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I bounced my leg up and down, the movement not going unnoticed by Kaviathin. What was I supposed to say to him? The truth? I didn’t know how much he knew about the real situation, so I puffed on my cigarette.
“Quite the web of lies you find yourself in, Miss La Roux. Quite fascinating.” He tossed his cigarette on the floor and smashed it with the tip of his shoe. “My father always had a soft spot for Ryzen. I never understood why. The man is a gutter rat. But I’m in charge of this family now, and I am not my father.” He leaned forward and took the cigarette out of my hand, my fingers trembling, and dropped it on the floor. He squeezed my hand. “Everyone is disposable, Miss La Roux.”
Well, that didn’t help me feel any fucking better in that moment. Was he going to kill us both now? He couldn’t. It couldn’t end like this. Not after everything.
He snapped his head around and looked over my shoulder, and I turned as I heard a mousy voice mouthing off.
Thora.
Fuck.
One of Kaviathin’s men, an older-looking guy, was dragging her through the door by her arm. “Look what I found outside snooping.”
“Get off me, asshole. You’re hurting my arm.” She kicked his shin, and he yanked her even harder.
Kaviathin’s face darkened and he stood, barking something in a different language—Italian, I thought. The older man froze, letting go of Thora. She rubbed her arm and glared at him. “You’re lucky you have a gun, otherwise I would kick your ass, you fuck.”
Kaviathin walked over and towered over the older man. “What have I told you about this?” he growled and the man’s face turned ashen. “You do not place your hands on a woman like that. Ever.”
“But your father always said—” The man stopped talking when Kaviathin reached up and gripped his chin.
“I am not my father, Gustavo. It’ll serve you well to remember that.” He held his hand out to his side and one of his men walked over and handed him a gun. He pressed it against Gustavo’s forehead. “Apologize.”
The man’s eyes widened, and he sputtered. Everyone in the room held their breath as Gustavo’s eyes darted to Thora and back to Kaviathin.
“I’m sorry, sir,” he mumbled.
“Not to me, you imbecile,” Kaviathin growled.
“I’m sorry!” Gustavo was visibly sweating, and I didn’t want to keep looking at him, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away.
Kaviathin turned to Thora. “Do you accept?”
Now it was her turn to widen her eyes. She nodded her head fast, and Kaviathin lowered the gun and handed it back to the other guard. “Get out of my sight, Gustavo.”
Gustavo pressed his back against the wall and side-stepped until he reached the door and hurried through it.
Kaviathin snapped his fingers at the other man, who rushed over. He whispered something to him, and the man followed after Gustavo. I didn’t think I wanted to know what was going to happen to him, but whatever it was, he probably deserved it. Kaviathin pointed at a chair in the corner and nodded at Thora. “Sit, and don’t move. Understand?”
She glared at him, but nodded, doing as he said. He walked back over and sat down in front of me, gripping my hands in his again. I desperately wanted to yank them away, but after what I had just seen, I knew it wasn’t going to do me any favors.
Just keep calm. Don’t admit to anything, and maybe we’ll all walk out of here alive.
“I’ll get straight to the point, Miss La Roux. I’m growing tired of Ryzen’s schemes and incompetence. This deal he’s working on with Covington needs to take place. And you are the glue apparently holding everything together. So you need to do your part to ensure that we’re all successful.” He glanced at Cian, then back to me. “And I see now that you may require a different kind of motivation than I had originally planned.”
What the fuck was that supposed to mean? The knot in my stomach grew, and I exhaled slowly.
Kaviathin walked over to Cian and slapped him, and my hand went to my throat. Cian groaned, then opened his eyes, looking between me and Thora. His face twisted with anger, and he started thrashing again. I couldn’t help it when my eyes watered, not because I was terrified of dying, but because I didn’t know what Kaviathin was getting ready to do to him.
Kaviathin pulled out a gun, and I stood. “No!” I yelled.
“Sit down, Miss La Roux.” His voice was laced with irritation.
I sat down on the edge of the chair, not taking my eyes off Cian.It’s OK,I said with my eyes.We’re OK.His chest heaved as he watched me, and he nodded slightly.
Kaviathin placed the gun against Cian’s shoulder and looked me dead in my eyes. “You make sure Ryzen does his part. Or your lover here will die. Do you understand?” His voice was low, but clear, and I didn’t doubt for one second that he was lying.
“Yes, yes,” I whispered and nodded. “I understand.”
