Page 201 of Gilded Cage (Kovalyov Bratva 1)

My mind pings with an idea, but I’m not sure Artem’s going to be too happy about it.

I decide to suggest it anyway.

“What about Mexico?”

“Mexico?” he repeats, his brow knotting together.

A small part of me is craving a familiar landscape, some place surrounded by mountains and trees.

Not to mention, it’s the perfect hideaway.

“I know a place,” I tell him. “A secluded little hunting lunge in the mountains. Up near a peak called Picacho del Diablo.”

“Devil’s Peak,” Artem translates.

“Uh-huh,” I nod. “It’s virtually abandoned up there. It’s the perfect place for us to lay low for a while.”

Artem thinks it over for a moment, before turning to me with a curious expression on his face. “How do you know about it?” he asks.

I had hoped he wouldn’t ask me that question, but I’m not about to shy away from it now that he has.

“Cesar used to go there sometimes. When he needed to get away from it all.”

My brother’s name—and all the baggage that comes with it—fills the space between us and the silence grows weary and itchy with heat.

Then Artem nods. “Okay.”

“Okay?” I repeat. “As in, yes?”

“I don’t have any better ideas. A mountain lodge in a different country checks all the boxes for now.”

“Right. Great. We’ll be there by tonight then, I think. It’s like a three-hour drive at most.”

He shakes his head.

“No?” I say. “Why not?”

“We can’t risk taking the straight route. We’ll have to take the long way.”

“Which is?”

“Backroads only. Stop often. Double back when we can. Zig zag all the way down to the border.”

I swallow. “That sounds awful.”

He laughs. “We’ll be stuck together for a while. Got a problem with that?”

“Several,” I retort, but I’m smiling.

“File them with Human Resources then,” he says. He points towards the trash can in the corner of the room. “The suggestions box is right there.”

I promptly chuck a pillow at his head.

“We can make it to Joshua Tree by tonight,” Artem says. “Then make our way to Devil’s Peak from there. We’ll be surrounded by mountains tomorrow.”

I nod and push myself off the bed as Artem picks up the only bag we have.

“Ready?” he asks.

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