Page 12 of Tarnished Prince (Koalistia Bratva 2)

“I used to boost cars in high school,” she muttered, her voice so low that I almost had to lean in to catch what she had said.

“You boosted cars in high school,” I repeated in a monotone. The pieces of the puzzle I had been wondering about earlier all fell slowly into place. I chuckled, the noise growing to a full laugh until my head rolled back once more over the back of the seat. She was staring at me, and I could feel it, but the laughter wouldn’t be made to die out by will alone.

“What’s so funny about that?” she demanded defensively.

“The irony of it,” I returned. “What a skillset for the wife of a torpedo,” I chuckled. “That must be where you learned to drive so well from, da?” The image of a younger her running cars away from flashing lights was almost too amusing to picture properly, but I still tried.

Something in her face shifted as I spoke though, her hands tying the knot off in the fabric over my arm before falling into her lap. I watched her pick at her fingers there, eyeing me as if unsure whether she should speak.

“You think it’s a good skill?” she asked dubiously.

One shoulder lifted as I nodded.

“And that I drive well?” she sounded as if she were questioning the way I worded things, and for the life of me I couldn’t follow why she would be.

“Da, although ‘well’ would be an understatement. If I need a good getaway, I think I’ll be sure to take you along from here on out, da? Not even Shura could have lost them so fast.”

And with that, I slowly let my eyes close, my breathing and heart rate starting to relax.

Then, a whisper of movement from beside me.

My eyes cracked open.

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