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If they stand behind you, protect them. If they stand beside you, respect them. If they stand against you, destroy them
Ink
It felt odd riding in the front line with the officers down Colfax street. Ink tried not to think about Hannibal, Dragon and Highdive, racing through the back streets to come in at the church from another direction. It was a solid plan considering they had made it up on the fly.
Those three men would go and rescue Jade off of the church roof. While Ink and the rest of the Brothers played distraction and delivered a message. He didn’t envy Hawk. Having the weight of this kind of decision squarely on his shoulders must be exhausting.
It was still unbelievable that they were here for him. Overwhelming pride of being part of this Brotherhood was one of the many emotions churning through him. No matter how many times he had ridden at their backs, during missions both dangerous and boring, for some reason, he had never considered they would back him like that.
They hadn’t yet even asked Jade to be their Old Lady and every one of his Brothers were willing to risk their lives in order to back him and Hannibal up. Hearing their little Jewel’s voice over the phone had crushed all the ice that had been building up inside him.
Her declarations of love had been exactly what he needed. That she called expecting that she wouldn’t survive the night but needed to talk to them before she died had unleashed an inferno in his soul which had burned through all of his worries and doubts. He loved this woman and he would sacrifice anything in order to keep her safe.
Six men strode out into the street to block them, and it was clear they were in the right place. Each man held a gun pointed straight at the lines of Dark Sons. It was a stupid move. Even if they fired and managed to take some of them out, the numbers meant their situation would be hopeless.
Ink’s hands twitched with the urge to go for his own gun, but he followed Hawk’s lead. Their President parked and turned off his bike. Every one of the twenty-seven brothers with them followed suit. It was like an old-fashioned standoff.
The group of Russians stood in a row, and Ink recognized most of them from their different dealings over the years. Petrov wasn’t among the crowd, nor was his second in command.
Ink was at Hawk’s back as he stood at the front of their formation, his arms crossed, and glared at the men. He didn’t even seem to notice all the weapons. The man had a spine of steel. Most of the drawn guns were pointed at him, but you wouldn’t have known it by his look.
Several minutes ticked by in a strange silence as the two groups just glared at one another. Ink could see the arms of the men holding guns shake with fatigue. A door slammed somewhere nearby and Petrov strolled up the street from the direction of his headquarters. His men parted to let him through.
“How dare you come into my territory?” the Russian snarled.
Hawk tossed the bag that he had been palming in his hand to the ground between them. It held the listening devices Jade had been given. “You broke the treaty. Why am I not surprised that you did it like a coward? Couldn’t man up enough to try something on your own, so you terrified a woman to do your dirty work on the miniscule hope that she might be able to get you some information. I knew you were desperate, but I didn’t think you were pathetic.”
“You are pathetic one.” The Russian spat at the ground. “That’s what I think of the treaty. And that’s what I think of you. Why she thinks you’re a better man than me, I’ll never understand.”
Ink could have sworn he saw surprise on Hawk’s face. “Is that what this is about? Akula?”
“Alena was supposed to be mine.”
Ink didn’t understand what was going on, but it seemed like this was much more than a territorial dispute over business in Denver. Was the man implying that the years of hostility between them were over a woman?
He had met Akula, the woman in question. The assassin, whose real name was Alena, was a dynamic sort of crazy and somehow involved with their President. Was she really worth going to war for? Ink chastised himself. He had been willing to go to war over Jade. What right did he have to question anyone else’s motives?
His President being hooked up with the Russian assassin wasn’t as out of the realm of possibility as he’d thought when they first met. Honestly, most people believed the stoic man was celibate since he never showed even the slightest interest in any of the many women available to him. He’d discounted the rumors going around that the two of them had a relationship. He would have to reconsider that.
“Alena is her own woman. If she wanted you, then she would have had you.” Hawk’s glacial mask was firmly back in place.
“She was engaged to me before you took advantage of her.”
Hawk shrugged as if he didn’t care. “There are so many times I’ve fucked her or she’s fucked me. Which one are you claiming was me taking advantage of her?”
His words lit a fuse within the usually cool Russian and he exploded into Russian curses. Petrov had become more and more hostile over the last few years since he had taken charge of the Bratva in Denver. It was easy to see something unhinged the man when it came to this woman. “Nineteen years ago in Afghanistan. Does that ring a bell?”
“Sure, I remember. What’s your point?” Ink didn’t know if Hawk was purposefully baiting the man or if he really didn’t care.
“My point is she and I made a deal. She would marry me and be able to get out of the assassin business. She would be my ticket into the inner circle of her family. Your bastard spawn ruined all of that.”
For the first time in his life, Ink saw Hawk stumble back, as if he had taken a blow. Horror and an icy rage seemed to wash over him. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
Petrov’s laugh was wild. “I wondered if you knew. I guess she doesn’t really love you either. Yes, your daughter gave her father the perfect leverage to keep her killing for them. They’ve held your child hostage and forced her to be Akula, their killing blade. Since there was no way for her to get out of the business, she no longer had an interest in me. She was more than my fiancée, she was my friend and you destroyed both of our lives.”
Hawk looked terrifying as he glared at Petrov. “I have a daughter?”
“Yes. But you know what? After I heard she came back to your bed last month. I don’t care anymore why we go to war. So long as I get to take you out.”
