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“Either you or Sasha — get the book with previous threats. The email print outs are there alongside the handwritten letters,” Mr. Volkov says with a wave of his hand.

I stare at Lief. Is he quitting? Retiring? Going on some top secret mission where I can’t follow? No, Mr. Volkov said ‘replacement,’ that means permanent. Lief’s had trainees, I’ve seen them. They were never called ‘replacement.’

“Valerie?” Lief asks.

Now isn’t the time to openthatcan of worms. I nod to him and take a breath. When he walks away, Mr. Volkov shakes his head. “Keeping secrets already. That doesn’t bode well for marriage.”

“They’ve learned from you,” I hiss.

He blinks at me, then smirks. “You’re not afraid of me, are you?”

“No.”

“You’re a strong woman, Valerie. I can appreciate that. I can appreciate it and respect you enough to tell you that you are marrying into problems just like this. Chase and Hunter will always be a part of the family business. There will always be a price on their heads–from police or other families–and there will always be blood on their hands. Your love, your drive, even if you wash their hands a thousand times, it will not change who and what they are,” Mr. Volkov informs me.

I narrow my eyes. “They are the men I love, men who deserve more than they’ve gotten. I won’t change them. I’ll help them become the best version of themselves.” I look down at the page and look at my ink stained hand.

My men aren’t the only ones who have killed, even if I haven’t raised a gun to do it.

NINE

Chase

Hours after collectingthe fingerprints of everyone who’d touched the letter, I stare at the three finger prints I can’t account for. Two are dead – both our own men, one who I knew – and one is unknown. Not in any system.

Am I missing something?

The door opens, spreading light over the wall. I blink in response, then realize that the room is dark. Hunter sighs. “Five second warning.”

I close my eyes, knowing Hunter’s going to turn on the light. My eyelids go red and I open my eyes, one at a time. Hunter nods. “Update?”

“Two of the finger prints that weren’t ruled out by our current men are dead men,” I inform him.

“Oh?”

“Yuri was the first one.” I lower my voice, not sure who else is around.

“You’re sure?” Hunter asks.

“The boy who was studying under Sven,” I agree, referring to the first problem we had when we started with Valerie. Sven, the double agent who took her hostage. Sven, the man that Valerie outsmarted and had almost freed herself from before we’d arrived. Sven, who had been the first kick off to just about every other near-lethal problem we’d had. “The one who died after sneaking along to the-”

“The stakeout that Lief didn’t attend. He died, didn’t he? Due to bad intel?” Hunter remembers.

“He did. We didn’t know he’d left the car. Sven was supposed to watch him,” I say. “Only seventeen.”

Hunter exhales. “You said he was the first, meaning there’s another?”

“Anton,” I whisper.

Hunter’s jaw tightens. That one was more personal. The Italians took him out. He had been Lief’s firsttruetrainee. Twenty, vibrant, full of life. He’d been jumping up the ranks. Even our father had been impressed.

The higher members of the mafia had called Anton our brother – playfully sure – but I always wondered. He had our father’s dark eyes, blonde hair, but there was something about him that always reminded me of Hunter.

“What the fuck are Anton’s prints doing on that letter?” He growls out in Russian. I haven’t heard his voice that cold since Valerie came into our life.

“I don’t know. I can’t explain either of them, Hunter. I don’t know what game this person is playing, what message they’re trying to send. I don’t know why they couldn’t just say it and ...” I glance at the door and realize Valerie isn’t there. “Where is our fiancée?”

“I went to take care of some things, to check the camera footage. You came here, Lief ... got the envelopes ...” he blinks a few times. “I’ve been running all around dealing with other issues coming up I didn’t even remember she came with us.”

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