Page 92 of City of Salvation
I nodded before continuing on. “I was raised with the sole intention of being gifted to whichever Bratva leader was in charge when the time came. As I got older, I was naive enough to think that if I could make him proud enough ofme,he would decide I was worthy enough to keep around. That his pride in me would mean more than more power.” Angry tears welled up in my lash line, threatening to fall.
Dex cursed under his breath, clearly sensing where the story was going and pulling me under the crook of his arm. It was like coming home—warm, comforting. Something that felt like his lips brushed the top of my head.
Niko piped up from across the table. “You leaked the location of the wedding.”
“That she did. Showed up on the doorsteps of the Ruska Roma when she was told she would be married off to Yuri, who has a reputation forbreakingthe women he’s with. In exchange for help getting out of the country, she promised to join our efforts and get us into the wedding cathedral,” Andrei said, sounding impressed.
“What happened?” Ryan asked. I looked over, expecting to see anger in her coffee-colored eyes, but it was the opposite of what greeted me. “I’m so sorry I never asked about you or your past, Niks. I figured you’d tell me if you wanted me to know, but I would have helped you murder this fucker a long time ago if I’d known.”
A tearful laugh bubbled up. Of course that was how she would look at this.
“Scarletta probably would have helped too. She’s always in for a good murder,” Andrei said, glancing over at her.
There was a silent exchange before Scar let out a resigned sigh, clapping her hands together and looking around the table. The permanent scowl on Caleb’s face grew deeper while Niko’s expression remained blank. Kenji was the polar opposite of his chosen brothers, smiling from ear to ear.
“Since this is the one and only time we will have some fucked up, what did you call it, Andrei? A ‘come to Jesus moment?’ I happen?—”
“Are you an assassin?” Ryan called out, her eyes going wide. “Because I knew there was no way you just did tech shit. You’re far too calculating.” She was practically giddy as she waited for an answer.
“This fine ass woman isn’tjustan assassin. She’s fucking Cain,” Kenji said, pride shinning in his face. Hell, all three boys were looking at Scar like she hung the damn moon.
The name meant nothing to me, but Ryan’s and Gunner’s eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.
“I fuckingknewyou were into more than whatever your uncle had you doing,” Ryan said, but her response was drowned out by Gunner’s booming voice.
“Cain, as in one of the world’s most infamous assassins, Cain?” Gunner asked, his arms spread out across the table as he looked at her in disbelief. “Do you know how many three-letter agencies are looking for you?”
She smirked. “Of course I do. I’m backdoored into all of them.” She cut Kenji a glare when he snickered. “Kenji, not the time to be thinking about my ass,” she said, flipping him off.
“Whatever you say, my backdoor princess,” he responded, making her cheeks grow red.
If I weren’t scared of the woman, I would have laughed. I wasn’t sure how Kenji wasn’t scared of her.
Scar’s mask of indifference slipped back into place, and she eyed Andrei. “How did you already know that? These three didn’t even know before I told them,” she said, pointing to the three men she was in a relationship with. There was a deadly edge to her tone.
Everyone’s attention shifted toward him.
The hint of black that rimmed his eyes only made him look deadlier, the blue somehow icier. Cruel.
“Scarletta, if anyone should know what it’s like toallowpeople to underestimate them, it’s you. You’re not the only one to amass power under people’s noses. Now, back to the current problem at hand. We have a Bratva leader on his way here, and we need to band together to kill him.”
“What do you get out of it?” Dex asked, his arm tightening around me when Andrei looked our way. He’d been relatively quiet during the entire exchange, but his hold on me was unrelenting, and I took that as a good sign. He wasn’t done with me. At least not yet.
Andrei’s eyes slid over us, lingering on where Dex was holding me.
“You’re the one she was running from,” he stated without preamble.
“The fuck does that mean,” Dex spat.
“Andrei,” I admonished, but he ignored me, continuing on.
“Natasha here tends to run instead of facing her feelings. When she showed up on my doorstep, I knew she was running from someone she’d managed to make a connection with and was avoiding. I assumed it was the arms dealer-turned- best friend.” He took a drag of his joint. “But she ran because she is in love with you,” he stated, pointing at Dex.
Dex’s gaze burned into the side of my face, but I refused to turn and look at him. The noise in the room was eclipsed by the blood pounding in my ears. Thankfully, Andrei continued on, the conversation turning serious enough that we couldn’t linger on the fact that my profession of love for Dex came via an asshole mafia man.
“Anyway, it doesn’t matter what I am getting from this, because the rest of you don’t really have a choice. It’s either kill Yuri, or he kills you. What do you say?” he asked, his arms spread wide before glancing at the watch on his wrist. “I’d decide quickly because we probably have, I don’t know, forty-eight hours before he lands.”
Caleb let out a curse under his breath.