Page 102 of Dark Truths

“Tell me who else knows about the fucking warehouse.”

“I don’t know,” I answer him, adamantly sticking to my resolve to keep the DiAngelos safe, because if I don’t make it out of here, I can’t let them be next on his list. “The address was anonymously sent to me.”

"Fuck!" Ford snarls, spinning around in a circle, and gripping his hair with both hands. “Dammit! It was probably that Alexei bastard. Sticking his nose where it doesn't fucking belong. I warned Sergei about him. Said he was too loyal to you and not him."

Lord, I hope that's true.

Taking advantage of his distraction, I inch toward Jacob. If I can get to him, I can get to his gun.

“Don’t you fucking move!” Ford shouts when he notices me.

I turn to him only to see the butt of a gun coming toward me and then nothing.

39

Dimitri

Icome back to the world of consciousness with a jolt. I’m back inside my cabin, and tied to a chair with my arms behind my back. My head pounds mercilessly from where Ford hit me, and I can taste coppery blood in my mouth. Across from me, Jacob is in a similar state, but his head hangs low, and his breaths come in shallow gasps. A small pool of blood has gathered on the floor beneath him.

“Jacob?” I call to him. “Can you hear me?”

His head bobs like he heard me but makes no further movement.

Angry voices draw closer, and I shift my attention to watch Ford and Sergei walk into the living room, but neither man notices I’m awake yet.

“I’m supposed to be your partner,” Sergei growls. “How could you send a fucking agent undercover?”

“I had to protect my investment,” Ford replies nonchalantly. “Criminals can’t be trusted.”

“It seems neither can FBI directors,” Sergei snaps back.

“Oh, come now, Sergei. Don’t be like that,” Ford chastises. “Besides, did my agent not serve you well? From what I heard, he’s the most ruthless man in your Bratva. It’s why you made him your second over your own brother. Am I right? Which surprised me honestly. I thought blood was thicker than water and all that.”

“Were you ever going to tell me about your rat?” Sergei asks in a tone I’m familiar with. A tone that means someone’s about to die. “Or was your plan to eventually blackmail me?”

Ford smirks and crosses the room to help himself to my bar cart. He pours himself a double of my most expensive scotch. Fucking bastard. “Only if the situation called for it. Otherwise, I’ve been very happy with our arrangement. You find the product, and I find the buyers. You move the product, and I make sure big brother isn’t watching. It’s been a win-win for us both. Has it not?”

I assume byproductthey mean the innocent men and women sold to be used and abused. It leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

“So what now? What the hell am I supposed to do with your fucking agent? How do I cover up his disappearance?”

Great. It doesn’t take a genius to read between his words. They plan on killing me and then covering it up somehow.

Ford shrugs. “I don’t care. Spin whatever story you want.”

“And then what?”

Ford sighs, like he’s exhausted from the conversation. “And then we continue on, like nothing’s happened.”

“What about the DiAngelos?”

“What about them?”

“You promised me Dante’s head seat at the High Table. Everything I’ve done has been for that! Bribing the fertility doctor, supporting the Triads, everything! And I’m no closerthan I was last year. I lost my fucking brother because of those Italian bastards.”

Ford taps his finger against his glass as he thinks. “Yes, the DiAngelos are becoming more of a problem. Ever since they found that O’Leary girl at one of our auctions, they’ve been poking their nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“They’re the reason Xiao’s dead too.”

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