Page 121 of Immaculate Deception (Romanoff Bratva)

“I’m not,” I insist. “But so what if I am? What does it matter if you know my real name?”

“Here’s the thing, lady. People like to believe that bad guys get locked away in prison and it puts us all outta commission, but that just ain’t how it works. There’s a network of bosses and underbosses, informers and enforcers. And every single one of ‘em talks. We know just as much on the inside as anyone on the outside. And you know what I heard while I was in lock-up?” Tommy wags his brows at me. “I heard that a big, important Russian guy named Zotov is looking for a little lady who looks an awful lot like you. Skinny chick, dark hair, couple scars on her jaw just like those right there.”

My heart seizes in my chest. Almost as if it stops beating for one, two, three seconds.

When it finally starts again, I feel like I’m going to black out. But I manage to keep standing and to maintain eye contact with Tommy.

“And you think that’s me?” I ask with a forced laugh. “That’s some serious detective work you did there, pal.”

“As a matter of fact, I do. Because you match the description,” he says, counting off on his fingers. “Because you’re clearly homeless and on the run. And because some little bitch just escaped from Taras Kreshnik’s house. Is that you?”

Lie, lie, LIE!Dima’s voice is still bellowing in my head.

I shake my head. “Who?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, you fucking bitch.” Tommy is grinning now. He looks like a skeleton with all of his teeth showing. The image is eerie. “There’s a reward out for you. I heard you fucked a don. I also heard you gave birth to a don’s baby. You’re an important woman.”

Tommy reaches out his hand to stroke me like I’m a prized pet. I slap it out of the air instinctively. “Don’t touch me, asshole.”

He grins wider. It looks like he’s just found buried treasure. In a way, I suppose he has.

Tommy leans around me and winks at Ernestine. “Well, you were right, Ernie. All it took is the right price for me to leave you alone. You give me your houseguest and I’ll leave you and June in peace.”

Ernestine walks over to me and stands at my shoulder. She looks at me, her expression unreadable.

I’m not sure what she’s going to say. She and June have been kind to me, but I’m a stranger to them. There’s no reason for them to risk their safety for me.

I guard my heart against whatever she decides. If she tells Tommy to take me, I won’t take it personally. What could she have done to stop it, anyway?

Then, without a word, Ernestine moves to stand in front of me. She crosses her arms and shakes her head.

“You can’t have a single member of my family, Tommy. Not today. Not ever.”

Tears burn at the backs of my eyes.Family. The one thing I’ve never truly had.

Just then, the bathroom door bursts open. “No!” June screams. “You can’t take her!” Her voice is proud and defiant as she charges out of the bathroom.

Tommy angles himself towards her, not taking his eyes off of me. “Hey, June Bug. I came to visit.”

June hesitates at the end of the hallway. “You can’t take Arya,” she says again. “And Grandma said you have to leave.”

My heart throbs painfully in my chest. She’s so proud and defiant. Just like her mother.

And once again, I’m standing beside someone just like Rose. Staring down an evil man.

It’s the worst kind of déjà vu imaginable.

“I will be leaving soon,” he says coldly. “And I’ll be taking your new friend with me.” In a flash, Tommy pulls the gun from his pocket and aims it at Ernestine. “And everyone here is going to cooperate. Or else you’ll eat a fucking bullet. Understand me?”

With the gun trained on us, Tommy pulls out his phone and dials a number. Without any greeting or formalities, he says to whoever he’s called, “The bitch Zotov is looking for? I found her. Let him know and you’ll get a cut of the reward money.”

I hear an excited whoop on the other end of the phone.

And my heart plummets.

43

Dima

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