“The attacks are escalating. Our men have started fighting Luigi’s to stop the current one. So if there was any chance Luigi thought we weren’t against him, that’s done.”
Not good news since it would only drive the cockroach further into hiding. It was time for some extreme damage control. “Call off the men for now,” I said, silently raging that the fires I wanted to extinguish were blazing hotter instead. “Make sure they know I’m serious.”
Pacing restlessly, I listened for the sound of the shower still running before attempting a long shot. Instead of trying to hunt him down, I just dialed Luigi’s number. Of course the coward didn’t answer, so I left a scathing message.
“Where the hell are you? If we’re ending the Petrovs, I need my second in command.”
I waited, certain this wouldn’t work. The man couldn’t have that big of an ego. It wasn’t even a minute before he called me back.
“Nice try,” he said, voice heavy with sarcasm. “Do you think I didn’t see you making off with the girl?”
“I told you repeatedly that Lilia wasn’t part of this. If you weren’t so blinkered on that issue, you’d be asking why I was in Miami in the first place.”
“And?” he said.
Time to lie my ass off. “Your impatience is going to ruin everything. I was recruiting the Morozovs, who were on board by the way—if I could guarantee a victory.”
There was a pause, then he laughed bitterly. “Is that why your imports from Russia are currently fighting my guys?”
“Our guys,” I corrected, ignoring the disgust I felt. “And you’ve got old information. Check again. Nothing more than a bad command given by a guy who’s already dead.”
While that certainly wasn’t the case, it would be impossible to verify anything other than that the Russians hadbeen called off. “We’re on the same fucking side here, Luigi,” I said. “If you’d get your giant head out of your ass, you’d know that.”
“You’re really all twisted up over that little girl, aren’t you?” he asked, sounding much more jovial now.
“Not enough that I don’t still want this city under Collective rule. We need to meet up to make sure this isn’t another embarrassment for us.”
There was only the slightest pause before he told me where to meet him. I ended the call, breathing out a long sigh of relief. I had a location. I could finally end this.
A small choking cry came from behind me, and my insides froze as I turned. I had been so caught up in fooling Luigi that I hadn’t heard the shower stop. Lilia stood in the bathroom doorway, wrapped in a towel with her long hair dripping onto her bare shoulders.
Holy shit, what had she heard?
Her lip trembled, but her hands were steady as she aimed my own gun, dead center at my chest. Fury blazed from her eyes. Apparently, she’d heard enough.
Chapter 39 - Lilia
It felt like we were wasting time, going back to Gavril’s mansion. I was too anxious, and it was clear his thoughts were churning a thousand miles a minute since he fell silent again as he led me upstairs.
He was trying so hard to make it seem like we could operate better with a little rest, but if the attacks were due to happen soon, and he was so concerned about his men from Russia getting caught in the crossfire, then a hot shower seemed very low in importance.
Until I got in the hot shower. It really was a good feeling to get rid of all the itchy salt that still clung to my skin and double shampoo the sea smell out of my hair, which had turned crispy and lifeless as it dried.
The water soothed the scrapes on my legs and freed all the sand from the larger scratch in my shoulder. I stayed under the steaming spray for longer than I should have, finally turning the water off. As soon as I stepped out of the shower, the anxiety came flying back.
How would Aleks take it when he saw me defending Gavril? Would he believe me or think I had been brainwashed?
The thoughts scattered as soon as I heard Gavril’s heated conversation coming from the bedroom. Wrapping a towel around myself, I cracked the door, nothing more than curious. This would save him some time having to explain what was going on, now that we were working together.
Except it didn’t take ten seconds to realize we were not working together. He was still plotting against my family, and from the sounds of it, couldn’t wait to meet up with his second in command and get started.
Did he really think he’d be able to leave me here, locked up once again, where no one could find me? All while he crushed everyone I loved? When we first came upstairs, he had slipped out of his jacket and shrugged his gun holster over his wide shoulders, leaving it on the dresser a few feet away.
I spied it now, just sitting there. He was unarmed, so sure he had me fooled that he had taken his damn gun off and left it for me. He really didn’t think I was a threat in any way, shape, or form.
Or he trusts me.
Pain sliced into my heart as I crept the few feet to grab his gun. My hands were wrapped around it as he was ending the call. I watched him savor his moment of victory, the pain becoming so harsh I had to gasp.
