And now?
I shook my head, lost in my thoughts while Maksim continued to speak on his phone.
Now, I’m gone.
The truth hit me with the effect of a punch to the gut.
He removed me.
He ejected me from the family. From the Cartel.
I should have seen this arrangement to marry into the Volkov Bratva for what it was. Not a sign of good faith, but the means with which he would dispose of my being in his life.
That was how entrenched he was in this power trip. To call all the shots and deny my advice and help as his sister.
It can’t end well, though. It won’t.
I wasn’t a pessimist by nature, but I simply had to admit that was true.
Arturo was too impulsive and easily persuaded by others who preyed on his goodwill and consideration. Without me around as the voice of reason anymore, I had a hunch the Cartel had to be weaker than ever.
The heartache of that outcome pained me, and the disappointment of such a result crushed my soul.
I’m not there anymore, though.
I’d reached the house I was supposed to call home and sighed. Setting the car in park, I waited for Maksim to end his call.
He frowned, still listening to another informant who’d been involved with that handoff. Lifting his head slightly and seeing that I’d parked already, he gestured for me to head inside. “I’ll be in after this call,” he said as he covered the mouthpiece.
I nodded and exited the car. He wasn’t sending me away, but deep down in my heart, I had to war with the reality that Ihadbeen sent away.
Arturo wasn’t going to contact me for any intel.
My brother had taken a chance to get rid of me.
Almost as if the universe were mocking me, my phone rang.
I sighed and pulled it from my pocket.
Unknown:I need to let you know that he’s rerouting business to a third party.
I stopped in my tracks.
Unknown:A contractor who controls him with blackmail and blood.
I spun to stare at where Maksim was sitting in the car. My heart pounded with the hope that this could be a lead, a clue, a direction.
Unknown:And he’s going to ruin all that your father worked to build. E-
E-?
Enrique?
It had to be him. He’d always signed off like that, as though it were his signature in digital shorthand.
Maksim had noticed me staring at him. At the quizzical expression he wore, he had tuned in to the possibility that something was up.
I licked my lips, eager to see if I could bridge my past to my present and prevent my brother from destroying the Cartel my family had ruled for generations.
