Page 23 of Cruel Redemption

“How do you know that?” It felt as if the wheels were coming off with every part of this conversation.

“That’s how they are. They are good parents. Good people.” She paused. “And I’m lying to them about their son.”

“You have to.” My sister wasn’t Bratva-trained. It was either a perk or sin of being Dmitry’s daughter. She could pull off a charade, but the skill of lying wasn’t something

“I know, but they know. They know something isn’t right.”

“Why would they think that?” Katya was quiet for too long. “Answer me,” I growled.

“It’s possible they might know something about our families,” she admitted. “And who Enzo works for.” I didn’t like the way Amara was casually dropped into this.

I hung my head, realizing how things had become more complicated.

“What are they going to do when they go to his apartment and he’s not there?” I asked.

“They are giving it until the morning for him to get in touch with them,” she answered.

“And then what?” My impatience and irritation with the Barone family was growing.

“And then they are going to the police.”

“The police.” I said it, but I almost didn’t believe it.

“We’ll find him by then, right?” I couldn’t tell if the hope had drained from her voice or if she was the only one who had any left.

I shook my head.

Our family lived in the shadows, that’s where it belonged. We didn’t have the right to walk in the sun or to live the same lives as Enzo’s parents. But by falling in love with him, Katya had chipped at the crack in the wall between our two worlds. I had no idea how I was going to seal it back up if I didn’t find him before daylight.

The underbelly of our world had never been so exposed. Family business good bad or ugly was family business. Things were settled between families. Justice. Punishment. Revenge. Our laws and codes had been handed down for generations. Bringing in Enzo’s parents changed the game. And I wondered if his kidnappers knew what could happen to all of us if the game was exposed.

“I can’t promise that,” I told my sister. “But I’m trying.”

“I know you are, I just…how do I sleep next to Andrey tonight?”

I couldn’t answer that question for her. “You better go. I’m almost out of cell reception.” I was closing in on the farm.

“Where are you?” she asked.

“I’ll tell you later. I’ll check on you in the morning.” I couldn’t risk anyone knowing where I had hidden Amara, not even the person I trusted the most. There was too much at risk.

“But call me. As soon as you hear something.” The words were rushing together again.

“I will. I will. Goodnight.” I pressed the button to disconnect our call.

* * *

Iparked behind the stables. My car was recognizable, but I had to hope that no one on Katya’s payroll would care enough to comment on it. I had every intention of leaving before the first guy came to clean out the stalls in the morning.

I used to know the woods here well. There was a small window of time in my memory bank of being a child. A sliver, really. I ran through the trees, jumped over the creek, and caught crayfish with Katya. She was tiny then. She’d yell for me to let her catch up. It was more fun to let her chase me. To splash her. To hide in the woods from her. We did the things that kids do when no one is watching. We played like we didn’t carry burdens. We laughed like we were free. It was hard to believe we were kids once.

As I walked off the path near the equipment barn, a branch broke beneath my shoe. I stopped, waiting for the sound of another footstep. A sound that indicated someone was watching or following me, but it was quiet. I continued toward the cabin, carrying Amara’s dinner.

I stepped onto the porch, paused, and turned the key in the lock. Amara barreled into my arms and I almost dropped the bags of takeout I had brought her when I walked inside. She was warm and still smelled like the lotion she used after her shower. She wrapped herself around me.

“Hey.”

She squeezed me harder. “You came back.”

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