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Val puts a hand on my arm to stop me from burying him with more of my rage. “Explain, Alek. Because I don’t like where this is going.”
He looks at us, his blue eyes steely. I can see death threats flicker in his gaze when he points it at me, but screw him. I only care about the truth.
“Over the past years, all of the families have run up against different cartels. Dominguez, Rojas, Juarez, Sinalia—all of them have links back to Branko. Guys who’ve broken away and formed their own alliances. We’ve beaten all of them and they want revenge. Against all of us. And he’s handing us over on a silver platter. That’s why I tapped in Mercer Vale. Branko is about to go underground again, and we needed to stop him before it happens.” He pauses. “So yeah. This is bigger than the Malikov family and the Brotherhood 7. This is about all of Red Ladro.”
He sweeps a hand through his hair and looks at me. “I killed Sofia Rojas years ago. Her daughter, Maria, became Branko’s partner years later. I was always a target. Red Ladro funded their activities without knowing, just like your dad. I trusted the wrong people, people who wanted revenge for what I’d done.”
“And now what?” Val mutters. “When the hell does everything come crashing down on us?”
Alek leans back against the bar. He stares at his empty glass like he can’t look any of us in the eye for what comes next. “There’s one last code out there that can lead us to the information that can take us all down. I figured the lockbox in the Bahamas would have it. I was wrong. Nathan Van Dyne confirmed there’s another stash, but he didn’t know where it was. He said he was never far enough into the inner circle to get to it.”
“Inner circle.” I roll my eyes. “Didn’t you say you guys have gotten everyone in the inner circle? Sounds like a steaming pile of crap to me.”
“Branko has been waiting to expose us. He’s been waiting for all of his guys to fall around him.”
Val steps toward Alek—and away from me. It’s like she’s choosing his story, his lame-ass excuses. “As of tonight, Stepanov would have been the last member of the Brotherhood 7 to fall. But why would Branko wait?”
“Think about it. Without his army, he has no evidence of his involvement in any of the sex trafficking. He covers his tracks completely because nobody still living can implicate him. Nobody left to stick their hands in the pot of money he’s stolen. He wins.”
“Jesus,” Luka mutters behind me.
“I don’t believe that’s it.” Val lifts an eyebrow at Alek. “What are you leaving out? Something tells me this is about more than just money and empires.”
He pulls his lips into a tight line. “He targeted Gianna and Ava.”
“Great, soyourfamily is a priority, but nobody else fucking counts? You put Val in the line of fire how many times?” I rush at him and grab him by the shirt. “And what about Patty and Kyla, huh? Did you even care that they were targeted?”
“They were targeted because you were an arrogant son of a bitch who had something to prove to people who could crush your whole goddamn world,” he thunders.
“Isn’t it true that your real goal is protecting you andyours?”
Alek shoves me backward. He takes a swing at me, but I manage to duck around his thick fist. Thank fuck I’m used to people trying to clock me, and I’ve got a lot of practice avoiding the impact.
“I knew not to bring you out here. I knew you’d fuck everything up.” He tries again and misses.
A sharp laugh escapes my lips. “Come on, old man. Can’t battle with someone half a lifetime younger?”
“Quinn,” Val hisses. “Stop.”
I stare at her, shock swallowing any words.
Luka pushes me back, away from them all.
“Stop? Why should I stop?” I turn back to Alek. “Did you arrange for those bitches to pick me up in the middle of the desert once you disabled the car? How far would you go to steamroll me, dickhead?”
“I did what I had to do to stop you. Val needed to get into SLK tonight, without any distractions,” he growls. “And I don’t know what bitches you’re talking about. I stopped the car. That’s it.”
“And I’m supposed to believe that because you’ve been so honest about everything else?” My temples throb, blood rushing between them. “And who’s your leak? Because plenty of people knew we were at SLK tonight, and those fuckers all tried to kill us. Shocker, no Branko, either.”
“You’re just as insane as everyone says,” Val’s other brother grunts at me.
I swing my head around. “Who the fuck are you? Do we know each other?” I ball up my fingers. “Because my fist really wants an intro.”
“Taras,” Val says to him. “Enough. This isn’t getting us anywhere.” She shakes her head at me. “You need to calm the hell down.”
“You going into that club tonight put my sister in jeopardy,” Luka says to me. “You were told to stay here. Sounds like the same story I’ve heard about you over and over.” He takes a step toward me. “Never knows when to stand down. Never listens to instructions. Does his own fucking thing. And the last thing landed you out here with a target on your back. Maybe you need a new MO.”
“Luka,” Val hisses.
