Page 50 of Voracious

“If I kill Yulia now, they’ll redistribute the clients,”dumbasses“all the lists will change, and Nina could be moved if she has a return contract.”

Understanding washes over Vlad and Dima with them already knowing the networks. I can’t lose her when the information is already hard to find, not when I don’t know the other people’s client lists, only Yulia’s, and the others could be anywhere. They’re not connected with the Bratva or any patriotic link, they’re bonded over greed and what they view as the perfect product — people, life, the thing that everyone assumes is free.

But Val stares at me and says one word in a question. “Contracts?”

He’s dumb, I’m glad I didn’t grow up with him.

“Yes, contracts. It means an agreement between different parties,” I say slowly so he can understand.

He wraps his arm around my neck, getting me in a headlock and I punch him in the stomach with my full force before he can be a dick. He chokes instantly and his head falls back so he’s spluttering up at the ceiling. Dima’s voice is deadly, and I rest my head on the back of the sofa to look at him.

“Don’t touch her, dickhead, she’ll kick your ass.”

Vlad and Tali both look at him, the latter is pissed, and he copies the threat.

“Youdon’t touch her, orI’llkick your ass,” he looks at Vlad then back to Dima “and your husband won’t save you.”

I didn’t know they were married. I can kind of see it now though, they’re close and people like Vlad don’t have friends because he doesn’t have a soul and he’s fucking annoying. He proves it by kicking my ankle like a child and I glare at him. “What?!”

He always does it, but he’s stopped punching me since he found out Marlo’s dirty sperm created me.

I roll my eyes and give them more information that isn’t helpful unless they’re planning to be Yulia’s business rival.

“The contracts are split, some of them get returned after a few years of being a live in. If they’re not really broken, they can be put back out again, they go to the clients who get bored or who can’t sell them on their own so they can’t be stolen. There’s only one person who doesn’t take live ins like that, and he’s called Rowan, but he wouldn’t take Nina because he said she was boring.” They all stare at me so I speak slower. “So… if you attack Yulia then the list changes and I won’t find anything.”

Drug smuggling is easy to follow, that product leaves a mark, sex trafficking doesn’t, no one sees those people withering away, they aren’t used as a means to secure votes on a stupid fucking graph with different colored lines. Children walking with an adult doesn’t raise any red flags and the ones who haven’t had the fight taken out of them yet are scolded by strangers for‘throwing a tantrum’ and not listening to their parents. I’ve lost count of the amount of times I saw idiots give children trying to escape their handlers dirty looks for being loud in public when they were only looking to be free.

It’s stupid as fuck, people choose to do drugs, but governments focus on them because you can’t tax what’s illegal. They turn a blind eye to people fucking kids because it helps their tourism, their economy. Money makes the world turn around and sex sells, no one will help them when they’re profiting, no matter how indirectly. Bunch of sick cunts.

Tali turns serious and goes through everything I’ve found. It’s not to point out I’m wrong but to help and I relax when he agrees I’m doing the right thing. My good mood doesn’t last when he invites himself along.

“I’ll go with you, as soon as we find your sister I’m killing that cunt.”

I don’t have a sister and it takes a second for me to realize he’s talking about Nina. If I tell them that I’ve only ever spoken to her once, will they still help me?

It’s not a lie if I don’t correct them, I’m just letting them believe whatever they want so I don’t say anything.

My stomach cramps from eating so much this morning and Dani walks in with Inessa on her heels. Dima grumbles something about everyone being in his house but he doesn’t tell them to leave as he goes off with Vlad to do whatever they need to or just spend time together since they’re married. Val and Tali leave too, they didn’t take me. I’m initiated so I should be going with them instead of sat here.

I like Dani, she’s kind and sits beside me looking around the space, focusing on the piano tucked in the corner she nods in approval. “I don’t know what I thought his house would look like, but this isn’t it.”

Inessa agrees before she turns to me. “Are you ready? I have a meeting later, but Dani can take you if you want to go then?”

I forgot I needed to get new clothes. With Dima’s force feeding, mine are too tight now. I don’t have a car or a license, the latter isn’t really an issue, but I don’t want to steal Dima’s things, and I nod. Vlad gave me one of their cards so I’m going to burn a hole in his pocket just to piss him off. It can’t be that hard to make him bankrupt and Inessa promised to help me do it, she even agreed to forge his signature if I wanted to buy a house.

I follow them out and it’s strange leaving the house without Dima. He isn’t stood behind me and his voice isn’t in my ear telling me to put my seatbelt on when I get in the car. Inessa might be a shitty driver, so I buckle up since I know she’s shit at shooting, and she asked me to teach her without letting Vlad know. I hope she shoots him once I’ve finished teaching her.

My stomach cramps again and I wait until we’ve pulled onto the road to ask, “How does it work if you’re married to Vlad and Dima is too?”

Dani laughs from the passenger seat in front of me but it’s not at me and she twists to look at me as she says, “That was from when we were kids, they’re not really married.”

Oh, that makes no sense. She must see that it doesn’t and clears my confusion.

“You know how TV shows and movies always show two parents? Val, Tali, and Katya didn’t have that so they would lie and one of the teachers assumed Vlad and Dima were married when they had to come to school because Val got into a fight, so we kept the joke running and said they were married.”

“They might as well be a couple,” Inessa mutters and straightens her shoulders before reading too much into my question. “Is there a specific reason you want to know ifDimais married?”

I shake my head, not understanding what reason I could have as we pull up at the lights and my stomach cramps intensify. It turns into a groan, and I press my hand to the ache as Dani’s warmth comes out.

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