My lips tingle from the kiss, even as I scowl and turn back around to face Ilya. I’m going to kick Alonzo’s ass later for that little stunt. I’m not his. He doesn’t get to do shit like that. If he thinks he’s going to soften me by being all growly and protective, he can think again. And damn it, I need to make sure he doesn’t grab me like that again. Especially not in front of Ilya.
Ilya sinks down into his chair, steepling his hands in front of him, watching me. “You say you do not want him, yet you do not kill him for putting his hands on you. Are you going soft, Rayea?”
I want to jump over that desk and show him just how dangerous I am, but he’ll be anticipating that. Instead, I move to the chair in front of his desk, sit down, and prop my feet on the edge. He glares at me. “Killing him isn’t beneficial, and I’ll handle Alonzo on my own. What was between him and me is over, but he can’t seem to realize that.”
“Of course not. A man sees what he wants, he takes it. He uses whatever means necessary to never let it slip from his fingers, even when he breaks it.”
I arch a brow. “Speaking from experience?” I haven’t heard of Ilya being married or in a long-term relationship of any kind, but that doesn’t mean shit. He’s notoriously private.
He doesn’t answer that, and instead he says, “Did you think that throwing the equipment at me was going to make a point?”
“I think it was a test, and one I passed, only because it also meant that I found the other ones that you didn’t know about. Which tells me you know you have rats and moles in your organization, and you figured using me was a good use of my skills until you could figure out what you’re going to do about all these situations not turning out the way you thought they would.”
His smile is sharp and cold. “And here I thought you were rusty being out of the game for so long. Or, rather, you were just very careful about not letting anyone see the real you, weren’t you, Rayea?”
“Enough with the Rayea bullshit. My name is Rori. Rayea died the day Mishka did. No, actually, she died long before that. You don’t know anything about me, Romanov. No matter what you think.”
He tilts his head slightly, but the condescending glint in his eyes is unmistakable. I really want to slap it off. “I know far more than will make you comfortable,Rori.” The slight sneer of my name sets my teeth on edge. I really want to know what the hell he’s trying to hint at, but whatever it is, it can’t be important. “But that’s neither here nor there,” he continues as he watches me. “The only thing I care about is that you get the job I want done. After that, I never want to see you again.”
“You really think that I don’t know that all the shit you promised earlier is nothing but lip service? You have no intention of letting me leave this alive.”
He doesn’t deny it. “I considered it.”
“You more than considered it, don’t try to bullshit me.” I sit back in the chair, crossing my arms over my chest. “Look, all I want is to be out of this bullshit. Free and clear. What do I need to do to make that happen?”
He holds my stare. I know he’s going to try and double cross me, but let him think for now that I’ll believe him. “Kill your father and Timur Belov.”
He says it so matter-of-factly, but we both know the weight of those words is monumental. “And if I make it happen, you let me walk away and never contact me or whisper my name again. You kill Rayea Antonova off, and she ceases to exist.”
He studies me, and I can see him weighing his options. “She dies, but if I need?—”
“No.”
A dark scowl. “You never leave the Bratva, Rori. Not even in death.”
“Then I’ll be the first.” Time to lay some of my cards on the table. “Once I kill them, there will be a war if I’m not dead. And I mean, you need to make it believable, Ilya. There will be people who will check.”
“Who? The only people that care will be?—”
“You really think that the Pakhans around the world, especially back in Russia, aren’t going to be very pissed off when they find out their top hitman and school operator is dead? The one that they are counting on to pump out and train assassins as often as possible.” I can see the implications of that hit him when he frowns. Yeah, he never considered the full ramifications of this plan. Typical. “So, you see that I need to die, and you need to make it believable.”
“And how are we going to do that?”
“We need to make it believable that you want to get rid of me, and you send the pictures of my body to your networks, that you let them know that you took me down. It will be enough to keep people away.”
“And what, you’re going to get plastic surgery so people don’t recognize you after all of this?”
I’ve already thought of that, and I pull out the list I quickly scrawled before making my grand entrance down here. “Get me this and make sure whoever you send is fucking quiet and careful about it. Go to different stores, use different towns and cities, I don’t care. Get it all and make sure it’s those specific ones.”
He stares at the list with a scowl. “Do I look like a fucking beauty salon? Why the fuck do I need to get you hair dye and all this other bullshit?”
I don’t answer that. He doesn’t need to know the pain that it’s going to cause when I get it all. That’s for later when I’m alone. “Just get it if you want this to fucking work. Do we have a deal?”
He looks at the list, sighs, mutters something under his breath, and then finally gives a curt nod.
Relief. I’m almost out. I just have to try and get through the hell I’m about to walk into first.
“Fine. Now, what are you planning on using Alonzo for?”
