Page 188 of Born in Depravity

He hardened his voice at the end and she gave the smallest nod.

Not many people would notice the way Damien relaxed marginally.

“Stall them as long as possible, and try to stay on the busy street,” Damien said to Kirill.

He nodded as Leo pulled out his phone and called our men.

Damien called Gabriel. He picked up on the first ring, his rough, accented voice coming out of the speaker. “Damien.”

“We’re being followed. Do you have any idea who it might be?”

He was silent for a moment. “Where are you?”

We’re on Parkway Dr and Rufina street.”

Gabriel was quiet. “We got intel that Agnello and Luis arrived about an hour ago.”

Catalina’s breath caught at the mention of her father’s name. I grabbed her hand and she gripped it tightly.

Damien cursed softly under his breath. “And you didn’t think to tell me?”

Kirill took another sharp turn, trying to throw them off and Catalina slammed against me. I wrapped my arms around her, hating the terrified look in her eyes.

“I just found out and was about to call you. Your tail could be anyone who hates you. Or Mikhail, or Nikolay. That’s a long list. But I’m thinking it’s Agnello, and he had the Cartel backing him here.”

I turned around and looked at Nikolay. He looked like he was minutes away from exploding.

He sneered, and I knew he was feeling the same way I was.

If Catalina wasn’t in the car with us, we would pull over and engage with Agnello

“Whatever you do, Luis is mine,” Gabriel said through the line.

Damien nodded, even if Gabriel couldn’t see. That went without saying. No one hated Luis more than his own brother did.

“Keep me updated on your location. I’m sending men your way. But I doubt the car following you is the only one.”

Sure enough, another black car pulled up and slammed into the tailgate.

Catalina let out a small scream and grabbed my arm. I tightened my hold on her when the car hit us again.

Kirill almost lost control of the car. He cursed under his breath and took a sharp left turn. Cars honked around us, and we pulled into an empty field.

An abandoned farmhouse stood about a half-mile away. The car behind moved closer and slammed us from behind.

“Fuck,” Nikolay cursed. “What do you want to do?”

Damien looked at Catalina in my arms. “We’re gonna pull over. And I need you to stay hidden in this car, understand?”

Catalina nodded.

“We’ll go out and stall them as much as we can until more men arrive, and then I’m going to fucking tear them apart with my bare hands.”

Kirill spun the car around before shifting the gears into park. We were facing the other car, and sure enough, another identical car pulled up to the side.

Nikolay reached over and pulled Catalina to the back with him. She let out a startled squeak before she realized what was happening. As Nikolay tried to climb over the seat, she grabbed his arms.

He paused and took her in. His posture seemed to relax when he said, “It’s okay, princess. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

---