Then my blood pressure spikes as I hear Declan’s voice.
“I’m probably being paranoid,” she says, her voice tight.
Paranoid about what?
“It’s okay, Lily. I’ll send one of my guys over. You’re safe, don’t worry.”
I turn the volume up.
“I want cameras outside that cover all areas and one in my hallway. So, four total? I can give you some money for them.”
What the fuck scared her?
“I don’t want your money, Lily. You are family. I’ll send someone over, okay?”
I stand abruptly, breath burning, nearly knocking over the paint on the table. I wipe the sweat from my forehead and pace the room as adrenaline hums through me.
I message Declan.
Me: Dec, I need to speak to you.
The reply comes instantly.
Declan: What the fuck has come up?
The only way forward is the truth. Before Lev arrives. Before this blows wider.
Fuck it. Rip the bandage off.
Me: Are you home? I’ll come and explain.
Declan: Meet me in Inferno’s bar. Fifteen minutes. I’ve got the extraction plan ready to run over with you. We leave tomorrow afternoon.
This changes everything. I can’t keep splitting myself in half, especially not when Lev is arriving here.
I stare at the message, jaw tight. I’ll have the twins watch out for Lily if I’m heading back into Russia. And let’s just hope the ghosts of my past aren’t waiting for me in the snow.
Declan is already sitting in a booth with two whiskeys by the time I arrive.
Since Inferno closed its doors a few weeks back, we’ve just used it for its office space and bar. What once was a sex club, one people would kill to enter, is now just another building with dim lighting and too many ghosts in the corners.
I slide into the booth opposite him.
“You good, Drago?” he asks.
I pick up my whiskey and knock it back.
“Yeah,” I hiss as it burns down my throat.
Declan doesn’t push. He just watches me like he always does. Like he knows silence can be more dangerous than a gun.
“Before we talk about the extraction plan,” I tell him, voice low, “I need to tell you some things.”
His eyebrow lifts. He takes a slow sip like I’m about to confess to murder. “Go for it. I’m all ears.”
I blow out a breath.
Where the fuck do I even begin?
