“Bullshit.” The word spits out before I can stop myself but Feliks doesn’t flinch.
“I understand it is difficult to believe and, please, I am sorry for the man you have lost today, but all I have told you is the truth. And time will prove that.” Feliks lifts a hand, threading his fingers through his thick hair as a deep sigh rumbles through him. The longer I study him, the more I can spot the fraying edges. His suit is too tight, he’s not used to being formal. His mannerism and movement suggest he’s very out of his depths when it comes to negotiations.
Yet here he stands.
None of it dampens the anger in my blood but my next breath is easier. If nothing else, I can play this to get us out of here alive.
“And how do we fit into your plans to overthrow the Pakhan?” It takes effort to keep my voice calm but I manage.
“I’d like to meet with Dante. I have something to offer him to show how serious I am. It can be a place of his choice, a time of his choice, whatever it takes but that is what I want.” Feliks waves one hand and suddenly his men step back, releasing mine from their grips. I glance behind, checking each one in turn before I face Feliks once more.
“And if not?”
“As I said, time will prove I am telling the truth and my request will remain open for as long as I have breath to offer it,” Feliks states. “We are leaving, and I hope you will take my request to Dante.”
He begins to move and my fingers curl, the itch to lash out sweeping down my hands but before I can take action, a grunt of pain from Archer pulls my focus and Feliks passes me without incident.
“You know, nothing you offer will earn you any forgiveness for the shit you’ve pulled,” I growl, turning and watching Feliks reach the door.
“Perhaps,” he sighs, “but I will continue to work for it.”
He departs with his men as my own scramble to their feet and hover, unsure whether to follow or not.
I care not. Archer takes my attention immediately and I dart down next to him, gently prying his hand away from his wound to check the damage.
“Boss,” he starts breathlessly and I tut as the large gash across his left pectoral comes into view. It doesn’t look dangerously deep but it’s wide enough, bleeding profusely.
“What?” I snap, placing my hand over the wound. I glance at one of my other men, eyes narrowing. “Don’t just stand there, get down there and make sure a firefight doesn’t break out in the parking lot!” I yell, “and someone get me Dante on the phone!”
“I’m sorry,” Archer gasps, his eyes screwing up as I press hard on his wound. “You shoulda just left us here.”
“Bah,” I scoff lightly, “and leave you here to die? Who’d bust my balls if I left you here to rot in that corridor.”
“And you say you haven’t changed,” Archer grits out. I roll my eyes, the anger in my heart calming as my focus becomes solely on getting Archer out of the building.
“What? I only stayed because I knew my knees wouldn’t handle the dive out a second-floor window,” I mutter and Archer barks out a laugh as I slide an arm around his waist and haul him to his feet. Despite his stability, I keep my arm around his waist and hand on his wound, escorting him out of the room.
“Sure Boss,” he chuckles dryly. “So… do you believe him?”
“Not for a second,” I say as we approach the stairs, “but Dante will want to know about this before we go any further. He might be talking bullshit out his ass but he did let us live. Might be nothing, might be everything.”
As I escort Archer outside and into the car, I can’t tear my thoughts away from something he said.
Paying for the sins of the father. It’s what we’re all guilty of, even Cara.
Maybe there is truth to his words, but one question remains.
If not Feliks, who is responsible for the bomb that killed Callahan, that tried to kill me and Cara?
Can I really step away from revenge for the sake of peace?
11
CARA
Killian doesn’t come home that night so I take myself to bed, burrowing into the sheets on his side of the bed to feel close to him. It brings me more comfort than I ever expected but just as with every other aspect of my life, sleeping doesn’t feel right without Killian by my side.
Sleep comes broken and restless so I’m easily woken sometime later by the sound of the shower running. I yawn, stretching out all of my limbs and rolling over onto my stomach to glance at the clock.