Page 105 of Broken Sins (Volkov Bratva 3)

And then, against all odds, he does exactly what I’d hoped. He presses his face against the screen. It’s thin enough that I can see him now, though the valley of shadows cast by his proud nose obscures one half of it. He flutters his eyelashes playfully, like a movie starlet.

“My eyes are violet,” he says.

“Really?” I ask. “Because they look more red to me.”

I move as fast as I can. With one hand, I reach down to the waistband of my bloodstained, torn-to-pieces jean shorts and retrieve Dante’s switchblade. It flicks open with ashiiiiinkthat brings me back to the night I woke up with him sharpening it beside the table I was tied to.

I remember what he told me that night.You are the key to it all.Maybe I am. But not in the way he expected.

I know one thing now: I can’t fix these men. The Biancis, my father—they are broken in ways that can never be repaired. If they shape this world in their own image, then everyone else who lives under their rule will be forced to inhabit a nightmare. I’ve lived that nightmare for far too long now. I have to get out.

But just escaping from underneath the thumb of powerful men will not be enough. There has to be a better way. It’s not just about me. It’s about Audrey. It’s about my mother. It’s about everyone who has ever stared into the face of the devil and wondered if there is a way to rescue the angel that he once was. I’ve seen into the eyes of each of the men currently dying in the dungeon behind me.

I can’t fix them.

But I can save them.

And it starts with this.

The blade flies through the air before the soldier in the doorway can stop me, before Sergio can pull his face back. As my parting words ring out— “look more red to me …”—the knife slashes through the mesh partition and plunges straight into Sergio’s right eye.

I feel the judder of the blade striking bone. Quick as a flash, I yank it out, feeling the hot gush of blood splash into my wrist, and turn to make another sweeping strike across the throat of the soldier lunging towards me. My swing finds its target. He hits the ground, gurgling.

I don’t have time to stop and admire my handiwork or even to make sure that Sergio is dead. I have to keep moving.

I leap over the guard’s thrashing body and run out of the confessional to check the hallway. The other two men who brought me here must have disappeared. They thought that one burly traitor could restrain a feeble little girl. Well, they thought fucking wrong.

I spy a walkie-talkie on the belt of the dying soldier. Grabbing it, I depress the button and cast my voice as low as I can to yell, “Intrusion on the main floor! All soldiers respond to the great room!”

I pray to the heavens this works.

30

Milaya

I stand in the hallway and count to fifty under my breath. Both Sergio and the dying soldier in the confessional have stopped thrashing around, so all I can hear is my own labored breathing and the thunder of boots running up the spiral staircase. When the footsteps have receded, I can wait no longer. I have to go.

Bursting into the main dungeon area, I see Mateo, Dante, and Leo. Each of them is strung up on what looks like a giant wooden X. It’s an eerie sight—part crucifixion, part horror movie. I don’t have time to reflect on it though. I use the blood-slicked switchblade in my hand to saw Mateo free of his restrains.

He falls to his hands and knees, breathing hard. “We can’t wait,” I tell him. “I’m sorry, but we have to run.” I turn to cut Leo loose. Behind me, I hear a clanking sound as Mateo finds a machete hanging on the wall and goes to do the same for Dante.

I try not to focus on their injuries. They’re all dripping blood and breathing heavily, clearly in agonizing physical pain. God only knows what kind of pain they are going through on the inside. But there will be time to lick our wounds later. Right now, if we want to survive, we need to get the hell out of this castle.

“Where is Vito?” Leo asks when he’s free. He’s rubbing his wrists, which are chafed completely raw from tugging against his bonds while Sergio’s men tortured him.

“In the cell, I think.”

He goes to get Vito while I turn to help Mateo finish freeing Dante. When that is done, we all go to the cell. I grabbed the key from the dead soldier’s neck, so I open it up.

Vito and my dad are inside. The floor is sticky with blood. Like so many other things, I force myself not to focus on that. If I let the horror of the moment overwhelm me, I’m going to die down here. We have to run like the freaking wind. I don’t want to know what will happen when the troops realize the diversion I caused is a false alarm, or when Sergio’s body is discovered. All hell is about to break loose.

Everyone is just standing around though. Am I the only one who realizes the urgency of the situation? “What are you doing?” I screech. “Help him up!” I push Dante forward towards Vito’s prostrate body. He stumbles to catch himself, but stops again and looks up at me dumbly. He says nothing.

They need me, I’m realizing. They’re all paralyzed by shock. I’m the only one left.

I wanted to be a queen? Fine then. I will be.

“Leo, Dante, get Vito. Mateo, you come here and help me with my dad.” They all stare at me blankly for one long moment before I add, “Now!”

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