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He clenches his jaw. “I can’t. My family… They’ll all die. Every one of them. I can’t—”
I hold up a hand to silence him. “I understand family loyalty. You’re protecting them. There’s honor in that.”
Yasha shifts into view, an eyebrow raised. A question in his expression.Should I take Cora away first?
Probably. I don’t usually offer outsiders a front row seat to my criminal dealings. But I don’t want her any farther away from me than she is right now. Not until I know who is after her and why she might be after me.
I give a quick shake of my head and turn my attention back to the wannabe assassin in front of me.
“All I’ve ever done is for my family,” he says. “I needed the money. I don’t want to kill people, but I have to eat. You know?”
I nod. “I know. I understand. We all have to make tough choices.”
He sighs, relief rolling off of him. “I’m so glad you—”
“We also have to face the consequences of those choices.”
There’s a beat of hesitation. A blissful second where he doesn’t yet understand.
And then he does.
He stiffens, but it’s too late. The gun is in my hand and pressed to his temple before he can plead for his pathetic life.
The shot rings out.
Cora screams.
And the man who dared to hurt her goes slithering to the ground.
16
IVAN
“Calm down.”
Cora’s panic is natural. But it’s an inconvenience. There’s no time for it.
I turn back to look at Yasha. “I need you to—”
“I’ll clean this up.” He inclines his head in Cora’s direction. “Take care of her.”
We’ve been working together so long that we have a natural rhythm. Yasha sets about dragging the man’s body onto the floor. I turn back to Cora. She’s pressed in the corner of the greasy kitchen, her face a sickly shade of white. It’s a mirror of how we met last night, but the stakes are ten times higher.
“Come with me.”
I grab her arm, but she flinches away from me. She cowers against the steel appliances. Her knees start to give way, her body sinking toward the floor.
I hold her just above the elbows and pin her against the wall with my hips. She tries to fight, but she isn’t even looking at me. She has no idea what she’s fighting against.
“Cora.” She is blinking past me, watching Yasha do his work. I shift into her line of sight and grab her chin to bring her gaze to me. “Cora.”
The name suits her so much better than Francia. The way it rolls off of my tongue is familiar. Lyrical. Almost sweet to the taste.
Her lashes flutter. Finally, she’s looking at me. Her green eyes clear and focus. “You killed him.”
“He tried to kill us first. I think it was justified.”
“You…” She shivers. “You shot him in the head.”
