AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Silence fills the van before Carl speaks again. “AntonUlianov?” Suspicion flickers across his face. “Russian. Fuck. Why am I getting the feeling I’m not going to like this?” He makes a low groaning sound. “Let me guess… Bratva?”
I nod, avoiding his eyes.
There’s another moment of quiet as they all stare at me. Carl is the first to break the silence.
“Fuck, Scarlett!” He shoots me a look. “And who were the guys who were after him?”
“Um…I’m not sure. I…um…” I say, although a little voice is bouncing in my head as I remember that photograph with Anton and Sergei Volkov. But that couldn’t be right, surely? What would be the odds of Volkov being the one who attacked us?
Pretty good, Scarlett.
I want to groan.
Thankfully someone else breaks the tension because I’m not sure how to respond to him.
“Oof! That’s sus AF, bruh.”Cody is shaking his head. Fresh out of college and barely old enough to drink, he’s a whiz with our tech, but I have no idea what he’s saying half the time.
I stare at him. “I’m gonna need someone to translate Gen-Z to English.” I glance at Jess, who is looking at me as if I’ve grown another head. My joke falls flat.
“Bratva? Shit, Scarlett,” Jess breathes. “How did you get mixed up with them?”
“It’s…complicated.” I wrap my arms around myself, suddenly cold again. “But I need to get the diamond. It’s the only way I can truly disappear.”
“Don’t tell me. The diamond’s at Ulianov’s place, isn’t it?” Carl’s gaze burns into me. “How the hell are we supposed to get it from him?”
Panic and frustration war inside me. I was so focused on escaping that I didn’t think this part through. “I don’t know,” I admit. “But I’ll figure something out. I can’t run forever. And we need this.”
There’s a collective murmur of agreement from the others. The Rose Star had been a promise of freedom for all of us. Then silence descends as the mood grows somber.
No one speaks as we speed through the night. The only sound is the roar of the engine and the chaotic storm of thoughts in my head. How can I possibly get the diamond from Anton’s estate without facing him again? And what if Anton is gone and I find Volkov and his men there?
You can’t think like that Scarlett.
Anton can’t die.
He must be alive.
Either way, I don’t have a choice. I have to go back there and get the diamond. Unless I’m planning to spend my life as a petty criminal.
Jewel thief, Scarlett.
There’s a world of difference.
Yeah. I’ll keep telling myself that. Until one day I’m scaling a wall with a bagful of gems and the cops are waiting at the bottom for me. I know how this life ends for most of my kind. Behind bars or with a bullet. The only reason Pops didn’t meet either of those ends was because he got struck down by the big “C.” Cancer doesn’t care who it takes.
Asshole disease.
But I can’t think about that now. Thoughts of Pops always leave me teary-eyed and miserable. Fear and determination, the conflicting emotions that have driven me for weeks, surge to the forefront again. I don’t know how, but I will find a way to protect myself and my child. I will create a real future for us.
But first, I have to figure out how I’m going to get my hands on that stone.
Chapter 5
Anton
The phone rings, shattering the tense silence in my study. We’ve known the demand would come. That we’d need to be waiting for the call. I snatch it up, pulse racing. There’s only one person this could be right now.
Volkov’s mocking laughter crackles down the line. “Did you miss me,bratan?”
