They talk amongst themselves, but I’m too focused on my own thoughts. I have to get Rori back. I have to fix what I’ve broken. This has to be the first step.
Hades nudges at my head before laying his head on my shoulder, resting it there. I reach up to pet him. We’re going to bring her home and she’s going to be mine.
I don’t care if I have to crawl to make it happen.
2
RORI
Beingon the same plane as one of the deadliest assassins in the world should probably scare the shit out of me. Instead, it just irritates me. Or, rather,sheirritates me.
If there is one thing about Tatiana—again, not her real name, but what else am I supposed to call her since I don’t know what she actually goes by now—it’s that she’s a fucking psycho. Some might say that about me because of my upbringing, but this woman, she’s a whole other level.
Maybe it’s because I know what she’s been through that I don’t hate her. That I understand on a deeper level, or maybe that’s what keeps me from fearing her. I’m not as good as her, especially with her ability to blend in so well or become anyone she needs to be, but I’m up there in my skills. I can hold my own.
Fuck, seeing her in my room was enough of a shock. Staring at her, looking identical to Amara, it was a jolt to the fucking system. I felt fear then, but not for me. For everyone else. Could I keep her from killing them all? Was she there to just kill me? I didn’t think she would kill Amara, or even Gia, Lucy, or Siennasince they were her direct family, but everyone else was fair game.
Then the fear spiked when Alonzo came to the door, opening it without knocking. Tatiana moved so fast it was a blur, back into the shadows, becoming one herself. I could feel her annoyance and anger the longer Alonzo stayed, trying to talk and explain. Tried to goad me into giving him the reactions I did.
I’m still not sure how I managed to keep him from noticing that Hades was out cold, or just how close to death he was. Maybe it was my incredible acting skills. Well, not really. My anger at him was real enough. He hurt me. He cut me deep in a way a man hasn’t been able to do in a very long time.
Mishka’s face flashes in my mind, blurry with time and fading memory, but clear enough, the pang of regret is still there. I haven’t thought about him in a long time. Guilt stirs. I’d like to say that it was avoidance, but it was simply time and practicality. Mishka would understand.
At least, I’d like to think that. Sixteen, plus married was fucking hard enough as it was. I was still a child, and he was older than me by a few years. Still, he treated me like a best friend.
When he was killed, it broke something inside me. The stability, as tenuous as it was, was gone, yanked away from under me so fast I didn’t know how to handle it. Widow at eighteen. The only thing that saved me from a worse fate was that I wasn’t pregnant, and we had no children. A fact that Timur lamented constantly, but nothing could be done.
Still, as horrible a time in my life that was, it was nothing like what Alonzo did. At least, not in the sense of breaking my heart.
There’s no point in dwelling on it.
Alonzo made his position clear, and I have to accept that. Him coming after me means nothing. It’s simply that he wants answers and to prove he was right. I’ll only be going from onefire to another. I’ll have to answer to the Carusos and Nico, and something tells me they won’t be so understanding. Nico especially.
Well, it’s not a worry for me now. I’m either going to end up dead or married to a man who hates me. I’ve always known he blames me for Mishka’s death, even being so young. He felt that I weakened his brother, distracted him. Maybe I did.
The only reason the hitman got him so easily was that Mishka was out getting something for me before he came home from the club with his men. They were celebrating another large shipment, and I had been having terrible period cramps, and he promised to bring me home my favorite ice cream.
Unknowing that a hitman was after him and it put him in the direct line of fire. Simeon clarified I was to blame, despite not knowing me. That I should have sucked it up instead of putting Mishka in danger.
He’s right, and I’ve accepted that guilt. I don’t know if Simeon will see it that way. Hell, he might refuse to marry me outright and just kill me. If I get that far. Tatiana’s earlier words echo in my head.
They called my father, which means Timur plans to make an example of me. Will Simeon be there to watch? I don’t know anything about him, other than seeing him in passing once or twice when I was newly married to Mishka, but he had his own home to run by then. Being a few years Mishka’s senior, he kept to himself and did his own thing. It didn’t stop him from making his thoughts clear on blaming me, but that’s no real surprise to me.
A beep on the laptop in front of me jolts me out of my thoughts.
I suppress a groan.Damn it, Alonzo. Why couldn’t you listen to me?
I take in his and Hades’s placement at the airport in New York City. The same one that we used to bring Amara and Lazaro back from Arizona. Maybe he’s not going to follow us, though. Maybe the family has decided to return to Sicily.
The sharp pain in my chest steals my breath. I fight back the tears that burn the back of my throat. At least if he’s going there, he’s taking Hades with him. Maybe Alonzo and his men can train him, teach him a few things, keep his skills up.
Fuck, I think leaving my dog is more painful than seeing the betrayal on everyone’s faces. Including Sienna’s. Hades won’t understand. My final command was to go to Alonzo and to listen. I can only hope that he’ll obey Alonzo and not lose his shit. I won’t be the reason that he dies, though. Because that is exactly what Timur would do.
This is for the best.
I force myself to look away from the screen. Tatiana did it to taunt me, to remind me that nothing and no one is beyond her reach. I wouldn’t be surprised if the tracking devices she put on Alonzo and Hades aren’t explosives. The moment they come within range, she could detonate them.
It’s not her normal style, but at this point, I won’t put anything past her.
