“Maybe the assignment changed me.”
“Or maybe she did.”
I don’t deny it. Can’t deny it, really, when the evidence is written all over my face.
“Is that a problem?” I ask.
“That depends on whether the change makes you more valuable or less valuable to this family.”
“And your assessment?”
“My assessment,” Vito says slowly, “is that a man willing to kill for someone is also willing to die for them. And a man willing to die for someone will do anything to protect them, including making difficult decisions about their best interests.”
The implication is clear: he’s counting on my love for Kira to make me complicit in whatever comes next.
“I want her protected,” I say firmly. “Whatever happens with her family, whatever decisions have to be made—she gets protected.”
“Of course. She’s going to be family, after all.”
“And the others?”
“The others made their choices when they decided to betray us. Now they get to live with the consequences.” Vito’s smile is cold as winter. “Or die with them, as the case may be.”
I nod, though something sick churns in my stomach. “How long do I have?”
“To do what?”
“To prepare her. To help her understand what’s coming.”
“A few days, perhaps. Long enough for her to demonstrate where her true loyalties lie.” Vito leans back in his chair. “Long enough for you to decide whether you’re truly ready to be part of this family, or if you still harbor illusions about escaping to a simpler life.”
“No illusions left,” I say quietly. “Not after tonight.”
“Good. Because what comes next will require absolute commitment from both of you. Half-measures and noble intentions have no place in what we’re building.”
I stand to leave, but Vito’s voice stops me at the door.
“For what it’s worth, I think you made the right choice tonight. All of them.”
I don’t ask which choices he means. Don’t want to know if he’s referring to killing Durov, protecting Kira, or coming here to betray her family’s secrets.
Because in the end, they’re all the same choice.
The choice to become someone who can survive and thrive in this world, rather than someone who spends his life trying to escape it.
The choice to build something real with Kira, even if that reality is constructed on the graves of people she loves.
The choice to love someone enough to damn yourself for their sake—and hope they’ll do the same for you when the time comes.
As I drive back to the safehouse through the breaking dawn, I try not to think about how I’m going to tell Kira that I’ve just helped plan her father’s execution.
Or how I would live with myself if she never forgives me for it.
Or how much I hope she’ll understand that sometimes love looks exactly like betrayal, right up until the moment it saves your life.
CHAPTER 33
Kira
