Saint got there first. He unpicked the tight knots binding the VP’s wrists in the time it took Cam to stagger twenty feet and collapse beside him.
I noted the skill, then left them to care for their brother.
A man I believed to be Lorenzo Sambini, nephew of theirPakhan, was on the phone. I approached him, enjoying the way he baulked as I got closer, and whoever he was conversing with gave him an answer that made him believe I was going to kill him.
I liked his fear. It fuelled me.
You hurt Cam.
You hurt Saint.
Now I will hurt you.
The Sambinis bunched up, turning their backs inward as I circled them. It amused me that they had not noticed I carried no obvious weapons.
Lorenzo spread his hands. “We didn’t know.”
“Know what?” I tilted my head sideways, toying with him.
“That the Kings were in bed with the Sidorovs.”
“They are not.” I walked around them again, stalking my prey. “They are in bed with me.”
“You’re Sidorov’s attack dog.”
“Am I?”
“They call you The Ghost.”
A lazy laugh escaped me. “I am not a ghost. I am very much alive, wouldn’t you say?”
Lorenzo swallowed. “We didn’t know.”
The repetition gave away his fear and I wasn’t sure of the emotion that swept over me. I wasn’t used to it—to feeling so much.It is Cam’s fault.I glanced at him. He was on his knees, helping his VP sit up, but he was listening, watching, and he turned his molten gaze on me.
I had never known something so alive.
I’d neverfeltit.
I circled back to Lorenzo. “Your uncle is already being instructed on how the rest of his life will play out, but let me tell you how it will be for you. Are you paying attention?”
“I’m listening.”
“Good. I will switch to English now so the Kings can understand us. Show them the respect they deserve or this conversation will end without the resolution you need to walk out of here alive.”
Viktor edged closer. He held a satellite phone of his own, letting me know that Sidorov had known exactly how this would go down. That it would be my name and not his that ended this, leaving him free to whatever he pleased if the scraps left behind intrigued him.
I could not even hate him for it. Sidorov was a ruthless crime boss, but despite how he’d acquired me, he shared Cam’s distaste for trafficking flesh and bone. The war that had cost Cam his parents was won.
Lorenzo shifted, reminding me that I’d yet to speak.
I glanced at Cam again. He wasn’t looking at me anymore, but Saint was, and his gaze hooked into me, finding purchase somewhere I did not know he could reach.
Lorenzo.
Focus.
I took a breath and turned back to Sambini. “The trafficking operation is over. Your partnership with the Aldea cartel has severed. You will not do business with them again in this country.”
