I didn’t want him to shoulder the burden alone, but that plea was disregarded the moment anyone looked in my direction halfway aggressively.
To my left, the target the Pakhan had assigned was finally finished slurping down his poisoned drink. With each sip we were one step closer to surviving the competition. Despite that, nagging dread pulsed faster through my veins.
“I’ll be right back,” I said to my target, keeping my voice level. “I need to use the bathroom.”
The older man shrugged, his attention already wandering to a busty brunette nearby me.
As I slipped through the bar, I could feel Dmitri’s gaze scorching across my skin. A large man stepped in front of me, and I frowned when he didn’t move out of the way.
When he slowly slid his shirtsleeve up his forearm, my pulse raced higher. Gemma’s now dead stalker had the exact same tattoo. He was from a rival organization: the Morozov Bratva.
The man smirked down at me, and I leveled a stare right back at him. Scenarios ran through my mind as he leaned into me.
“Alisa Solovyova,” the man said. “I have a proposition for you.”
I spied Dmitri weaving through the crowd towards us.
“Not interested.”
Unsure of his intentions, I leaned forward on my heels so I could dodge away if needed. Dmitri had been obsessively training me–and it was starting to feel like he’d never be satisfied with my results–but this man didn’t appear nearly as quick as Dmitri.
The mobster’s smirk deepened as he took in my tense body.
“I think you will be. After all, I’m offering you a way out of the Brotherhood.”
I forced my expression to appear blank. Dmitri’s words about the Pakhan testing our loyalty resounded in my head.
Still, doubt niggled in my brain that he would utilize enemy mobsters for loyalty tests.
“Still not interested,” I responded, moving to turn away.
His calloused fingers grazed my arm, and I flinched backwards.
“Your Pakhan’s competition is ending, and I’m not so sure you’ll survive it.” His gaze skimmed over me, and I hated the condescending look he speared me with. “If you hand over some information, I can make you disappear. You can have a regular life and live long enough to enjoy it.”
Dmitri’s shadow fell over me, and the mobster’s body went rigid. Dmitri’s presence soothed my mind, and for the first time since this mission had started I felt like I could breathe.
His warm arm brushed against mine, and the tension in my shoulders eased.
“You good, kitten?” he asked, only for my ears.
I nodded, and he focused back on the man. Quicker than I could follow, his hand snaked out and grabbed the gangster’s wrist.
Crack.
Dmitri’s casual brutality shouldn’t have surprised me at this point, but I still gaped at the sickening angle of the mobster’s wrist.
A deep-seated groan emitted from the man as he cradled his broken wrist to his chest. I cringed when I spied bone peeking through the skin, but from the blank, dark look in Dmitri’s eyes it was obvious he had no such qualms.
“You’re lucky you didn’t bruise her, or I would’ve broken your neck instead.”
The mobster opened his mouth like he was about to retort, or maybe even retaliate. When he met Dmitri’s dark gaze,goosebumps prickled on his skin. The man swallowed unsteadily before heading for the front door.
“You sure you’re okay?” Dmitri asked while guiding me to an exit in the back.
“I’m not the one with a broken wrist.”
I chanced a glance over my shoulder to make sure our target hadn’t seen the interaction. Relief bloomed through me when I deduced the target was too caught up in staring at a buxom brunette’s chest to even remember I was still here.
