Page 97 of Dark Truths

I’m pulling onto a bridge when my phone rings through my headset. It’s Sergei and I’m immediately on edge when I accept the call.

“Boss?”

“Don’t you fucking boss me anything, you little shit,” he spits.

The little hairs on the back of my neck raise. “What’s wrong, Sergei?”

“Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”

“Find out what?”

“That you’ve been working undercover for the fucking FBI?”

“Sergei—”

“No! You don’t get to fucking speak. I had my suspicions, but I was proved right tonight. You're a fucking rat.”

How the hell did he find out? I was careful. Unless I was followed? No. I’m sure I wasn’t. Or maybe I was betrayed. Alexei crosses my mind again but only Jacob and Enzo know where I was this evening. Still… It's a matter of who told Sergei and the idea that it could be any of them hurts terribly.

“Sergei, listen to me—”

“No. You listen to me,” he hisses. His voice low and deadly, and send shivers skirting down my spine.I'm not talking to a drunkard any longer, but the Pakhan.

Behind me, the car following me suddenly flips their brights on and then two more vehicles emerge from behind it, covering the other two lanes. Fuck. I rev the gas and speed up, only to watch the cars do the same.

“You’re dead.”

The calls disconnects, the beeping sound echoing through my helmet. The realization of how fucked I am settles in the pit of my stomach and I push the speedometer to one hundred miles an hour, I curse the empty road because some traffic to keep my tail off me would be great right about now.

One car pulls up beside me and the passenger window rolls down to reveal an automatic rifle. I barely veer out of the way of being hit, but my bike isn’t so lucky. Beneath me, the smell of gasoline explodes into the air, the fumes filling my helmet. They hit my gas tank and the liquid gold is quickly pouring free.

Up ahead, there’s a portion of the bridge under construction. The blinking arrow lights illuminate the dark and I don’t have long before the three lanes narrow down one. Distracted, pain explodes along my arm from a bullet. I tug my gun free and fire back, pleased when I hit a tire. The car spins out of control before it flips into the air and then rolls a dozen times before ending in a fiery explosion.

That’s one down.

But based on the way my gas light has turned on, I won’t make it off the bridge.

Another car appears beside me and tries to ram my bike.

“Motherfucker!” I shout, as I swerve to avoid them.

We’re down to two lanes and I make a quick decision. Eyeing my target, I direct my bike toward the orange plastic fence. My tail must see my plan because they double down and fire more at me. I hear a loudPOPas my tire blows from a gunshot. My bike skids beneath me. I’m losing control of my bike and it’s hard to maintain with the wound in my arm screaming painfully.

I just need one more second.

My bike slams into the orange plastic fence, and the abrupt impact sends me soaring over the top. As I go airborne, the crack of gunfire reverberates around me, and for a moment, I feel weightless. I can’t tell how high I am, but it feels like I’m falling endlessly. The sound of air rushing by suddenly transforms into the unmistakable sound of wings beating. They say you see things when you’re about to die and in that moment; I swear I see feathers soaring through the air before my body slams into the unforgiving water, and I know nothing more.

36

Gabriella

I’m worried.

Dimitri’s late, and he’s never late. What’s most concerning is that he’s not responding to any of my texts, and every touch to my necklace goes unanswered. At first, I thought he was simply busy, but he knows how important this appointment is. Today is when we hopefully find out the gender of the babies. I know he’d rather wait until their birth, but I doubt that’s the reason he’s not here. It didn’t seem like a deal breaker in the slightest when we discussed it.

Rose’s hand falls on my bouncing leg, and squeezes lightly. “Try to relax, Gabriella. I’m sure everything’s fine.”

I’m fidgeting with my necklace, neurotically pressing the center and willing it to vibrate back. Sighing hard, I drop the jewelry and wring my hands together. “Why isn’t he here then?”

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