Page 53 of Covert Vengeance

“But when I dug deeper, I found outshe’dbetrayedyou,” Kiyomi continued, growing angry all over again. “They made it look like you’d stolen money from some of the Bratva members, when really it was Zoya and Stanislav. They used you and the other Valkyries to knock off their biggest threat, then framed you as the culprit and leaked your location to Bratva. Once they killed you, Hannah, Zoya and Stanislav could keep all the money for themselves.”

She’d expected Amber to be angry about it, but instead she looked almost relieved at Kiyomi’s explanation. “I knew…most of that, but didn’t have definitive proof aside from what I already turned over to Rycroft. Do you have any evidence you can give me?”

Kiyomi’s throat tightened, combined anger and grief hitting her. She swallowed. “My best friend’s dying words. That’s all the proof I need.”

“Who was your best friend?” Trinity asked.

“Julia Green.”

Amber sucked in a breath. “Another Valkyrie hacker.”

Kiyomi blinked. “Yes. Did you know her?”

“No, we never met. But she was killed on an op in Saint Petersburg months ago. I found buried files and a few news stories about her. The media reported that she was an escort killed by a rough John, but I knew better.”

“The truth was much worse,” Kiyomi said. “She was tortured by Stanislav’s former Bratva friends and left to die in a back alley in Moscow.” Maybe even the same ones who had being lying in wait for Amber. “I know, because I’m the one who found her.”

“How did it happen?” Amber asked, face grim.

“Hannah and Zoya had tried to recruit her before they approached you. Julia turned them down, sensing something was off.” Julia had her quirks, but she was a straight arrow when it came to jobs. If it smelled off, she’d steered clear. “She kept tabs on them after that and sent me files from time to time. Hannah found out and used Zoya’s connections through Stanislav to have Julia killed to make sure she never exposed them.”

Amber shook her head slowly, absorbing it all. “This is unbelievable. Have you got the files?”

“Not anymore.” Presumably Rahman had them now. “I wanted you to know because I hoped it would ease your conscience. Hannah deserved to die.” Kiyomi picked at the hem of her sweater, agitated and struggling to hide it. “All the Valkyries involved on the Rome op except you were traitors. They left you behind to pay the price and then turned on each other like sharks in a feeding frenzy afterward to eliminate each other, all in the name of greed,” she said in disgust. “I tried to find you so I could warn you or at least send you the evidence I had, but you’d already gone off grid.”

“That’s why you went after Hannah.”

She nodded, the burning need for retribution rising once again. Hannah was dead. Fayez Rahman wasn’t. And she couldn’t live with that. “I wanted to be the one to kill her. But I figure she got what she deserved in the end.”

“I’m sorry for what happened to you, and Julia,” Amber said softly.

Kiyomi’s jaw tightened but she nodded in acknowledgment. “I’m glad Hannah’s dead. I’m glad Zoya and the others are dead, too. And I’ll do whatever I can to help you guys end Stanislav.”

Amber blew out a hard breath and dragged a hand through her hair. “All right, look, I need to be straight with all of you before this goes any further.”

Kiyomi and the others all watched her expectantly.

“This doesn’t end for me once we get Stanislav and bring in the rest of the Valkyries. It only ends once I find out who was behind the program, and see them brought to justice for what they did to us.”

“Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it,” Megan said, frowning. “We’ve got our hands full with everything else right now, and Stanislav is a dangerous target even with all of us working together.”

“I know,” Amber said. “But I need you all to know my end game up front. And I’ll understand if none of you want in on it. I’m prepared to do it on my own if need be.”

“Not a chance,” Trinity said. She looked around the room, making eye contact with the others before coming back to Amber. “Once all of us are safe and accounted for, we’ll find all the guilty parties behind the program and make them pay for what they did.”

A ripple of savage satisfaction swept through Kiyomi, raising goosebumps on her skin. “Loyal Unto Death,” she murmured. The Valkyrie motto. An oath they had all sworn. But clearly it meant nothing to some of them.

Trinity’s smile was sharp as a blade. “That’s right.” Her cell phone rang, drawing her attention. “It’s Rycroft,” she said, and answered.

Kiyomi sat up further, drawing Amber’s gaze once more. “And Rahman,” she added softly as Trinity spoke with Rycroft. “He needs to die.” Amber would understand the kind of hatred that burned inside Kiyomi. The kind that slowly ate away at the soul like a corrosive until there was nothing left.

She wanted justice for what had been done to her. And the only kind of justice befitting a man like Rahman, was death.

“He does,” Amber agreed. “And I promise to help you make that happen.”

Relief bled through her, easing the tension in her beat-up body. The pain was constant, her ribs knifing her with every breath, but it also served as motivation. Rahman would die for what he’d done to her. “Thank you. I’m with you on all of this. Everything.”

“Me too,” Megan said.

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