Where the Snow Falls (Seasons of Betrayal #2)(26)

Violet wanted to grab the phone, but she would have to take her seat belt off, and given that they had just been hit from behind, she seriously believed it could happen again. She did not need to be unbuckled when that happened.

But the phone call was still connected.

That she could see.

That was all Kaz asked for.

Violet’s gaze snapped back and forth between the phone on the floor, the road in front of them, and the car driving way too close to their ass end. Maya never once took her eyes off the road as she took turn after turn, weaving through street after street.

They passed neighborhoods and apartment complexes.

A schoolyard with children playing safely behind a chain link fence.

“Almost,” Maya murmured, more to herself it seemed.

The black car wasn’t giving up, apparently. It didn’t matter how fast Maya drove or the many streets she took in what seemed like an effort to confuse their pursuers, the car behind them never faltered.

Violet knew at least one person in the car was Vito.

She wondered who else was with him.

Was it someone who knew these streets like Maya did?

Someone who knew Chicago?

Another minute passed, and Violet realized they were in an area a lot less dense with houses than it had been. More trees, more space between homes, and more privacy.

“How far behind us do you think they are?” Violet asked.

Maya didn’t even ask who she meant. “Kaz and Konstantin? About five minutes. And they’re not coming from behind.”

“And Kolya?”

She didn’t answer, her gaze cutting from Violet’s face to the road ahead of them before she jerked the wheel hard to the side, taking them off the road and onto the large patch of gravel.

Violet blinked and took a hard breath at the sight of a black Hummer coming straight at them.

Except it bypassed them.

Even as Maya hit the brakes, and the tires slid and screeched on snow and gravel, she still heard the smash of metal as the Hummer hit the black car head-on.





“For f*ck’s sake.”

The curse was out of Kaz’s mouth as they drove up to the scene in front of them. A totaled car sat in the middle of the road, while Kolya’s Hummer was some feet away with barely a scratch. As Konstantin rolled to a stop, Kaz could better see that Violet and Maya were safe from the wreckage.

They were barely out of the car when Kolya threw his door open. The man came stumbling out, his eyes going back to his wife first, and then turning on the car he had practically turned into a pretzel. His intent was clear as he walked right up to the car, forcing the door open on the driver’s side. With a knife, he cut through the seat belt then dragged the man from the wreck.

But he didn’t stop, not until they were further out of sight.

Fucking hell.

“Kaz!”

He heard his name a moment before Violet came barreling into him—a moment before the first scream of pain rent the air.

“Don’t worry,” Konstantin said to Maya as he glanced back to where his brother had gone with his prey. “He won’t be long.”

That was up for debate. It seemed there was no off button for Kolya when it came to Maya.

“How did they find us?”

Violet’s question brought him back to the present, his attention now on her. He had planned to tell her later when they were back at home and he had a chance to think about what he was going to say and how he would say it. But he was out of time, and there was no easy way for him to explain this.

“Vasily reached out to Alberto.”

Violet looked horrified, as though the thought wasn’t even plausible. “Why would he do that?”

She probably thought, as he had, that Vasily would never seek the aid of someone like their father, if only because they were enemies. There was no doubt she had grown up hearing the disdain for the Russians from her family, so it wouldn’t make sense for him to ask a favor of a man he hated.

“Because he can’t show his face here. There’s no issue with the Italians here.”

“Yet,” Konstantin called out.

There was genuine worry in her eyes, now more than usual, but he couldn’t get her mind off that, not when she was still standing next to the proof of just how close her father had gotten.

“Let’s get you home, yeah?”

Kaz looked at Konstantin—who was already nodding. “We can take care of this. Maya will go with you.”

“But—” Maya protested, still looking at where her husband had gone.

“You know he doesn’t like you to see this,” Konstantin said, a little firmer. “I’ll make sure he calls as soon as we’re done.”

Reluctantly, Maya nodded. “You always do. Be careful, Kon—and make sure he doesn’t go too far.”

There was a warning in her tone, a story only the pair of them knew, but Konstantin nodded and headed to the mangled car. There was another person in the passenger seat, his face bloody as he hung helplessly. Konstantin didn’t cut him out immediately; he merely crouched down so they were nearly eye level and pulled out a cigarette to fit between his lips.

No, Konstantin was in no rush at all.

With his arm around Violet, and Maya walking just ahead of them, Kaz walked them to the car.