What if it’s my father, trying to trick me into something?

Shit.

I pace again, staring at the note on my bed. At this point I don’t know that it’s Dino, but I also don’t think it could be anyone else…

Or at least, I hope it couldn’t.

There’s a rap on my door. Quickly, I snatch the note up and fold it in my hands. “Come in,” I say to the person on the other side.

The door creaks open, and Andrei’s head pops in. “Your father would like you to come to the kitchen for brunch,” he says.

Quietly.

My stomach sinks. “Why?”

“Why does he do anything, Marisol?”

Fuck.

“Okay. Just. Give me a second,” I say.

I don’t want Andrei to know about the note. If it is Dino, then I need to make sure Andrei doesn’t see it.

The scene at the melee a few days prior is still fresh in my mind.

I think Dino would have smashed Volkov’s head in. If he’d had the option. The way he stood over Volkov’s body, the way Dino’s leg was tensed… I’ll never forget that.

He was… unhinged. Violent. Brutal. They didn’t know, but my dad was commenting on every single one of the fighters.

And forDino?

Even Benicio Souza said that Dino was ‘aggressive’.

I’m not certain why my dad gave Andrei the command to stop him. Clearly, he’d been enjoying the show so far, so for him to just… call it off like that was wild.

I did, however, catch the way that Andrei looked at Dino. The coldness in his face. I’ve seen that look before. Andrei hates Dino, with something more than just the average amount of dislike.

Whatever he feels towards Dino, it’s… deeper than that.

For his part, Dino also seems to hate Andrei. The smile he gave wasn’t joyful in the slightest. It was a baring of teeth, and the flash of white through the blood dripping in his mouth had been nothing short of savage.

I shuddered.

Quickly I duck into the bathroom and put the note in my makeup case. I grab a lip gloss and step out, holding it to my lips to apply it as I walk toward Andrei.

He raises an eyebrow.

“Can’t leave the room looking disheveled,” I comment. “My mom always said that your appearance is like armor. Putting it on right can help you stay safe during the battle.”

My mother did say this often. She also said that beauty was a weapon that could take out a man’s heart as sure as a bomb, and to be sure to use it with that intent.

I didn’t tell him that, though.

Andrei quietly falls in behind me as I walk down the hallway. When I get to the kitchen, my father is sitting in the small breakfast nook, which is unusual.

He is also alone, which is even more unusual.

I sit and he nods at Andrei. “You can take the door,” he commands.