I toss the phone to the floor and head for the exit of this rickety hellhole John calls a home. It smells like stale smoke, rotten food, and cat piss. The carpet is riddled with the filth it’s absorbed over the years. This trailer is a fucking hazard.
“Get him out of here,” I say quietly, passing Artem. “And burn this place down.”
The association can thank me later.
He steps in front of me. “You want to tell me what’s going on with you and the girl?”
I meet his stare with indifference, even though I’m tempted to punish him for standing between me and the fresh air I desperately need. Artem works for me, but he’s been like a brother to me in ways my own hasn’t been.
However, this is where lines get blurred, and business gets messy. When I tell him to do something, I will not be forced to explain.
“No.”
“Benedikt…”
“Get John.” My words are laced with a warning. “And burn this fucking place down. I’ll be in the car.”
I’m only two more steps in when Artem speaks again. “We killin’ this fucker?”
Not yet.
I’m curious to see what Sienna will do and how far she’s willing to go to save her piece of shit father.
Artem scowls and mutters something in Russian before turning on his heels and walking toward John’s unconscious body on the floor. This place is too narrow for his body. His shoulder bumps into a coat rack, and it crashes to the floor with a thud.
I don’t flinch. Sienna’s voice plays on a loop in my head instead as I step outside into the cool night air.
I’ll do anything.
I don’t know if she meant it, but it sounded real enough to stir something in me that I’ve been trying to kill off since I met her.
She’s a liability. Letting her go was the logical choice.
Clean.
Smart.
And yet…
I’m in a trailer that should’ve been condemned years ago, waiting for Artem to drag her deadbeat father out by the collar. The man owes me money he’ll never be able to pay. He burned every bridge, sold out everyone he knew to repay his debt, and still crawled back into the same gutter.
But this is no longer about John.
It’s about Sienna not taking her second chance. What were the odds that she’d be on that phone when I walked in here?
If Sienna sacrifices herself this time, she doesn’t get to walk away again. There won’t be another plane ticket, another soft exit, or any other generous out. She will not claw her way out of this again.
Artem reappears with some of my men, dragging John behind him. The bastard is barely conscious, with sweat slicking his forehead and blood on his lip. He reeks of rot, and my stomach coils in disgust.
“He’s still high,” Artem grunts, “and he pissed himself.”
“Put him in one of the warehouses. Then burn the fucking car. I doubt we’ll be able to get that scent out.”
Artem jerks his head for the men to follow the order, but he continues to stare at me. “You’re gonna bring her back, aren’t you?”
“I’m not bringing her to anything.”
“She doesn’t belong in this. You already gave her an out. We cleaned it up. Paid for her flight. She walked. She’s not our issue.”
