Page 72 of Stricken

Tonight, we dance with the devil himself. And God help us if we miss a step.

CHAPTER25

VLAD

The moon sits low in the velvety sky and looks ominous as I pull up to the rendezvous point. I'm greeted by gravel crunch against tires. Nico's silhouette materializes from behind his own vehicle. He's wearing a pair of jeans and a black hoodie and looks strangely normal. Maybe too normal against the desolate landscape. Except for the watch on his left wrist. The only indication of who he is behind this disguise.

There's a chill in the air that grazes my skin like an icy whisper, and the faint metallic pinch of anticipation lingers, bitter on my tongue like bad coffee making its mark. In this moment of stillness, all I can hear is our breathing syncopating in slow rhythm.

Nico breaks the silence first. "You said to come alone." His eyes dart around the lot and past me. We are in on the Solovey plot of land sparsely filled with the old vehicles ready to be actioned off for parts. Just one of the fronts for all the dirty money my family makes. Nico doesn't know that two unmarked vans parked further down are coming with us. My custom Audi waits nearby, deadly as a panther.

"I assume you know how we can steal a truckload of coke without being caught?" Nico asks.

"No, I don't," I reply and motion at one of the vans. The door slides open and Seven jumps out of the vehicle. "But they do." I drive my point home as Hector and the rest of the Hellhounds make their appearance. Ivan, despite all of the reservations about this plan is with them, ready to rock'n'roll.

Nico's blue eyes meet mine. "I see that you're ready for some fun."

I force my lips to form a half smile while tamping down the urge to scream. "Always." I know my statement doesn't really match my personality or my current mood. But I can't show my fear. Not in front of Nico.

"We ride in my car, you and me," I tell him. As I start moving in the direction of the Audi, I throw a few brief commands to Seven. He acknowledges them with a nod.

Then Nico and I quietly slide into the Audis. The leather interior embraces us, crisp and welcoming. The engine purrs to life and we're off to orchestrate the heist I planned for the man I seem to care about more than I should.

As we pull onto the highway, streetlights flash by outside like fireflies. And I marvel at the absurdity of it all. Here I am, Vladimir Solovey, driving my family's rival to steal what belongs to him from his own cousin. And I'm getting nothing out of it. The irony is almost poetic.

Poetic and deadly.

"I don't know why you keep insisting to get involved in my mess," Nico mutters.

"The mess isn't yours, is it now?"

"Hard to tell at this point."

"The mess is Salvatore's. And Roberto's." I pause, waiting to see if Nico reacts, but he remains quiet, jaw set, eyes on the road ahead of us. "The great Tony Morelli really lucked out. Both of his sons are deadbeats waiting for him to die so they can have his fortune."

"You pulled the words right out of my mouth."

"I'm sorry if I'm being harsh, talking about your family."What's wrong with me?Vlad Solovey doesn't apologize.

"I'm not offended. I never wanted this last name to begin with. You don't have a choice when it comes to parents. You, yourself, know a thing or two about this."

"I do."

We fall into a tense silence as the car continues to eat up mile after mile on the way to the destination.

"Hey," Nico drawls all of a sudden. "Ever think about just... disappearing? Leaving all this behind?"

I chuckle darkly. "Only every goddamn day."

"Yeah?" He raises an eyebrow. "Where would you go?"

"Somewhere humid. Quiet. Where no one knows my name or what I've done."

Nico nods thoughtfully. "Sounds nice. But you'd get bored in a week."

"Probably," I admit, glancing at him briefly. "What about you? Where would Nicola Morelli run off to?"

He grins, a flash of white teeth in the dim car. But there's veiled sadness in that grin. "Oh, I'd go big. Buy an island, start my own country.The Republic of Nicohas a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

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