Page 87 of Sinful Promise

“Sounds good.”

I shudder. How can my brothers live with themselves, knowing they are being used to kill others indiscriminately?

Roman is the leader of this mission, and he’s sure to have doubts about my brother’s loyalties. I would as well, but I’ve known Albert all my life. This past year, the business with our father and Andrian seems to have hit an extreme. Papa isn’t a low-level criminal. He’s in league with Andrian, and Andrian is at the top. With that comes more money and deadly decisions.

Albert could be setting us up. But what if he’s not? He could be our mole on the inside. In the end, we’ll both have a new name and life. I believe he confided in Katsia to get out. I’m hoping we’ll be able to help each other. My fate rests on the Volkovs killing Andrian. If Andrian lives, Albert and I will die, one way or another. I shudder at the thought.

Roman moves to the conference table. A square in the middle of the table lights up. Curiosity draws us in. There is a screen on the glass surface. It looks like a computer-generated map.

He puts one hand on the table, and with his other, he points to a building. I stand with the others at the conference table. My legs are shaking. The bad men are on their way. A dark cloud is approaching. Dangerous men will be at our doorstep soon.

Fuckity fuck.

I try to suppress the anxiety in my chest, but the tightness isn’t going away. I look at Roman. He’s calm and in control, a leader. I trust him. He has as much riding on this as I do, if not more.

“This is an old warehouse near the sea,” he says. “It’s abandoned, and we have the advantage because hills surround it. If Dasha’s brother can tell us how many men are in the group, and his information matches Pavel’s, we can assume the intel is reliable. And if that’s the case, we’ll know when we have all of Andrian’s men. We’ll screen them for weapons at the warehouse entrance. I assume he’ll want to pick us off there, take Dasha, and escape. I also assume they will have men posted in the area. If we take out one of their point men and get his coms, we can find the others before they know they are compromised.”

“That’s brilliant,” Francesca purrs as she shifts in her chair. She places an elbow on the table, using her palm to prop her chin up. “It’s so John Wick.”

“We’re trained killers, we can take them. We need to be smart about it. Dasha, you’ll be at my house with Francesca. I’ll have my regular men on the outside, waiting for them. I have to assume that Saturday, Andrian’s men will have narrowed down the numerous homes I own. They will, in all probability, have kicked in some doors.”

“We’ll meet at dusk,” Alex says, “and try to locate his men. As darkness falls, we’ll be able to use the infrared scopes on our weapons. We’ll take the men outside. The only question is, how do we kill Andrian and whoever is with him once they have you inside the building?”

There is silence in the room. I hear the air circulating in the vent above the table, but it’s the thought of putting Andrian down like a rabid dog that is chilling.

“We’ll think about it,” Irina says. “We have time. We need to stake out the area as soon as we can.”

“Yes,” Roman concedes.

“What about me?” I ask. “Andrian wants me. Don’t I have to be there?”

“That’s where Irina comes in. She’s going to dress as you. You are not to tell a soul. She’s your body double.”

Irina turns to me. “Don’t worry, I’m great at disguise. I will make a mask of your face, use a wig and makeup. That will get him in the door and to the table. By the time he realizes I’m not you, it won’t matter. He won’t know until it’s too late.”

“What? I can’t let you do that.” I turn to her, “You’re my friend. He’s my enemy. I can’t let you do that,” I repeat.

This is not what I wanted. I don’t want others to put themselves in danger for me. I ran away. I have to face the consequences.

“He’s my enemy more than he is yours, Dasha. Don’t take that away from me.” She stares me down, and I realize she’s not going to change her mind. None of them are. It appears the others have been talking about this for days.

I sit quietly, my hands clasped on the table. I lower them to my lap. My palms are damp. I’m sweating with fear.

“Also, we need to make sure Dasha’s brothers survive,” Roman says. “We don’t know if one of them will help us or not.” He flicks the screen. “These are pictures of Dasha’s father, Ratmim, and her brothers, Vlad and Albert. We suspect Albert might be trying to help our cause, but there’s no definite way to know. I assume Vlad is being groomed to be a group leader and will move up the ranks over Ratmim in a few years when he’s older. We will hold the boys, if possible, and question them. Our best bet is to take Andrian out quickly. We’ll save more than we’ve lost in the long run, so I’m fine with that.”

“If we take out the men aimed at you and Dasha, Alex should just take out Ratmim before he enters the warehouse,” Francesca says. “It will be clean, and you will be in less danger that way.”

She moves her arm off the table and uses it to balance herself as she stands. The early morning has drained us all.

“I want to be the one who kills him,” Roman says.

“Well, I don’t know how that will occur,” she states matter-of-factly.

“I don’t, either. We have good men to help us spot the enemies we expect to be around the area, but when Ratmim notices his men didn’t take you two out, the jig will be up,” Alex says.

“We’re not sure that is his plan,” Roman replies. “This is how I would do it.” He shrugs and looks at me. “Dasha, we’ll get in touch with Katsia and Albert and find out if he knows what they are planning.”

I nod. “It’s worth a try. I don’t know how much they tell him. Vlad is higher up. He’s older.”

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