Page 78 of Dirty Game
When the call ends, my brothers are vibrating.
Korrin slams the knife point-first into the table. The steel bites the wood with a satisfying thunk. “We kill him tonight.”
“Doesn’t work like that,” Cyrus says, not looking up. “If we breach, he’ll have kill-switches on them both.”
“We can breach before he expects.” Korrin’s jaw flexes. “He’s not expecting us. Not this fast.”
Cyrus lifts his eyes, studies me. “He’s expecting us to act emotionally. Which means he’s already mapped out the first two moves.”
I sit, drag a chair out with more force than necessary, and pour myself a stiff drink. My hand shakes, just a little.
Most men wouldn’t notice, but Korrin sees it.
He says nothing, but his stare is sharp and assessing.
Cyrus eyes the photo again. “Yours, obviously.”
I glance at the photo.
“Yep.”
Korrin’s eyebrows go up. “Fuck.”
“Complicates things,” Cyrus murmurs, but he doesn’t sound put out. If anything, he’s intrigued.
I take another drink, this time steady. “Kazimir wants leverage. He doesn’t know how much yet, but he’s gambling I’ll move before I think.”
“He’s not wrong,” Korrin says.
I snort before looking at them. For the first time, there’s a sliver of doubt in their eyes. Not about the plan—about me.
“You good?” Korrin asks, voice low.
I don’t answer right away. I let the silence do the talking.
Finally, I say, “Rosalynn isn’t just payment anymore.”
Korrin scowls, the old scars on his knuckles going white. “That’s a mistake.”
“Mine to make, brother.”
Cyrus frowns, but changes the subject back to Sienna. “She’s not acting like a hostage,” he says.
“No,” I agree. “She’s not. She was also talking real polite to him for someone who is supposedly kidnapped. That’s what we think, right? She’s kidnapped… or is she? Sienna likes to play games, always has.”
I watch their reactions, cataloging every flick of their eyes. Korrin’s jaw ticks, a tempo I know from a hundred bar fights—he’s holding back the urge to break something, or someone.
Cyrus drums two fingers on the table, thinking faster than he can speak.
“Well… shit,” Cyrus asks.
“We don’t go in heavy,” I say. “Not at first. Sienna’s always got an angle. She wants to see if I’ll bite.”
Korrin’s eyes narrow. “You think it’s a setup?”
“Maybe. I think Kazimir is her cover. She wants leverage. She’s always wanted leverage. Unfortunately, she’s got my kid, so I can’t fucking ignore this.”
There’s a pause while the words settle in.
