Page 57 of Chasing Danger

Even myself, for getting Oliver into this situation in the first place.

Aslanov grinned like she had knives instead of teeth. “It’s simple. Prove your fake life means nothing to you. Get rid of the boy, and then we can move onto more enjoyable matters.”

She then, very promptly, handed a gun to Oliver’s grandmother.

I balled my hands into fists under the table. If they dared to harm a hair on his head, I would spill both of their guts over the floor.

Yet, the time wasn’t right. I needed to stall.

Luckily, thanks to our previous meeting, I’d already figured out what annoyed Aslanov the most.

I laughed. “Aren’t you forgetting something? We still have a trade deal to negotiate. That won’t work very well if you get rid of your bargaining chip.”

The response from Aslanov wasn’t what I’d hoped. She merely smirked at me, like I was a child who’d just claimed that two plus two equaled five.

“Love must be clouding your brain, D’Angelo.” I started to correct her, but she just held up her hand to silence me. “Don’t bother. I’ve seen you swooning after this boy. You’re quite besotted. I can’t see why. He’s certainly not going to win any beauty pageants, but I don’t care about whatever weird horror fetish you have. All I care about is that you’ll do whatever I want to keep him safe.”

There wasn’t really a point in denying it. She’d already seen right through me. I probably should have been more discrete when pursuing Oliver, but I hadn’t realized how dangerous the situation was for him until it was too late.

That was my failing, and if I wasn’t careful, then Oliver would be the one paying for my mistake.

Since I didn’t need to pretend any longer, I looked directly at him for the first time since setting foot on the ship. He looked terrified. The ropes on his wrists were chafing his skin raw and the gag was obviously biting into the corners of his mouth. I wanted nothing more than to rip them off him.

Breathing deep through my nose, I calmed my racing heartbeat.

“Fine. Even if what you say is true, then your little hidden spy here can’t kill him. A dead hostage isn’t very effective.”

Aslanov laughed, and I seethed while she stood from the table with a dismissive wave of her hand. “He’s already served his use as a hostage. He got you here, alone and unarmed.” Pulling out a second gun, she pointed it right at me. “I don’t need him anymore. The threat to your own life will keep you complacent.We’re going to negotiate that trade deal, and you’re going to sign over everything I want.”

I wasn’t sure who to focus on, the gun pointed at me, or the gun in Oliver’s grandmother’s hands that wasn’t pointing anywhere yet.

This time I couldn’t look at my watch without being noticed, but I could guess how much time had passed.

Soon.

“I may be the head of the Bianchi family, but perhaps you’ve forgotten that Alex Mariano is the true leader of our organization. It doesn’t matter what I agree to if he doesn’t agree as well.”

Aslanov scoffed, and stepped closer so she was as close as possible while still out of my reach. “That spoiled Mafia Prince is too young to wield real power. Why else did he bring you in when he could have handled this situation on his own? He relies on you, and he’ll do whatever you say he should do.”

That wasn’t a fair assessment of Alex, but it wasn’t entirely wrong, either. If I wanted, I could probably convince him to go along with any negotiations I made, although it wouldn’t be as easy as Aslanov made it seem. Alex was young and inexperienced, but he wasn’t stupid. He’d been raised to be a leader, just as I was.

Crossing my arms and trying to act nonchalant, I tapped my foot against the leg of the table. “You’re not the first person to threaten me, and death doesn’t scare me. So, what happens if I don’t roll over and give you whatever you want?”

It seemed nothing could upset Aslanov. Despite my blatant disregard for her threats, she merely shrugged.

“Then I kill you, and I go back to the Pahkan and say you attacked me first. He’ll have no choice but to drop this trade deal entirely, which works for me. I don’t like this deal to begin with. Either way, I get something I want.”

Stuck within a dead-end argument, I grit my teeth and glared at her. No matter which option I chose, there was no winning.

When I didn’t react, Aslanov seemed to grow bored and turned her attention back to Oliver’s grandmother.

“We’ve wasted enough time. Kill the brat and let’s get on with things. I’ve got better plans for you. I don’t know why you were left to rot here, but it can work in our favor. An old woman with a sick grandson will gain a lot of sympathy. It’s a great cover, and we can use it to our advantage. Who would ever suspect you? The possibilities are endless.”

The mention of his brother stirred something in Oliver. He struggled against the ropes tying him to the chair and tried to shout through his gag. His grandmother watched him for a moment, but without a change in her expression, she lifted the gun in her hand to point directly at him.

Oliver froze, and my blood turned to ice. There was no way I would just let her shoot him. Even if it ruined our relationship with the Russians and caused a war between our organizations, he was getting out of here alive.

I was halfway out of my chair when a gunshot rang through the air. For one dreadful moment, I thought I’d acted too late. I waited for the horrible sight of Oliver’s body slumping over within his bonds and the light fading from his eyes.

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