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I hear the relief in her voice. “Flour & Sauce. In forty minutes.”
Chapter 30
Andrei
As soon as I hang up, I call Natasha to meet me. I doubt Talia will show up alone. My heart pounds as I consider that this could be a trick. I promised Paige I would stay alive, and now, I’m off to meet the woman that wants me dead.
Quietly, I reenter the room, and the lights are still off, but I know Paige is awake, listening to me creep around in the dark. I grab the rest of my clothes off the floor and leave without speaking. After a quick shower in the guard’s room, I’m on the road in fifteen minutes.
“Should I come inside with you?” Viktor asks as we pull into the parking lot.
I shake my head. “If anything happens, call Dmitri and protect Paige and Emma. You want to continue proving your worth to me? Then protect them always.”
I jump out of the car as Natasha parks beside us in her black Porsche, and we walk into the restaurant together. “You may hear things, Natasha,” I whisper. “They are not to be repeated. Not even to Dmitri.”
She nods. “And do I shoot to kill?”
I straighten my tie. “Whatever it takes to keep us alive.”
Talia is already seated at a table in a private room and dressed more subdued than I’ve seen her before. Less skin and more class, as her rising status dictates. Natasha coldly glances at Valeri Kozlov as I hold out her chair, and then I take my seat. Smirking, Valeri nods at Natasha, and she nods once. No doubt they’ve taken aim at one another before.
“You won’t mind if we skip the small talk,” says Talia.
“I prefer it,” I reply curtly. “Who shot the cop, Talia? Was it you or Gleb Novikov?”
“How do you know it wasn’t your sister?” A smirk tugs at her lips.
I shake my head. “Sonya wouldn’t.” But as soon as the words leave my lips, I realize just how little I truly know my own sister.
“An eye for an eye.” The sly smile widens across Talia’s lips. “One family for another. You know as well as I do that Sonya was never raised in the rules of the Bratva like you and I.”
The private room is filled with an uncomfortable silence, and the waiter’s footsteps echo as he enters. He looks nervously at us and realizes no one has even picked up a menu. He hesitantly asks if we’re ready to place our orders. No one wants to eat, so I order a bottle of vodka.
“No one will want to associate with someone wanted by the law,” I break the silence. “Not for this. And if you goaded Sonya into doing this—”
“I didn’t.” She stops me before I can finish my accusation. “That’s why I want to talk about a truce.”
The waiter enters, the bottle is placed on the table, and the waiter calmly pours out the shots but quickly leaves when he’s done. There is nothing to toast, but I won’t drink alone, so I push a glass toward Talia, gesturing for her to take a sip. She leaves it on the table.
I eye her suspiciously. Something is bothering her, something she has yet to say. “I want to speak to Talia alone,” I speak firmly.
Natasha stares in amazement. “Shall I check her first?”
“No.” I look at Valeri, on his feet and ready to defend Talia.
I look at him. “Can I trust you alone with Natasha?”
Valeri’s frown turns into a smile, his white teeth flashing like a wolf’s as he clasps his hand around Natasha’s arm and guides her toward the door. “Come, Natasha. We can compare pieces at the bar.”
Natasha scoffs as they leave the room. “Trust me, mine is bigger than yours.”
Talia toys with her glass, her manicured nails spinning it in circles on the tablecloth as I take another shot. It’s then she stops and looks at me.
Her gaze searches my face for understanding. “I would’ve changed for you.”
I sigh and leave the glass alone. “We were never going to be together.”
Something inside her instantly hardens, and her heart breaks all at once. We both know that what I said is the truth, no matter how much she wanted it. But she stays seated at the table.
