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Promises in the Dark

Page 36

by Ashley Elizabeth

All eyes turn to Vin, waiting for the confirmation.

He eyes me and slowly nods once.

“Fuck yes.” Leo grins. “About damn time!”

I fold my arms over my chest. “As much as I want to storm out of here and make that man suffer…” My jaw clenches as I envision getting my hands around that coward’s neck. “My priorities are Charlotte and Clara. I want to ensure Charlotte settles in and gets whatever help she may need, and then I’ll take care of Garrett.”

Mauro leans forward, gripping my shoulder before releasing and signing, We’ll be by your side.

I dip my chin and then look at Leo. “Can you send me the information for Scarlett’s therapist? I think it would be good for Charlotte to have someone she can talk to. If she’s up for that.”

Leo reaches into his pocket, pulling out his phone. “I’ll text it to you now.”

“Okay, well.” Vin claps his hands together. “Now that we have that out of the way… Let’s discuss Operation Destroy the Vasilievs.”

Eli grins proudly. “I came up with that name.”

“Yes.” Vin rolls his eyes. “As you’ve continued to remind us.”

Leo rubs a hand over his smirk.

Vin straightens. “As made evident by Charlotte’s situation, the Vasilievs are still stuck in their ways and haven’t learned their lesson.” His gaze darkens. “They’re still trafficking women. And I’ve had enough of this fucking nonsense.”

Leo crosses one ankle over the opposite knee. “At least we killed one of them.”

“Yes.” Vin steeples his fingers. “Which means we have four more to go.”

“And…” Eli gestures with his coffee mug. “Still no word on their sister—”

“I’ve heard nothing of Liliya!” Vin slams his palm on his desk, the crystal decanter beside him rattling. “Not one fucking thing! She could be in the middle of the Sahara Desert for all I know.” He lets out a deep breath. “She’s of no importance to us.”

Last fall, after we needed some help from our cousins, Vin found himself in a marriage contract with Liliya Vasiliev—a woman who almost no one has ever seen or spoken to. And to top it all off, she’s missing. But as the leader of this family, Vin did whatever he had to do to keep our family safe. Even if that meant agreeing to marry the sister of our enemy.

However, with tensions between our families at an all-time high, Vin pulled out of the contract because he no longer wanted anything to do with the Vasilievs.

One corner of Leo’s mouth curls into an amused smile only a younger brother could show. “Who would’ve thought one woman could get under your skin this much?”

Vin’s eyes narrow on him. “Watch it.”

Leo’s grin widens.

Eli clears his throat. “Does Mikhail know the wedding is off?”

Vin cocks his head, his expression unreadable. “Seeing that we killed his brother, I would assume he knows. I don’t think a formal announcement is needed. But if it’ll please you, I’ll let him know soon enough.”

Mauro beams like a damn fool, seeing that he was the one who had the pleasure of taking Kazimir’s last breath from him.

“Now,” Vin begins. “Back to the matter at hand.” He leans over his desk, his forearms resting on the polished wood. “We’ve intercepted several of their shipments. Our dear cousins burned their distillery to the ground in Russia. We eliminated one of their own.” A slow, satisfied smile pulls at the corner of his lips. “And now it’s time for the next move in our game.”

“Which is?” I ask.

“My informant passed along something interesting. The Vasilievs are nearly finished constructing a new warehouse not far from their golden tower.”

“A new warehouse?” A knot twists in my stomach.

Vin adjusts his shirt collar, a muscle jumping in his jaw. “I’ve been told it’s more of a…”

“A prison,” I voice, already knowing exactly what they’ll plan on using it for. It will be a place where nightmares become reality.