Page 45 of Den of Thieves

She didn’t fault her sister for her reaction. For AK, this was another day in the Bratva. That didn’t make what happened to them okay. The reality just made things less unbearable.

“Okay, Tinkerbell, I need to pump the gas.”

Karina grabbed her hand in a crushing, desperate grip. “I can’t do this AK. I can’t. What if they come back? What if—”

Aksana reared back and slapped Karina across the face. Karina blinked a couple of times, holding her face in shock.

“We don’t have time for meltdowns. Bottle that shit up! You have to be strong now. Everyone we love is counting on us, so get your shit together!”

Karina let out a few shaky breaths, but nodded, still rubbing her cheek.

AK jumped out and pumped the gas. The sun was setting. There was no way there would arrive back at the safe house before dark. The women better had locked the fucking gates…

Hours later, Aksana was still driving back to the compound. The weather was on the cooler side of chilly, but Karina had the windows down, letting her hair blow in the breeze.

She would be lying if she said she wasn’t worried about Karina. And she wasn’t in the habit of lying. Her sister’s been quiet for the past hour and a half. Silently staring out the window, although the sun went down a while ago.

“I killed a guy once.” Karina said suddenly. Her voice was so soft, Aksana barely heard it. Her eyes left the road and drifted across the cab. She was definitely close to another breakdown.

“We’ve killed more than one man together, dear sister.” Aksana said slowly.

A whisper of a smile crossed Karina’s features. “Before the Bratva stole my life,” she clarified.

“Oh?” Aksana managed. She didn’t know Tinkerbell had it in her.

“My junior year of high school, I joined the cheer team against my mother’s wishes. She believed short skirts and crop tops were for fast girls who used their bodies instead of their minds to get ahead in life. Said it gave the wrong impressions to boys who believed they were men.”

“That’s harsh, no?”

“Of course, she was speaking of her own horrid experience and pushing those theories into my life. Projecting, it’s called. I took an advanced psychology course in tenth grade, so I understood what she was doing, but I still had to live my life.”

“You were a kid. It is understandable.” AK nodded, not entirely following.

“There was an away game, overnight. The teams stayed at a hotel. After the chaperones went to sleep, we snuck out. There was a party in the basement. I didn’t want to go, but Lani, my roommate, begged.

“We weren’t close, but she was friendly enough. We shared a room, and she didn’t want to go alone,” Karina snorted. “Even though we got separated as soon as we made it downstairs. I found her sometime later in a storage closet. She was screaming and crying for help, but the guy wouldn’t stop. I kicked at him to get off, but he tossed me aside and said I was next.”

Aksana’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. She knew where this story was headed.

“I fell, crashing into cleaning supplies. A red toolbox dug into my back. I didn’t think, I don’t even remember grabbing the hammer. I struck him just once. There was a wet crunch when the metal ball connected with his skull, and he fell to the side.”

Aksana struggled to keep her face neutral. She thought she knew everything there was to know about her sister-in-law. On one hand, she was thankful Karina felt comfortable enough to share that part of her life with her. On the other hand, she doubted she would ever feel that safe discussing her extensive trauma with anyone.

She understood at a young age that some girls had to fight for their innocence more than others. And for all their fighting, sometimes the bad guys still won.

“What happened next?”

“I-I don’t know. Lani’s dad was a detective or something. She found a rag and cleaned off our prints from the room. She even cleaned his privates. We vowed never to speak of that night. I quit the team shortly after and Lani moved away.”

“Why did you quit?”

“Kinda hard to be peppy, with a murder charge looming.” Karina shrugged.

“But you never got caught.” Aksana surmised.

Karina shook her head and folded her hands in her lap. “Do you want to know the most fucked up thing about it? I didn’t hesitate to save Lani. If I’m being honest, she was kind of a bitch. We weren’t besties or related. But I saw her hurting and unable to fight back, so I acted.”

“Because you are brave.” Aksana patted Karina’s knee.

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