Page 134 of Dmitri

“A couple years of getting attention like that and I would volunteer to do bigger, more dangerous things for him.” They don’t ask what those are, and I don’t offer examples. “I moved out of my foster parent’s house when I turned eighteen. There were nine of us in Kaleb’s crew by then, and I was his favorite. I was his girl.” Saying that makes my chest hurt. God, I’ve been so fucking stupid. “I caught him cheating on me and our relationship died a dozen more deaths before I was able to successfully put a wall up between him and me.”

They don’t ask for details and again, I don’t offer any.

“I was in the process of moving across state and startingover by myself when he set fire to my former foster parent’s house.” I look at Dmitri. “Addie was still living with them at the time.”

Ryker’s brow furrows. “She lived with you in the foster house?”

“Yes. It’s how we got so close. She truly is like a sister to me. And yes, Kaleb’s mother placed her there.”

Vault rubs the back of his neck and grunts.

I clear my throat, unsure if I’ve confused them or not. Fuck it, I’ll keep talking. “Addie wasn’t home the night of the fire, so she wasn’t in danger. The Brenner’s barely got out alive and lost everything. Kaleb came to me asking if I wanted to take care of Addie.” I lean against the desk and hug myself. “I didn’t hesitate to say yes. The fear of her going to someone else…anyoneelse… terrified me. I couldn’t risk losing her. But I didn’t realize that taking her would tie me so tight to Kaleb until it was too late.”

“How so?” Ryker asks.

“I needed a house, a good job, and a solid foundation for me to be approved as her guardian. Kaleb bought the house I currently live in, and charges me minimal rent so I can afford it. He funded my college degree so I could get a job working as a medical coder at home. That way I’m with her more. It took time to get all the paperwork in place, which was miraculously rushed and pushed through. Until recently, I thought that part was a miracle, but now I see his mother must have still had pull in the system to make that happen. And all those things came at a cost.”

I look down at the scar on my wrist.

“He brands us. Once he does, you’re in for life. That’s the price I paid to keep Addie. And God, how I wish I hadn’t done it. Letting Addie go, and keeping contact with her, would have been the better option. But I know Kaleb and I knew his mother. I couldn’t risk Addie going into a worser Hell just because Iwanted to run from Kaleb. His mother threatened me enough times over the years with my placement, and that bitch would have absolutely put Addie in an extremely abusive home just to punish me.”

I can’t even look at Dmitri now. I’m scared of what I’ll see if I do. Does he hate me yet?

“If you’re branded,” Ryker says, “why did you think doing this one last job for Kaleb would get you out?”

“Because he’s never lied to me.” I say it automatically, so easily. So stupidly. “I now realize how foolish I am to have believed it.” My throat tightens and I want to cry. “But it’s too late to run now. I’d rather face him head on, with no fucks left, than live one more day regretting not having done things differently all those years ago.”

“How did he know about the Scrapyard and Dmitri fighting that night?” Ryker asks.

“No clue. But if there’s a shady person in this city, I guarantee you Kaleb knows them. And that old man who runs the cage fights is shady as hell. When I stalked the building looking for Dmitri, he denied ever having seen me, or about there ever being a fight, and acted like he had no clue who Dmitri was. He had me feeling delusional, even when he was the one who brought me up to the room that night as D’s prize.”

Ryker glances at Dmitri, but his expression doesn’t give away anything.

“Where’s Kaleb’s mother now?” Dmitri asks. His voice controlled. Scary.

“She died about three years ago.”

Ryker and Vault look at each other for a quick second.

“You’re sure?” Vault asks.

“Yeah.” I remember it was about the same time the DEA took down Emmanuel’s crew. I always suspected the cartel had her killed, but never dared to ask Kaleb about it. I look at Rykerand add, “Kaleb was devastated, which made his behavior worse for a while. He got more violent and obsessive.”

“With you.”

I nod. “After the drugs started running dry, Kaleb got involved with gun runs and he dragged me with him to the first meeting. They called me his lap dog and said they heard I was a bitch who liked getting fucked by animals, and for me to bend over. I refused. Kaleb lost his head. It got… really ugly.”

It’s hard to believe the guy who let Emmanuel’s guys take turns on me is the same one who, when another crew wanted the same thing, killed every single one of them and set their bodies on fire in a warehouse. I wasn’t there for any of it. Kaleb made me leave and told me what he did later on.“I’ll burn the whole world down for you, babygirl. That’s how much I love you.”

I made Kaleb my hero that day, too.

Then he beat the shit out of me a week later because I didn’t answer my phone when he called.

“I think everyone who works for Kaleb hates him. He’s too unpredictable. Too vindictive. Like I said, he’s earned respect through fear, not integrity. And I get there’s a fine line when you’re dealing with criminals, but he’s only become more and more unhinged, so we all walk on eggshells around him. He’s killed a few of us already and sent several to prison. I suspect he’s used the footage he has on them as evidence to get them locked them up, just like he threatened to do with me if I didn’t get him information about Dmitri.”

“Who was the last one to go to prison?” Vault asks.

“Corey.” Not like they know him. “He’s Casey’s brother.” Not like they know him, either.

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