Page 73 of Ruthless Salvation
Weren’t those the words I’d spoken only hours ago? Did they not still apply?
She hadn’t owed me anything, yet she’d given me the truth despite her fears. I didn’t want to be the asshole who condemned her for it. I didn’t want to, but … I had my own issues. Like I told her, I’d been fucked over before in more than one way. The instinct to push Storm away and protect myself waged a vicious battle inside me against my need to keep her close. I felt more conflicted than I’d ever experienced.
I stole a glance at the woman responsible.
She cried silent tears, each one causing a stab of pain deep in my chest. Despite it all, I hated to see her upset. What did that say about me?
“You never answered my question,” I finally said in a calm tone, not quite acknowledging her apology.
“Question?” she asked in confusion.
“Who are you? If I’m about to go to war for you, I should at least know your name.”
“You know my name. When I first met Damyon, my name was Alina, but that girl hasn’t existed for a long time. The person you know as Stormy? That’sme. That’s the woman I am now.”
Feeling her eyes on me, I met her gaze. The brief connection caused my lungs to clamp down. I had to force air into the useless organs and look away to keep my focus. She was so fucking disarming. I’d been worried about what kind of crazy shit I’d do because of my fixation on her, and now, we were about to find out.
* * *
“Before we dive into this,we need to know whether the Russian knows about your connection to Torin.” Jimmy Byrne, Keir’s father, took the lead once we were all assembled. He was the only remaining founder of the Byrne family businesses that still took an active role, though he was transitioning out of leadership.
Aside from him, five of my immediate cousins and another half a dozen extended family had gathered. We all sat in folding chairs in a poorly lit basement. No table and the cell signal was spotty. It wasn’t a great place to conduct business, but it was perfect for our current needs.
The entire family looked at Storm, who shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
“I don’t think so, but it’s hard to know.” She shot me a quick glance. “I don’t know what Torin has told you already, but I was attacked coming home from Thanksgiving dinner at a friend’s place. I didn’t recognize the man, but he recognized me and followed me to my apartment. He said it was luck that he found me, so I don’t think they knew where I was hiding until then. But now…” She licked her lips and stared at her trembling hands. “I’m sure they’ve gone through my things and will have figured out where I worked. Beyond that, I’m not sure.”
“Seems awfully coincidental that you just happen to have stumbled into our club when Damyon Karpova was after you.” Oran sat near the back of the group, directly opposite Storm. His gray eyes impaled her mercilessly from across the room. “Care to enlighten us?”
“My parents died six years ago in a boating accident. I’d been adopted from Russia, and when I was going through their things, I found a document listing the name of the orphanage I’d been housed at. It was an incredibly hard time for me. I thought if I went there and learned more about my roots—maybe even found my biological parents—it might have filled some of the void created by their loss. From that point on, everything that has happened was thanks to chance. Damyon happened to have recently bought the old building the orphanage had been in and was there the day I showed up looking for information. And as for Moxy, I know it sounds like a stretch, but I had no idea who any of you were when I came looking for a job. I swear.”
“Why is Karpova after you? You steal from him or something?”
I bit back a snarl. “Watch it, Oran. This isn’t an inquest.”
“It’s okay,” Stormy cut in. “I’m sure you all have tons of questions. I never stole anything from him, even when I left. We were together for almost a year. It started out amazing. Damyon was incredibly sweet and attentive. But as time went on, he seemed to form a sort of obsession with me. And … he had a temper.” Storm peered at me warily, and it fucking gutted me.
I’d done the same goddamn thing he’d done, except I’d never have laid a finger on her in anger.
How was she supposed to know you wouldn’t?
She had to have been terrified, yet she’d been so damn brave. She’d trusted me when she had every reason not to.
“So he was here looking for you in a city of millions and just happened to come across you one random night?” Condescension dripped from Oran’s words.
“Just because he was here in the city doesn’t mean I was the reason,” Storm pointed out. “I don’t know that he was actively searching for me.”
“While that would be nice to believe, we already had a little run-in with yourboyfriend, and he told us specifically that he was only here for one thing … and one thing alone.” He was right, but none of us had ever imagined the thing Damyon was after was a woman, let alone a woman waiting tables at one of our clubs.
Keir spoke up, thankfully in a less accusatory tone. “If he was here for you, Stormy, that means he must have had some idea you were in the city but no specifics. Any idea what might have tipped him off?”
Her brows furrowed as she chewed on her lip. She began to slowly shake her head, then stilled, her spine stiffening. “Honey,” she breathed.
“Your grandma?” I asked. She’d talked about the woman as though she’d passed away. I wasn’t sure how she could play into this.
She squeezed her eyes shut before opening them again and continuing. “I send my grandmother a cashier’s check once a quarter. No return address, postmarked from a city I don’t live in—somewhere close enough for a day trip but far enough to be unconnected to me. I’ve always been so careful—and there was a chance he hadn’t tracked her down. I never told him her real name.”
“But?” I prompted her.