“Bummer.”
“They will take you to HR later and get your Ayana account set up. Also, if you want to change the bungalow to a bigger one in the main part of the resort—”
“I’m fine here,” I cut him off. “I won’t be staying that long.”
“Right. You have an assignment.”
I look at Marlow from under my eyebrows.
He narrows his eyes at me. “Yes, Archer filled me in. No one else knows. For now, you are a new secretary.”
“Yeah… I’ll be a secretary alright.”
He chuckles through his nose. “I knew you were up to something. But working for the Russian mafia, really? You are a Bratva spy now?”
There is admiration in his eyes, making me stand tall. I just need to prove that I can do a better job than his Human Resources staff.
“What’s with the street slang? Tsariuk is not a thug.” I correct him. “Technically, he is an oligarch.”
“I know. Still impressive.”
Just then my phone beeps, the smile on my face growing at the sound and the notification on the screen.
Archer Crone: Miss Ortiz, be ready in ten.
Miss Ortiz, huh?
Apparently, I should always be ready for the Big Boss regardless where I am.
“Anything exciting?” Marlow shows a sneaky smile when I raise my eyes at him.
“The Big Boss himself is taking me to work.”
“Uh-huh. Where would that be?”
I try to make my glare at Marlow as sharp as possible. “Don’t.”
He grins, then turns away. “I warned you before.”
Ne igrai s ogniom.
That’s what Marlow told me at the cage fight days ago—don’t play with fire.
Marlow is no fool. He’s noticed my interactions with Archer. But he’s wrong about one thing.
Archer’ is cold as ice. He isn’t fire.
Iam.
8
KAT
Zion can roughly be dividedinto four parts.
The Eastside is where the Outcasts reside, the two dozen who were cast out to live on a self-sustainable resort aka The Village. To be fair, I loved my several weeks there. It reminded me of Pennsylvania, when my father took me to the Appalachian trail for a week, with just the clothes on our backs.
“You gonna learn how to survive, kid,” he said.