Page 80

"Quite." Leo's smile widens. "Yes, well, my sincerest apologies, Jack, for the incident with that girl and the shooting." He glances down at my leg and nods.

My grip on Valentina's hand tightens. "Did the deal work out?"

"Hmm?" Leo glances up and his brow twitches.

"With the Triad?"

Leo's confusion doesn't fade.

"Isn't that why you kidnapped that girl in the first place? She was spying for another Triad?"

"Oh! Yes, of course!" Leo laughs in that flat, engine way once more and claps my shoulder. "Once a deal is finalized, it vanishes from my mind. Yes, everything is… perfect now. Thank you." With that, he carries on walking and a couple of guards melt out of the crowd to follow him.

I grit my teeth, glaring after him. "Cunt," I mutter.

"Hey, dickhead." Valentina draws me back to her. "Can I have my knuckles uncrushed now?"

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry." My grip relaxes and Valentina frees her hand with a wince, shaking her fingers.

"It's fine. Least you didn't kill him," she remarks. "Come on. While that peacock was prancing about, I saw Boris. There he is."

I follow the direction of her nod. Boris climbs the stairs with a beautiful young woman on his arm, presumably his daughter. They reach the top of the staircase and approach the stage as a hush falls over the crowd.

Everything about him is cocky and relaxed. He stands there and thanks everyone for coming, brags about his financial exploits and the promise for more to come to those loyal to him, then he announces his daughter's marriage to another Russian family. The announcement brings cheers and polite applause from the crowd. Even Valentina joins in with lazy claps until Raven's voice finally cuts through the noise.

"I've got eyes on Sabina and Illyana but the signal is weak. Someone is running a jammer," she says.

"Likely because we're here," Valentina murmurs, her smile not slipping. "They're trying to anticipate us."

"Teams are in position," says Bradley. "Good to go when you are."

Valentina and I exchange a look and we both immediately slip from the crowd. With two people to secure, we're splitting up, but I only make it as far as the door to the outer stairwell when a hand lands on my elbow, drawing me back.

Irritation swells in my chest like a wave and I turn with an excuse on my lips, only to find Mario staring at me while he grips my elbow.

"Cassian… do not do this."

Tension like static blooms in my gut. "You know why I am here."

"I do. And I am begging you, please. We have been working toward this deal for a decade. There are trillions of dollars on the line here. You know how much can change with that kind of money."

Trillions of dollars sounds good in the moment, but how much of that would actually trickle down to the families that do the work? How much of that would seep back into the economy and how much would end up trapped in gold bars in another country?

"No. This is beyond your deal. This is kidnapping and selling kids, raping countless women because of one man's twisted desire to have an heir. Do you see what precedent something like this sets? That any amount of cruelty is justifiable for the right amount of money." I jerk my arm out of his grip. "We don't work like that. This city doesn't do business like that."

"Get off your high horse," Mario hisses. "A woman and her brat aren't worth toppling an empire, Cassian. Think about this like a businessman!"

"I am. You are not the only family or deal moving this amount of money, but I can already think of at least five that make that kind of money without any blood on their hands."

"Everyone here has blood on their hands," Mario spits at me. "Don't be so naive."

"Not like this! I am…" I catch my breath and step away, pushing the stairwell door open as I do. "I'm sorry I came to you. I'm sorry I ever considered someone like you family. But Sabina is worth toppling everything, including a trillion-dollar drug deal balanced on the life of a child."

Mario's face darkens like a storm cloud and he shakes his head. "Your parents would be so disappointed in you."

"Maybe. But they would be disgusted with you."

33