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The Antonov brothers force The Trinity onto their knees, lining up opposite them like a damn firing squad. I have no love for these people, but I can’t stand idly by and watch them be executed.
“Stop,” I plead, standing in the way. “We talked about this, Mikhail.”
“Things change,” the eldest Antonov grumbles.
“You agreed to both of my conditions. You promised to keep Tabitha in a secure location, and you agreed you would let me deal with The Trinity when the time came.”
“Luka,” Pyotr grumbles. “Move her.”
“Dani,” Luka says gently. “Step aside. The only way this ends is if they’re dead.”
I shake my head, rooting myself in place. I glare at Mikhail. “I thought you were a man of honor. A man of yourword.”
Mikhail’s jaw ticks. “I am those things, Dani, but you could never understand the pain and suffering these monsters have caused. You don’t know the full story—how they’ve threatened us at every turn. Our wives, our children… The only way to stop them is to put a bullet between their eyes.”
“I won’t allow it!” I snap. “If you do this, you’ll be committing a crime in front of a federal agent.”
“You’re on sabbatical,” Dimitri points out.
“That doesn’t mean I’m not still an officer of the law.”
Pyotr’s expression darkens. “Are you going to be a problem for us, Harper?”
Luka lowers his gun, turning to his brother sharply. “Hey. Don’t you fucking dare. This is between us and The Trinity.”
“Then you’d better talk to her quick and get her to stop meddling in our affairs.”
With a heavy sigh, Luka walks over to me. He takes my hand and pulls me aside. “Dani,” he murmurs. “You need to step down.”
“You’re better than this, Luka. I can’t let you go through with this.”
“This is Bratva business.”
“It’swrong.”
I can see the conflict twisting on his face. His shoulders slump in defeat. “Dani…”
“No. No, this isn’t you, Luka. If you go through with this…”
My heart fractures, little by little, a cold anguish spreading through my body. I’m equal parts furious and heartbroken. Mikhail gave me his word. He promised me when we finally saved Luka, he would let me and the FBI deal with Konstantin, Levitsky, and Salkov. They’ve committed unspeakable crimes on American soil. It’s well within my jurisdiction to have them arrested, detained, and charged.
But the Antonov brothers have made it perfectly clear—they’re out for blood, and they’ll accept nothing less.
It occurs to me just how different we are. Luka and I are from two very different worlds, two different sides of the law. While he finds ways to work around it, I do my best to hold it up. I thought I’d be able to handle it, but it’s not like he can just walk away from the Antonov Bratva, because they’re also his family.
We both want the same thing, to see The Trinity finally face justice.
But our definitions of the word are like night and day.
“Luka,” I warn sternly. “Luka, I need you and your brothers to walk away. Right now. Before you make a huge mistake.”
“Dani,” he warns, just as sternly. “You’re the one who needs to walk away. Turn your back on this. We’ll have it done soon.”
“No. I’d be complicit.”
He grits his teeth, his brows steepled together. “Dani,please.”
We’re at an impasse. I’m an immovable object, and he’s an unstoppable force. It’s clear neither of us is going to give in. It tears me up inside. I understand their need for vengeance, but I still have a job to do. If the Antonovs go through with killing these three, I’ll have no choice but to turn them all in. It’s not about doing a good or bad thing, it’s about doing therightthing.
