orlov's and other mafia families don't play with their prey, they come for it!"
Luxury stepped closer, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper tone. "Let them come. I don't run anymore!"
Nik laughed not out of mockery but because she was ignorant.
"This is what I like about you. Always a fighter but please try not to die too soon!" he said amidst laughter.
"I don't give a damn! I am going!" Luxury said and turned to walk away, but Nik's hand shot out— grabbing her wrist gently, but firm.
"Wait! You didn't come with a car or bike either so let me drop you off. Call it a truce."
She eyed him. Suspicion written all over her face.
Seconds passed and she yanked her wrist from his hands, exhaling through her nose.
"Fine... but if you try anything—"
"Yeah, yeah! You will shoot me. I would be disappointed if you didn't!" Nik raised his hands in mock surrender.
She ignored him and entered his car.
The night air hit Luxury's skin as Nik's car rolled out of the alley, engine humming low and steady.
The silence was thick in the car, which was occasionally broken by the sound of the engine and screeching of tires against the road.
Luxury sat still in the passenger seat, her hoodie covering most of her face, her hand on the pistol in her pocket.
Nik noticed.
He always noticed!
"You stare at me like I'm about to slit your throat," he said with a dark chuckle, his eyes still fixed on the road.
"Relax, Zhenya. If I wanted you dead, you'd already be in the trunk—stitched up and floating somewhere in the Moskva River."
"Don't think I am scared of you, jackass!" Luxury muttered eye roll.
They reached where Luxury was living. It was a condominium.
"Wow! So this is where you live?" Nik said look at the tall building.
Luxury ignored him and walked towards the entrance of the condo.
"Why are you following me?" she snarled when she saw Nik following her.
Nik shrugged. "Am I not welcomed?" he asked with a teasing smile which looked annoying to Luxury.
Luxury ignored him again and took the elevator to her room— Nik following her silently like an obedient dog.
"Luxury!" Romeo ran to meet her when he heard her voice but froze on his track when he saw Nik with her.
"Romeo tend to him!" Luxury said lazily and walked towards her room.
Romeo's voice dropped lower, with a frown on his face. "Why are you here, Nik?"
Romeo and Nik never got along and we're always bickering at each other.
Nik's grin widened like he enjoyed the hostility. "Relax, little brother. I just gave her a ride. No blood, no betrayal… yet."
Romeo's jaw tightened. His eyes flicked to Luxury, who had already disappeared into her room. "You don't get to walk into our life again like nothing happened."
Nik leaned in close, his voice taunting. "Funny thing about lives, Romeo. They don't stay clean. Dirt follows. You of all people should know that."
Romeo bristled, but Luxury's voice cut them off. "Both of you, shut up!"
They turned. She stood in the doorway, arms crossed, eyes sharp. "Nik isn't here to start a fight. He's here because we need to talk."
Romeo frowned. "About what?"
Luxury hesitated, then sighed and sat . "Don't just worry."on the couch.
Romeo frowned , and Nik just chuckled giving a mocking face to him.
"Romeo, excuse us and don't let me catch you eavesdropping!" Luxury voiced changed as she gave the order.
Romeo frowned and walked in one of the rooms grumbling.
After he had left, Luxury's eyes darkened.
"I know why you appeared after all these years—it is the DUMB FILE"
"Oh, so you call it that? Dumb File? The whole mafia world would kill for it, and you name it like a bad inside joke?"
"Jackass! That's the name of the file!" she corrected with a stern gaze.
"It is not a joke and the more people talk about it, the closer it gets to costing us our heads."
Nik sank lazily on the cushion he was sitting on. "Correction! It is your head, Zhenya. You stole it, you hid it, and now you're playing disguise in Moscow while the wolves are around."
"Watch your mouth Dominick!"
Nik smirked and raised his hands in mock surrender.
"Okay sweetie, but be prepared they will surely come for you!"
"They won't," Luxury snapped. But even as she said it, a cold shiver ran down her spine.
Nik leaned forward, his voice dropping—no longer playful.
"You don't get it. That file isn't just paper or a flash drive. It's leverage. It's secrets. It contains names, death, debt and things meant to be buried.You're hiding it in clear sight, Zhenya... and the wrong pair of eyes is already on you."
Luxury kept quiet as if she didn't hear what he had just said.
Nik looked at her and saw how nonchalant she was about the important issue.
He was already fed up with the attitude of hers.
Unserious!!
"Don't forget what we had to pass through to get this file, Zhenya! Don't take this for granted!"
Luxury's jaw clenched. She hated that he was right. She hated even more that his words made her chest tighten.
During the period of her thinking, the bulb light flickered.
Once.
Twice.
A third time—
And
And then the room went black.
There was silence.