Page 69 of Immaculate Corruption (Romanoff Bratva)

I clench my jaw “Eh, I don’t know. To me, real revenge would be taking out every single person who came for me and reclaiming what’s always been mine. It has a much more poetic ring to it.”

Zotov opens his mouth, but I silence him before he can even speak.

BANG.

It’s a clean shot. A bullet straight between the eyes. Just like I’ve imagined for the last few months.

But the part that comes next isn’t what I imagined at all.

I don’t feel complete. I don’t feel satisfied.. Because for all he’s done… for all he’s taken… Zotov isn’t the reason my life has turned upside down. He isn’t the reason I’m without my son.

I understand now—that honor belongs to my brother.

That means he’ll be the next one to die.

23

Arya

We can’t go back to the safehouse because Ilyasov knows where it is. We can’t go find Ernestine and June because we don’t know where they’ve been taken. It feels like we can’t do anything or go anywhere without Ilyasov somehow finding out about it. I’ve never felt so trapped. Not even when I was a slave at Taras Kreshnik’s house.

Dima finds a motel nearby and we rent a room just to have a private place to talk. And plan.

As soon as we get inside, Dima kicks over the table and breaks one of the cheap wooden legs. “Goddamn it!”

Usually, I’d stand up and lay a hand on his shoulder, try to comfort him. But this reaction seems appropriate. He fucked up. We all did.

“He is your brother, Dima. Of course you thought you could trust him.” Gennady sits down in the armchair and buries his face in his hands.

“I was stupid.”

“You’re loyal,” Gennady says. “You expect it from other people, too. It’s a good thing… most of the time.”

I stay quiet. I haven’t been able to find the words to express much of anything. Not how I’m feeling about Lukas being gone. Again. Or how I feel about Ilyasov double-crossing Dima.

If I’ve had any major takeaway from the last couple months, it’s that you can’t trust anyone but yourself. Ever.

And just like that, I’ve found the words.

“No one can be trusted,” I say. “Outside of this room, they are all the enemy. Every single one.”

On cue, there’s a knock on the door. We all look at one another, waiting to see who will move first.

Gennady gets up to answer. He stands up and moves towards the door, hand on his gun. “Who is it?”

“Hello?” The voice on the other side of the wood is small and weak. I recognize it instantly.

I rush forward and shove Gennady aside, throwing the door open.

June is standing in front of me. Her hair is in loose braids that are falling out, but she otherwise seems unhurt. Except for the tears in her eyes.

“Oh my God! June. What are you doing here?” I grab the girl by the shoulder and pull her inside, shutting the door behind her.

“They dropped me off,” she mumbles.

Dima moves to the window and scans the parking lot. “I don’t see anyone outside.”

“They took my grandma,” she says. “And Lukas. They knocked and said they were from the front desk, but when we answered, they pushed inside and grabbed us. I don’t know where they’re at.”

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