Page 115 of Kings of Violence

Two.

I count off five heartbeats before the footsteps pass by the door. I hear another door swing shut.

I wait another thirty seconds before I relax.

I heard something important, I realize. I have to sit there amoment and really think about it. Extra person. Fucking huge. Everyone in that room.

What room? What person?

The only people I know that weren’t accounted for were Konstantin, Nikolai, and Yuri.

My stomach twists because I don’t need to be told that they were talking aboutKonstantin. They somehow have him alone somewhere, or else, they’d be worried about three extra guests instead of one.

Fuck.

I rub my eyes with one hand, looking down at the little electronic device in my hand. It won’t be enough to give it to them, to trade it for my freedom. If I try to go find them, to warn them, that’s it. I’m thoroughly trapped.

Do I care enough about Konstantin’s well-being to give everything up for him? If he dies…

Fuck, if he dies, that threat is pretty much guaranteed to be over with. Nikolai and Yuri will be too busy trying to clean up the mess, and their war will be with Marino, not Silvano and Kyran. It would take all of the heat off of my family.

But I don’t want Konstantin Voronkov to die.

I slide my heels off, not wanting the subtle click of them to give me away, then get up to my feet. My hands are sweaty, my heart is thudding hard in my chest, and the fear is making me want to throw up.

I cautiously open the pantry door, but there’s no cry of alarm. I walk to a different door from the one I’d come from, and I note that it leads out into a hallway very similar to the one Yuri and I had snuck through earlier. They must connect somehow.

My instinct is to cower and hide, but I remember how Yuri had handled the guard all those weeks back, when we’d first infiltrated Don Marino’s warehouse.

Just pretend you belong, and people will believe you.

I hold my head high, but I can’t stop myself from wobbling as I half walk, half run through the hallway.

What if I don’t find them?

What if Kyran and Silvano find me first?

I’m not going with them, no matter what they say — not without kicking and screaming and drawing all sorts of attention to them.

I’m not going anywhere with my father’s murderers.

I don’t care who pulled the trigger. I know Kyran had been there, and he’d been dodgy from the start. And no fucking wonder. His lover had perpetuated the cycle — Silvano’s father had killed my oldest brother, and now Silvano himself had killed my father.

I hear something as I turn the corner, and I freeze.

There, right in front of me, is Yuri.

He snarls and lunges for me. I instinctively try to dodge, but he anticipates it and snaps his hand around my wrist. I cry out as he pulls sharply and forces me into his arms.

“Not so clever after all, are you, littlesnake?” Yuri growls.

“Konstantin’s in trouble,” I blurt out. “Punish me later, fuck me later, I don’t care, but Don Marino is planning something.” I think I’m still crying, but I can’t focus on that right now.

Yuri’s eyes widen for a fraction of a second. “What? Kotya is in a meeting right now to discuss local deals…” He scowls. “Is this another one of your ruses? You want me to go in there and destroy the negotiations?”

I shake my head. “No, Yuri! Think! You know Konstantin wasn’t invited to this party. We were caught messing with Don Marino’s affairs. Why would he then invite Konstantin to some secret after party?”

Yuri’s hold loosens, and I sigh in relief that he isn’t too obstinate to believe me. “There are other important players there, though. Victor fucking Corvi!”

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