“Fuck that.” Cian snorts and he leans closer, threading our fingers together. “There has to be another way.”
“Cian…” My heart begins to pound painfully. “I have to tell you the truth.”
The concern in his eyes suddenly becomes caged and he leans back a fraction. “Faina…”
“My father was Interpol. He was a spy for the Russians and for a time, I was too. As a child and a teenager, I worked for them. I turned my back on them when he died and Anastasia promoted me and I swear my loyalty is with her and only her, but these people, they know me. They know my father and what he did.”
Cian slowly leans back further and confusion weighs down his brow. “You… you’re a cop?”
“No, I was but I’m not anymore, and it’s more like I was forced into it by my father, but I’m not a cop.”
“I don’t understand.” His hand grows cold over mine.
“They’re offering us a deal, Cian. If we work for them and track down Hawk for them, they’ll let us go.”
“Bullshit,” Cian snaps immediately. “I’m not a fucking pig. I’m not working for any kind of cop.”
“Cian! You don’t have a choice, okay? I’m taking the deal and you have to as well.”
“What?” His eyes widen and he drags his hand away from mine, leaving my fingers aching for his warmth. “You said you were forced to work for them.”
“I was.”
“Then why the fuck would you go back?”
“Because it’s our only way out of here, Cian.”
“Wait… were you working for Interpol when we first…?”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“But you were up until your father died… Faina, you were a fucking spy? Did you ever tell them information about my family?”
My pounding heart sinks like a rock into my gut. “It’s possible. Back then, I was just trying to survive and I… listen, it doesn’t matter, okay?”
“Of course it fucking matters. It’s never a good idea to shack up with the cops. Never! I’m not a fucking rat, okay?”
“You’re not ratting anyone out!” I cry. “No one will even care anyway and?—”
The words slip out before I can stop them and Cian’s expression hardens. “Why? Because I’ve got no fucking family left?”
“I-I didn’t mean it like that, I just mean those who will know will understand that we’re trying to survive.”
“That’s what rats say,” he snarls. “They claim they have no other choice but there’s always a choice.”
“And what’s ours? To stay here and rot while Hawk gets away with everything? Hunting him for us or for them, what’s the difference? Only one of those choices gets us out of here. Please, Cian. Trust me. If we work together, then we can get out of here.”
“And live the rest of my life on a fucking leash? You might be okay with that, old habits, I guess. But I’m not. I’m not going to turn against everything I know, especially in pursuit of that fucking bastard.”
“You have to, Cian! Else they’ll lock you up here in a cell and you’ll never get out, do you hear me? You’ll never be free ever again. This way, we get to leave together and we can find Hawk and?—”
“And what? Arrest him?” Cian snarls. “Because that’s where this path leads. That’s not revenge! Not what we agreed to!”
He looks at me like I’m a traitor and nausea churns in my gut. “It’s freedom.”
“No,” Cian mutters as he slumps back in his chair. “It’s just another prison.”
“We don’t have a choice,” I say, fighting to remain calm.
