“Koa, what we need is backup. Are you guys coming?” I ask, and he slowly nods.
“Yes, but…”
“Then we wait.” Romeo nods. “Hold them off as long as we can.” By not saying anything, Koa knows I agree. It’s obvious he dislikes this plan in the slightest, and I don’t blame him. But we’re in a corner now, and I can’t change that. We just have to hold our ground.
The three of us begin to shoot off rounds that make some of the guys scatter behind cars. Still, Kias is out in the open, too full of himself to admit that we’re strong adversaries. Within the next couple of moments, some of Koa’s alliances begin to sneak in, crouching up behind the car with us and offering their weapons.
“Not fair!” Kias calls.
“Are you fucking joking?” I call out to him, and I can see his head cock.
“Let’s stop this.” Kias waves his hands, and one of the new guys with us takes another shot at him. I raise my hand for them to stop shooting, and all is silent for a second.
“We should talk about this, right? Kira, come here.”
“Fuck no, she’s not going anywhere near y—” I grab Romeo's arm and shake my head.
“I’ll be fine,” I assure him, though internally, I know this might be it for me. I might be preying into their trap, but at least I can give everyone time to run at the unfortunate chance of my death. He still has a hold on my arm as I stand to my feet and slip to the center of the crossfire, where Kias awaits me unscathed. How the fuck is he unscathed, was no one aiming for him?
He smiles at me like we’re friends, like he didn’t just shoot me in the leg. I feel slightly dizzy, but I don’t let it show as I stop a foot in front of him, gun to my side, his back inside his jacket. He clicks his tongue as he reaches for my chin, and I take a wobbly step back.
“Don’t touch me,” I warn, and his brows twitch up as his smile drops.
“Funny.” He almost snarls. “Funny, how just a day ago you were on my side, and now you're willingly choosing to go against your only family.”
“Koa’s my family.” I spit back, and his jaw clenches.
“We were going to be married… What happened to us?”
“Oh, please. You were never gonna marry me. I know that now.”
“What would make you say something like that?” He pretends to be aghast, and I have to hold myself back from cocking the gun at him. He reaches his hand inside his coat, anticipating my fight, though I haven’t moved an inch.
“My family is the true Mafia blood.”
“True? What the hell does that mean.”
“It means your days as head family are numbered. Once the Bratva counsel finds to what you did to us… Well, I don’t think they take too kindly to making moves against them without their consent.” I mean every word, every threatening glare, but I’m not here to challenge him with pretty words. I’m here to stall, to help pass the time as the rest of Koa’s alliances arrive. We could win this fight and send a message to the Mikhailovs without losing anyone.
“How do you suppose that?”
“What? That you’re a liar or a coward?” He snorts a laugh.
“My dear, Kira Volkova, you highly underestimate our power for someone who has grown up in the Bratva.”
“I guess that makes two of us then because if you really knew me, you would know that I mean every word I say. That I won’t back down until your entire family bows to mine. I don’t care if you’re exterminated in the process. It would be a justice I’ve yet to see in all my years working like a slave for your family who barely gives me anything in return.”
“We give you a family.”
“A family that manipulates, lies to, and kills their own.”
“I’m sorry, darling, but this is the Bratva,” Kias hisses, “not some happy little family of four who goes to the movies on the weekend and hand knits ugly sweaters for each other on Christmas. Even if you're good for nothing, parents know that.”
I raise my gun before I can think about what I’m doing because the visceral reaction is so strong I can feel it in my bones.
“Don’t fucking speak about my parents. Was it you who killed them?” I’m pointing the gun at his head, but he doesn’t seem the least bit frightened. He only holds his hands out for his guys to stay where they are. It’s insulting, actually— that he thinks I won’t shoot him right here and now.
“Kira!” Romeo calls, and I turn my head for a second because he sounds desperate. The second I realize what’s actually happening, it’s too late. All this time, Kias had a plan of his own. He wasn’t holding his hands up to keep his guys at bay; he was giving them a signal to move in when I was distracted enough. There’s a knife pressed to Romeo’s throat, and Koa has a gun pressed to the guy's head. Neither scenario will play out well.