Page 3 of Bluff

“Rune set her up under a false name at a motel nearby. I have a car coming to get her.”

I take a sip of the drink placed in front of me and glance between the two of them. “Why are you still helping me? I’ve hurt both of my sisters.”

“Yeah, you might have,” Selene says, “but we’ll keep you safe until we can figure out what to do.”

“Here.” Chloe hands me a cell phone. “It’s a burner. Give us yours.”

I hand it over. It’s my only contact with my sisters, but I know Lyric can track me with it.

“I want to turn myself over to them. I want to make amends.” I have to do this for Lyric and Lennon. It’s what I should have done when this all started instead of seeking out revenge.

“I’ll make some phone calls. But if Lennon—or the baby—is hurt, Dmitri will want your life.” Selene pauses, pinching her lips in thought. “Stay in hiding until I tell you otherwise. Don’t do anything stupid, Ainsley.”

Chloe walks me out, and the doubt starts creeping in before we even reach the curb.

She pulls me in for a hug. “Trust us, please. We know what we’re doing,” she says, but trust is hard for me.

As I slip into the back of the car, I glance back and wonder how they can help me. They don’t know how to deal with the mafia. Selene is just a counselor, and Chloe is my party girl bestie. Chloe is in school studying chemistry and chemical engineering so she can launch her own beauty line. They’re not exactly underworld material.

So how can they help me? How can they keep me safe?

Mikhail

My fingers fly over my laptop as Dmitri paces the hospital waiting room. Lennon checked herself out against medical advice and slipped out the back. Lyric and I are combing through nearby camera feeds, searching for any sign of her.

My phone vibrates. I pull it from my pocket and read a message from one of the guards at the club.

Ainsley is there.

I can’t tell Dmitri I know where to find her because doing so would reveal one of my darkest secrets. I don’t always know where she is, but I know when she’s at the club.

I force myself to focus back on my laptop screen, blocking out the memories. My job is to protect my family at all costs, and they need me right now.

“Nothing from the gate guards,” Andrei says. “She didn’t go to the house.”

“The Triad general landed last week. He’s here in Vegas,” Lyric supplies. “Oh, and…” She steps in close to Dmitri, whispering something in his ear that makes him stumble back, worry flashing across his face.

We quickly pack up and head out to the car. I slide into the driver’s seat, ready to take them wherever Andrei and Dmitri need me to go.

These two men have been my family since I lost my parents. Gray, Ridley, and Aleksei also, along with Babushka, who helped raise me after I was left alone. I had no family in Russia and didn’t want to go back. I knew if I bided my time, I could avenge my parents, and that’s exactly what I’ve done.

I’m instructed to head to the office. As I drive, I listen to Lyric typing away on her computer before explaining what happened at the restaurant. Lennon collapsed in the bathroom, and it was Ainsley who triggered it by yelling and upsetting her. I shift my eyes to Dmitri, wondering if he’s going to call for her death.

“I’ve called Alek. He’s on his way too,” Andrei says as I pull into the alley behind the Russian Cardroom and Yelena’s.

The cardroom is where we run our illegal gambling operation. Yelena’s is the restaurant Andrei uses as a front. Both are just small parts of our revenue stream. We don’t run drugs, but we do help people get guns.

My phone vibrates again. The guard updates me that Ainsley left in a private car. I’ll have to track her later. Dmitri is going to want to talk to her.

When my phone buzzes with another message, I look down at the text and smile.

Mistress Selene: I have a package you’ve been looking for. I’ll only turn her over if you can guarantee her safety.

Me: She will be safe.

Now, we just need to find Lennon. And then, I can plan.

Chapter Two

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