Page 27 of Flames of Ruin

“Where are you going?” I call after him.

“The Bratva? You expect me to work with actual criminals?”

“And what the fuck do you think it is we do, Shado? Just because we kill the bad guys doesn’t make us entirely innocent. We still have blood on our hands.”

“It’s different and you know it,” he grits out. The muscles in his jaw clench as he squeezes his hands into fists.

“My father is back, fueled by nothing but hatred and greed. The Bratva has a code of honor…”

Shado scoffs, “The Bratva has honor? That’s a sentence I never thought I’d hear.”

“Shado!” I snap. “He is here to help us stop Demassi and Parshikov. Either accept that and shut up, or leave.”

“A man is nothing without his honor, Draco. I said that the Bratva was in your debt thirteen years ago. Bringing my father down will make us even.”

Frustrated at Shado’s outburst and growing more agitated that Parhsikov has something planned, I look to Daniil, prying, “Why is your father back? He stepped down years ago.”

“The answer is simple. Greed.” Daniil smirks. “He is also an impatient man. He is not yet Pakhan. So, he is here to gain power any way he can. Your pathetic city is easy to take over, or so he thought.”

CiCi’s voice interrupts us. “This pissing contest, as entertaining as it may be, we have something much more important to discuss.”

She steps between me and Daniil, pointing at the computer. “While you three hashed out whatever the fuck is going on, I did some digging.”

Turning to look at the computer screen, my eyes rake over the shipping manifest glaring in front of me. Chills run down my spine when I see what is in the contents of the crates.

“How did you find this?”

“I enjoy hacking as a hobby, remember?” She grins.

“It’s not just a bidding war.” I say, “They’re here to start a war.”

Reading off the screen, I can hear Shado behind me, “1.5 million dollars’ worth of military grade medium machine guns. That amount of M240s in Edinburgh is enough to lay out hundreds, if not thousands, of people.”

“My father is here to finish the job from thirteen years ago and take over the docks. Demassi and Enzo are going to help, but this time they want all of Edinburgh, and no one is stopping them.”

“We are,” Shado declares. “I will not have the blood of innocent people on my hands.” He glares at Daniil. “Regardless of who I have to work with to stop them.”

Miranda pipes up, “Sooo about this poker game?”

CiCi stands by her side, arms folded. “Yeah, when are we going?”

“There is no way in hell I would let you anywhere near Dimitri again.” I can feel my teeth grinding as the words escape my mouth, the muscles in my jaw tense. When I saw her in his proximity earlier in the night, I actually felt something I hadn't felt in years.

Fear.

“Let me?” She scoffs. She walks up to me, squaring her shoulders. “Hmph. Based on the little I know, none of you three could get anywhere inside that joint without tipping someone off. Miranda and I are your best bet.”

“I’m not dangling you two as bait in front of a bunch of mobsters.” I turn around to storm off. “End of discussion,” I snap.

I can hear Miranda mumble to CiCi, “Is he always this pissy? Maybe you should go suck his...”

“Miranda!” CiCi snaps, attempting to stifle a laugh.

Turning around, I can see the smirks playing on Shado's and Daniil’s faces.

“I’m glad you two are enjoying this.”

Shado shrugs, “The girls aren’t wrong. You and I can’t go in there, and it doesn’t sound like Daniil and his father are on the best terms, either.”

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