Page 46 of Cruel Redemption

She flinched, quickly looking away.

“I-I need to tell you something. Something Ciro told me yesterday.” I heard the hesitation in her voice.

“It’s about his trip.”

“Yes. It is,” she admitted.

She didn’t have a chance to get the first hint out before Ciro barged in through the door.

“I have a lead.”

“You do?” We were both on our feet. “Where is he?” Amara asked.

“I think I should check it out on my own,” he reported. God, he was a stubborn beast.

“No. I’m going with you.” I moved in front of Amara. “I have to know who is doing this.”

Amara grabbed my arm, pulling me back to the table. “Let him handle it.”

“I’m going to trial for Enzo’s kidnapping.” I stared at her. “I need to bring Enzo back for my sister. And us. It’s the only way to clear my name and save her.”

“I don’t like it. Ciro can do this. You aren’t a trained bodyguard.” Her eyes were frantic.

“Stay here,” Ciro barked at me. He wasn’t my first choice to partner up with either, but this were all shitty decisions that had to be made.

I wasn’t interested in his opinion. “I’m riding with you. Where are you going?”

Neither one of us was prepared for the answer.

“The Vieux Carre.”

Twenty-Five

Amara

I couldn’t let him walk out of here. Not straight into danger.

I grabbed his hand roughly. “No. Stay with me. Please.” I kept my voice low. I knew Ciro agreed with me. “The tunnels are a labyrinth that very few people can get out of.”

“I know all about the tunnels.” I tried to ignore the bitter tone.

I wondered if the Vieux Carre would always be a point of contention for us. It was our first standoff. The pivotal contract that positioned our fathers against each other. It was the reason Luka was shipped to France. It was the reason my father saw my potential. I was the queen I had become because I negotiated the Vieux Carre out from under Dmitry Novikov. No one in New Orleans had forgotten the maneuver. Maybe Luka never would. Had he forgiven me?

So much of our history was tied up in that building. I didn’t want him to go to it now. It had split us in two before. It had severed us so deeply we still had bruises from it. Scars that told the story of our past and present. My stomach twisted.

“Don’t go,” I begged him. “Stay here. Katya needs you.” I was willing to try any tool I had to prevent this suicide mission.

“She’s asleep. You yourself said she’d be out for a few hours. She doesn’t need me.”

I closed my eyes. “Then stay because I want you to stay. Stay because I need you to stay.”

Ciro clicked the gun in his holster, returning it with the ease of a man who had performed that ritual a thousand times. Luka had retrieved his weapon.

“I can’t.” He had that damn Novikov determination in his eyes. “I’m going with Ciro. Nik and the Bratva will meet us there.”

“You don’t need to do this. It’s exactly why we have security. This doesn’t make any sense. You aren’t making any sense. Can’t you see that?” I was angry. Instead of words of poetry that would convince him to stay, I was attacking him. Driving him away. Giving him a reason to leave.

“If you’re going. We need to leave now,” Ciro snapped. His attitude about this wasn’t forceful enough. How could he let Luka go with him?

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