Page 82 of Caged
And swallow around the lump in my throat when she picks it up.
“How many?” She takes another long drag off of her cigarette while she holds the diamond up to the light.
When I glance back at Tyler, he swiftly shakes his head.
“A whole bag of them. There’s at least two hundred.” I’m all in.
He groans behind me.
“Hmm. Fine. They’ll be your backup, you need to find your own assault team.” Tatiana flicks her ashes onto the marble-tiled floor. “And, bring me what I hired you for.” The smoldering end points first at my chest, then at Tyler’s. “If you don’t, you’re both going to pay.”
Tyler sharply inhales.
I know he’s going to say something, so I interject before he can.
“Deal.”
He manages to stay silent as I drag him outside.
“What the fuck did you do, Mila?” he hisses at me once we’re safely in my car.
“I did what I needed to. Don’t worry, we’ll get Daniil back.” My knuckles are white on the steering wheel driving away.
“Explain to me how we’re giving the diamonds to Ivan and her? One of them is gonna notice.”
He has that stressed sound again.
My nails dig into my palm to keep my voice from wavering. “We don’t.”
THIRTY-FOUR
NIKOLAI
Song- Shame On Me, Catch Your Breath
Fresh blood seeps past the crust rimming the bullet hole.
We didn’t bother calling the doc down to fix him. He isn’t leaving this room alive.
It’s fitting to see Knox hanging by his wrists in the bowels of my brother’s casino. We’ve been chasing this asshole for too long.
“Please, let me kill him,” Jax growls. His fingers open and close into tight fists. “He and his brat made my life hell.”
I pat him on the shoulder and gently steer him away. “I don’t have a problem with it. But, there’s just a couple of things he needs to tell us, first.”
Jax nods with his jaw clenched before crossing his arms and leaning against the cold cinder block wall.
Mikhail takes his place in front of the wounded man.
He doesn’t often come down here or participate, but Knox has been a high-profile target for a very long time.
Mikhail reaches and grabs a hold of Knox’s beard, jerking his chin up. “That woman that shot you. You’ve seen her before?”
Knox’s eyes drag open. A fever has already set in, glassing them over. “Yeah. If I knew she was gonna do this, I’d have killed her on day one,” he croaks.
I can’t hold back. “What’s her name?”
Knox sighs and looks around the room. “She came to us as Mila. I don’t know much else. Kirill is her handler.”