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“Like I said, it’s your call.” Dima takes a long drag of his cigarette.
I glance back towards the boy. I’m starting to think that maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to bring in some new blood.
Especially if I’m planning on weeding out the old.
“Bellasio is getting bolder,” I muse. “It’s likely that he’s gained in strength and numbers in the last few years. But he wants me to think that he has nothing to fall back on than green boys with no clue about whom they’re facing. Double the watch on our properties and warehouses. We need to be ready for more attacks. No one can afford to be distracted.”
“Least of all you,” Dima says pointedly.
I narrow my eyes at him. “I know what I’m doing, Dima.”
“Adam is a gem, ” he says. “And so is the girl. I don’t blame you for being distracted. But maybe for now, not claiming them might be safer for them. If Benedict finds out—”
“I know,” I snap, annoyed by his logic. I turn back into the warehouse and walk over to the boy. His head is bowed in defeat, but he forces his eyes up to mine when my shadow falls over him.
“A-are you going to kill me?” he mumbles weakly.
“Should I?”
He shakes his head. “What do I have to do to live?”
I squat down in front of him. “As of this moment, your life is mine. I have not saved you from death. What I’m doing is giving you a way to pay me back for all the damage here. And maybe make a lot more than a measly fucking two grand.” I hold his gaze. “Do you understand?”
He gulps and nods slowly. “I understand.”
“First, you will give me the names of your mother and sister,” I tell him. “You will give me their address and any other information I ask for. You will not be allowed to see or speak to them. You will disappear from their lives for the next year, and you will not be allowed any explanations or goodbyes. Andifyou see them again, it will be because you passed your initial training.”
His eyes go wide. “Are…are you saying…I’m joining your Bratva?”
I smirk. “Don’t fuck it up.”
His eyes brighten with determination. There’s hunger there. Hunger for life, of course, but it’s more than that. There’s hunger for glory and adventure and violence. The thirst to prove himself. I’ve seen that look on the face of every young boy who’s been disappointed, hurt, and betrayed by their fathers.
Including my own.
And I realize something as I watch him…I don’t ever want to see that look in Adam.
36
ILARION
“How bad was the damage?” Mila asks the moment I walk into the den.
“For fuck’s sake—how long have you been here?”
“Walked in a few minutes ago,” she explains. “Tidied up your desk, too. You’re welcome. Answer the question.”
I shoot her a glare. “Sometimes, I need peace and quiet, Mila.”
“Then you shouldn’t have brought Taylor and her kid back here,” she retorts as she plops herself down on the sofa. “Dima told me you decided to spare the boy at the warehouse, by the way. Very merciful of you. Very uncharacteristic, too. I do wonder what could be fueling the change of heart. I’ve got some guesses.”
My temples pulse. “He filled you in already?”
I don’t want to sit down and give her the impression that I’d like for her to stay, but my legs are fucking aching and there’s a sharp pain shooting up and down my spine.
“Sure did. Can I make you a drink?” Mila asks.
“Fine. But don’t feel the need to join me.”
