“Are you a Russian?”
“Kira, you don’t have to answer him.”
“Kira? Figures.” He throws his hands in the air. “Yeah. Okay. So, your name’s Kira.” Hearing him say my real name, even though it is with pure hatred, makes my heart do a flip.
“Yes.” I nod.
“Yes, your name is Kira?”
“Yes. And yes, I’m Russian…was with the Russians—was, with the Russians.” He looks me up and down like he doesn’t know me, like he’s disgusted with whom he does see.
“Was everything else a lie?” His voice is calm now, but I know this is when he is beyond anger. This is the voice of the betrayed.
“No.” I shake my head.
“No, what?”
“Romeo, no—”
“No, you didn’t have sex with me to go through my phone and ruin all of my deals for the past month? No, you didn’t force me to let my guard down and tell me to trust you when all along you were the one hiding?” As the list grows, my chest begins to swell, and the river building behind my eyes is about to flood. Koa can tell the nature of our relationship now. The dynamic that we both ignore but feel regardless of our inability to feel anything else. He lowers his gun and takes a step back, giving us some space.
“I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t. And I did start to seduce you because of the mission I was on. But, it’s not like that anymore. I feel something for you. And damnit, you fucking feel something for me too.” I take a step forward, and he doesn’t move this time. He only turns his head away from me, and I know he has shut down.
The moment I confessed to lying, he put up that three-layered metal wall with an army of cannons, and I can tell I’m about to be blown up. But I'm not concerned about the danger because I need him to know that something is happening between us. Fuck everything else. Something real is tying us to one another.
I’ve felt it even before we kissed for a camera or bumped shoulders in a line of starving models. I felt it sitting next to him, pretending not to care while my heart beat faster than it’s ever beat, even on a high-stakes mission. Now I can admit it because, for the first time in my entire life, I might be free from the Bratva and still get what I want.
“Romeo, Kira.” Koa intervenes, and we turn our heads to him as he steps up to us. “What if we work together? The San Giovannis get what they’ve always wanted, and the Russians… Well, they can go to hell.”
Romeo looks between us. I’m sure my eyes are just as pleading at Koa’s because I don’t know how I’ll pull this off without him. After a second, the corners of his mouth turn up into a small grimace as he shakes his head.
“I don’t want anything to do with you.” He looks at me as he says, and it’s like he’s slit my throat with his words. He walks swiftly away from us, making his way back to the door as the rain begins to pick up again.
“What do you say, Kira?” Koa turns his head to me, and I wait for a moment, trying not to cry because I truly think Romeo means it this time— that he’s done. “Kira?”
I'm risking everything by being here, but my dreams are a gamble either way. Either I betray my brother and Romeo to get what I want, or I help my brother with the possibility of never getting what I want. The consequences of never seeing the people who make me feel at home somehow outweigh the dreams. I would have done anything to make it happen just weeks ago. I don’t know if that makes me weak or if this risk is good, worthy of all the eggs in the basket.
“Okay.” I resolve before I’ve properly thought it over. Then again, no amount of thinking could change the options I have. I lift my eyes to his shocked expression and continue. “What’s the plan?”
“Well, first, we somehow need to get the Mikhailovs here.”
“All of them?”
“As many as we can get, but definitely Nikolai and Kias.” I think for a moment, opening my phone to see the last message from Kias. He wants to know why I haven’t sent him any updates yet.
“I could tell him that he needs to attend the show.”
“Perfect. And I’ll gather my alliances.” I nod as we both pull out our cell phones and message away. My message to Kias is brief and, I think, rather convincing. There is cause for concern if my message doesn’t come across like I want it to, though. No one tells the Mikhailovs what to do, and it might come across that way. So, my intention is for him to think this is his idea.
After a moment, he messages me back. My heart pounds loudly in my ears and throat as I clock my phone and go to our chat. With one breath, it loads, and I slowly read.
Kira, this is not what we discussed. You are the message deliverer, not the planner of attacks. My family and I will attend the show, but only because this could be a weak point to prod— catching Romeo alone— that you clearly have been unsuccessful at. See you in a few days.
I blink at the screen for a bit, and my fear turns to anger. This is the first time I allow myself to poke holes in his clearly archaic and domineering perspective. I was put in charge of this mission for a reason, and he has somehow boiled that down to just being a fucking mailwoman for the Bratva.
I reach over and show the message to Koa, and he snarls. “Cunt. He’s going down, Kira. My boys are on it.” He slides his phone into his pocket, and I follow this action. The anger within me is new. A type of anger I haven’t ever experienced or allowed myself to feel…
Vengeful, I am vengeful, and it will not be quenched until I take back what belongs to my family.