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“Don’t be salty. I love you all, and you each bring something to the table. I tap into what I need when I need it.”
“Sounds dirty.”
“You’re sick. Soooo…” She takes a breath. “How’s everything with Skyla?”
“Oh fuck, you, too? When Sev wants to talk, he has everyone’s ears, yeah?”
“He mentioned something about the safe house. There are sensors and cameras all over the place, so it’s not like you’d ever go undetected. Which you might want to tell Skyla, since there’s enough data of you two on the system to rival Pornhub.”
“Is that why you called? To warn me we’re being filmed?” I climb on a chair near a window and feel around the top of the blinds. My fingers don’t hit anything but dust bunnies. No cameras there.
“She might not like knowing you made her the star of a virtual show for the second time.”
“Yeah, well, the first time wasn’t supposed to happen.” I jump off the chair and take a look around the room. If I know Alek, the cameras are probably so small and obscure, the human eye would never be able to find them.
“But it did.”
“So that’s why you called? To rub my nose in my mistakes?”
“Nah, I don’t have that kind of time. I called because what we’re chasing will put a big-ass target on your back. Yours, Skyla’s, mine, the rest of the family’s. This is going to be huge, but hella dangerous.”
“You know I love danger.”
“That’s because you’re a sadist and thrive on pain, sicko.”
“Is that what I bring to the table?”
“One of the things. But, Z, we’re so close to getting a location on our guy. Once we find him, this nightmare will finally be over. We’ll make him pay for everything and then some. We’re not going to let anyone have died in vain.”
Her voice cracks. She may have become a badass operative over the past few years, but she’s done it alone, away from us all. To be honest, I’m not even sure why. She disappeared before Dad and Dima were killed, before Luka and Mom were hit. It’s like she knew something before anything even happened.
Something she’s never confirmed anytime I ask.
And it’d be just like Sev to reel her in and use her for his own purposes, another reason why I think he’s a total prick. She’s a kid, for Christ’s sake. She shouldn’t be hunting people like Branko Ivanova.
I should be.
I swallow hard.
And I was doing my part, until I fucked up the plan.
Then all hell broke loose.
“I’ll be in touch as soon as I know something for sure. But watch your back. The further we dig, the more we find that tells us he’s close.”
“Until he finds some other schmuck to fuck with us because he’s never had the balls to do it himself.”
“Something tells me the next time will be the last. If he shows up, his weapon will be deadly. Just remember that.”
“Val, tell me what you need.” The hairs on the back of my neck spring up at her ominous tone. “If he’s close, does that mean you’re in danger? Does Alek have your back? Because if I find out he doesn’t, I will kick his fucking vodka-soaked ass all the way back to the goddamn Kremlin and—”
“I can’t say anything more. Be careful. I love you.”
Click.
A deep roar erupts from my lungs, and just as I’m about to hurl my phone at a window, it buzzes again. Skyla moans and rolls onto her good arm before sitting up in bed, a look of confusion on her face.
“Val?” I shout, holding the phone up to my ear.
