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Robin stared down at the dirt and winced.
“Have you heard from Maksim yet?” I asked.
“Not yet.” Hedeon walked over to a bag and took out a strange-looking tool with a ten-inch wooden handle and a sharp blade like a sickle at the end. He used it to dig up weeds and slice them off at the root. “I sent word that I was the one who killed Vlas. I have to imagine he won’t be happy.”
“And we’re ready for that?”
He looked up at me. “I hope so.”
“That doesn’t inspire confidence.”
“We have the girl. She can be insurance as much as ransom.”
Robin’s face paled. I frowned at her then made a gesture at Hedeon. “We’ll see about that. Just tell Pavel to get his shit together. And the other guys need to go around armed from here on out. As soon as Maksim realizes it’s you, the whole crew’s going to be in his sights.”
“Pretty much. But we all knew it before we started this.”
I nodded and looked back over my shoulder. The old woman yanked up a large weed then leaned back on her knees and rubbed her lower back.
“All right. I’ve got to get this girl some stuff. Can’t leave her in the same clothes forever.”
“There’s blood on her jeans,” Hedeon said. “Better burn them.”
“Good thinking.” I nodded at Robin. “Come on. Let’s go.”
She hesitated, but followed. I took her back through the garden. The old woman didn’t even look up as we left.
Robin said nothing when we got into the car. I started the engine and pulled out. She chewed her lip and stared straight ahead before turning to me.
“What the hell do you think you guys are doing?”
I smiled and glanced at her. “I was wondering when you’d ask that.”
“You killed my uncle’s son. I mean… he’s going to kill you guys. The Volkov family…” She trailed off.
“Now you’re finally thinking.”
“Don’t be an asshole.”
“You’re right, killing Maksim’s son was a provocation. But it was a very purposeful provocation.”
“Why would you want to provoke the most powerful Russian mafia in the city? I mean, what the hell are you thinking?”
I looked at her then, at the sunlight slanting in through the glass through her auburn hair, at her pink full lips and her white teeth, and felt something strange drift over me, a desire for her, a need for her. I remembered that awkward, painful kiss from the night before.
“The city’s changing, birdie,” I said. “The sun’s setting on your uncle. The Italians aren’t what they were five years ago. Things are happening, and you’re at the center of it all. So you’d better get used to it.”
She took a breath, shook her head, and looked out the window.
I smiled as the car glided through traffic.
She had no clue what was about to happen. But soon she’d figure it all out.
When the city began to burn around her.4RobinI sat in the car and tried to digest that conversation.
For my whole life, the Volkov family was invincible. At least that was how it felt. There was a war with the Italians that didn’t go well, but the family never went away, and my uncle remained in charge. He quietly grew more powerful during the years that followed, and it never occurred to me that he could be vulnerable.
Or that I could be a target.
“You’re quiet,” Leo said as he pulled into traffic.
“Nothing to say.”
“Come on. That was a big conversation. You’ve got no opinions at all?”
“I think you’re insane. And I think your boss is a moron.”
He laughed. “Hedeon is a lot of things. But he’s not a moron.”
“I don’t understand any of this.”
He squinted ahead and slowed at a stop sign. He rolled through then swung the car north. “There’s not a lot to understand,” he said. “Hedeon believes your uncle’s weak right now. He believes the Volkov family is vulnerable.”
“But why?”
“Because they are.”
I shook my head. “You don’t get it. My uncle… he has hundreds of guys all over the city.”
Leo made a face. “Not so many anymore.”
“I don’t understand.”
He let out a breath and continued to drive. We lapsed into silence for a while as we wove through the city. He cut west and got onto I-95 heading north, driving fast and aggressive, weaving in through traffic.
“You’ve been in that family your whole life,” he said. “I’m not surprised you can’t see it. I bet you think the sun shines out Maksim’s asshole.”
“I’m not a huge fan of my uncle,” I said.
“Even so, all you’ve ever known was a strong Maksim Volkov. But let me ask you something. If Maksim were so strong right now, how the hell did we manage to find and kill his son?”
I opened my mouth then closed it again. He had a point about that. Even though Vlas was a disgraced failure in Maksim’s eyes, that was still his son. Maksim would do anything to keep his son alive.
