Page 94 of Corruption

Adrian and Addy casually enter the room with their guns still smoking, speaking absently about what they’re cooking for dinner later while they inspect the bodies of the men we just killed. And the Italian families think we Russian families are some sick motherfuckers.

“Alik!” comes the twin cries of Nadia and—

“Kiya,” I say, looking at her as she walks over to me.

“I’m fine,” she says. “Are you?”

I ignore her question. “And the baby?”

She frowns. “How did you—” Her eyes turn to Vaughn, and those bright, expressive eyes turn to steel upon seeing him. “Of course you told him.”

“Always ruining our plans,” Nadia says, coming to stand beside me with her own hot gun. “But no more.”

“You brought Addy and Adrian into this?” I ask.

“No,” Nadia replies.

“I did,” Kiya says.

“Kiya.”

“You needed all the help you could get, and we couldn’t trust anyone connected to theBratvato,” Kiya explains.

That may be true. Doesn’t mean I have to like it. I’ll deal with the consequences later. Right now…

I turn back to where my brother is with his hands in surrender as he looks at me.

“Shoot him, my love. Like I should have fourteen years ago when he was going to kill his newborn son to hide his indiscretions.”

“Get out of here, Kiya,” I say while turning to look at my brother.

“No. I want to watch.”

I’m both irked that she would so casually and blatantly disobey be and impressed that she so unhesitatingly wants to stay. Then again, this is the girl who thought Nadia stabbing a man and me shooting him in the hand for her was a kind gesture and not the monstrous, sociopathic one most people would have considered it.

So I don’t bother telling her again. She said she wants to stay. She doesn’t get to take it back, even though I doubt she does.

I shoot my brother point-blank in the head without giving him a chance for last words. My brother has done enough damage with that tongue of his. The sooner silenced, the better.

Blood splatters on Nadia, Kiya, and I. I glance at Kiya, who is looking down dispassionately at my brother’s bleeding body, and wonder how she might react to blood and knife play in the sex dungeon.

Before I can ask, Adrian says, “I think the two of you, Nadia and Alik, owe Addy and I some very hasty explanations unless you’d like to join your brother and his men.”

35

Kiya

Idon’t know how Nadia and Alik sit at the table in their brother’s former house so calmly with Adrian looking severely at them from across the table with his gun sitting in front of him. Adrian doesn’t even have his hand on the gun. Just has it sitting on the table. While Nadia and Alik have their guns still in their hands as they explain. I don’t know whether that speaks to my pseudo-father’s confidence in his skill or his arrogance. Either way, it’s unnerving to watch as he listens without asking a single question. Addy sits next to him just as silently.

Even without words, it’s clear Addy and Adrian have this good cop/bad cop act going on. An act because even though Addy looks like she’s more amiable—smiling sympathetically when Adrian frowns or narrows his eyes—the deception in the good cop/bad cop act is that both have the same aim. Setting up the person on the opposite side of the table. One’s poison is just sweet while the other is bitter. But still dangerous nonetheless.

“Well…. You’ve certainly given us a lot to think about,” Adrian says tonelessly when Nadia and Alik are done explaining everything.

“Think about,” Alik repeats just as blandly.

“You’re going to get out of this with your lives,” Adrian says bluntly. “Barely. Luckily, your only offense against us is blaming my wife for something she didn’t do. If this ruse had gone any further than that, I’d be wiping out the entire Vorobev bloodline.”

“Adrian,” I say in alarm before I can help myself.

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