Everlycouldtellsomethingwas wrong the moment he walked into the house. His brothers were equally tense as they followed him through the door.
“Cristian, you can’t be serious.” Bastian shook his head in disgust. “You would risk too much.”
“I don’t care. I’m done waiting around. I’m going to find him and kill him.”
“You can’t be serious.” Everly stepped out from the shadows. “Darby is a psychopath. Not only that… he isn’t working alone.” Everly bit her nails as she stared at the three sets of eyes staring at her.
“What do you mean?” Matias held her gaze.
“I heard him talking to another man one night. He was the person who helped fund his entire operation.”
“What else can you tell us about this man?”
“Not much. I heard Darby talking to him several times, but I never saw him. I can’t remember what he called him. Whoever he is, he’s the real money behind Darby’s venture.”
“This is bad.” Bastian fisted his hair and groaned. “I thought we were done dealing with bullshit like this after Ivanov.”
Everly’s face paled. “What name did you just say?”
“A man named Dmitri Ivanov. He kidnapped Matias’ soon to be wife and tried to blackmail us into handing over our lithium.” Cristian tilted his head. “You recognize that name. Don’t you?”
“Yes. That’s the man. That’s who Darby worked for. I’m pretty sure he’s the one who had me grabbed at the resort. I remember hearing Darby say his boss was in hiding, though. Was it because of Katya?”
Matias took a deep breath. “Probably. Katya is Dmitri’s daughter. He sold her to a man named Jorge Peru to steal our lithium. Needless to say, it went south, and Jorge is dead.”
“But Dmitri isn’t?”
“We don’t know. After the Italians in America helped us get her back, they took over finding Dmitri. It’s a long story, but simply put, Dmitri has fucked with the wrong people. Westumbled across his human trafficking enterprise and promised the Anastasi’s we’d put an end to it. They are the ones searching for him, while we stop his disgusting venture.”
“That’s how you found me, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Cristian and Katya have been working hard the last year to rescue the women we found in Dmitri’s docket.”
“Am I just another woman in his manifesto?” Everly looked back at Cristian, her gut churning with unease. Her heart pounded as she waited for his answer.
“No. You aren’t.”
“Cristian made a promise to find and save every woman on that list, but you—” Matias sighed. “you were different to him.”
“I see.” Everly closed her eyes, memories of their tangled limbs filtered through her mind. “I assume Darby is mad that I am no longer his prize to take.”
“Very much so. But it wouldn’t have mattered. He is set on destroying us regardless of your status, Everly.”
“I feel like I’ve made a mess of your lives.”
“Our lives?” Cristian stepped behind her and lifted her chin. “He has made a mess of everyone’s lives. This is not your fault.” He pressed his lips to hers, not caring that both his brothers watched. “I will do everything to ensure your happiness.”
“It could be your life, Cristian. You have to get that, right? Darby will kill you.”
“Not if I kill him first.”
“I can’t let you do this. There has to be another way.”
“There isn’t. He sealed his fate when he destroyed the vineyard and nearly killed our men. I’m done playing by his rules.”
“We need to talk about this, Cris.” Matias shot a look to Bastian and nodded. “You can’t just go after him half-cocked. If you’re serious about bringing the fight to him, we need a plan.”
“He wants to destroy us. Maybe we let him think he’s done that and then we strike.”
