Thief (Boston Underworld #5)(71)

I meet his eyes in the rearview mirror. He is little more than a soldier, and his rank within the Vory is insignificant. Yet this is the man who Nikolai sent to bring me to my death.

Perhaps this is why he opted not to say goodbye. There is no goodbye when it’s forever. He knew I would be gone when he returned, and he would be free to marry Ana and fulfill his duties as a loyal Vor. It’s the only solution for him because he just couldn’t let me go, thinking that I might have a life on my own without him.

A sob rips from my chest, and I continue to thrash against my restraints regardless of the guard’s threats. If I must die, then I will go out fighting.

“I told you to stop,” the guard bellows.

He pulls over, and I slide to the other side of the car, curling my knees into my chest. I’m prepared to kick him with as much force as I can manage when he wrenches the door open and comes at me. My legs heave toward him, clashing into solid flesh. It’s a blind effort, since my hair is a mess, and I can’t see past it. My ears, however, are still intact.

An explosive sound vibrates through my skull, and something wet sprays across my skin. I jerk backward, but there’s nowhere to go, and now the weight on my legs is too heavy to move.

“Tanaka.”

A hushed voice breaks through the chaos, and I shake my head, trying desperately to see through the tangle of hair.

“Gianni?”

The door opens behind me and strong arms drag me out. I’m still not sure if it’s the enemy or my savior until the knife cuts through the restraints on my wrists, freeing me.

I scrub the hair out of my face and sniffle when I see his face.

Gianni.

He came for me. He came like he said he would. And I am not going to die today.

“Quick.” He grabs me by the arm and leads me through the brush to a waiting Jeep.

Before I can even thank him, he hoists me inside and takes his place in the driver’s seat, firing up the ignition. The ride is a bumpy one, and it’s left up to me to remove the tape from my face, which is also partially tangled in my hair. It hurts, but compared to what could have happened, it’s nothing.

“How many other guards are at the house?” Gianni asks as he speeds down the dirt road and onto the highway.

“That was it. Just him.”

He nods.

“Is he dead?”

Gianni glances at me and then back to the road. “Yes.”

I take a moment to process that. “How did you know?”

“I came early,” he says. “I’ve been camping out all night, watching the house. The panic in your voice yesterday concerned me, so I didn’t think there was much time left.”

“There wasn’t.” I swallow and look out the window. “They were going to kill me. Nikolai sent me to die.”

Gianni looks at me incredulously. “Tell me you didn’t fall for him, Tanaka.”

“Of course not.”

It isn’t believable. Gianni shakes his head but makes a point not to argue about it. There are more important things to discuss, like my future.

“Where are we going?”

“That depends on you,” he answers. “Your options are limited, Tanaka.”

“I know.”

“Does that mean you’re ready?”

Reality settles over me, and it’s heavy. What he’s asking will change everything. It means letting go of my old life. Letting go of the memories of Nikolai, and any love that lives in my heart.

I close my eyes and lean back against the seat. The words don’t come easily, but they do come. “I’m ready.”





“Kol’ka.”

Viktor gets out of his SUV, and I step out of my car. After this week, this is the last thing I want to do, but I know why he’s waiting here at my home.

“How is Alexei?” he asks.

I lean back against the car and cross my legs. “As good as you might expect. He doesn’t want to talk right now.”

“I don’t imagine,” Viktor says. “This changes everything.”

The uncertainty weighs heavy on his face. As the pakhan, it is up to him to decide when we go to war. And when a sin like this has been committed, we have no choice but to go to war. Upon our return to the states, we got the news that Alexei’s pregnant wife had been murdered in our absence. It’s a crime too horrific to imagine, and I have no doubt that Alexei will be painting the city with the blood of our enemies in no time at all.

“Are you certain she’s dead?”

Viktor sighs. “I don’t know. It could be months before we know for certain. There is nothing left to identify, but it won’t stop Alexei. He will need to be kept in check.”

He believes me capable of keeping Alexei in check, but he’s wrong. I will not be the one to stand in the way of his vengeance. I will be the one to hand him the gun.

“I need you to keep an eye on him,” Viktor says. “Just help him come to terms with it. Let him kill who he wants, within reason. I don’t need a war on our hands until we know exactly who’s responsible.”

“I’ll do what I can.”

Viktor nods, but he isn’t finished. “About Ana—”

I am tired of this discussion and, more so, this dark cloud looming over me. I’ve had a very long journey and difficult news, and I’m not in the mood to feed him more lies. If there is anything I learned from Alexei’s pain, it’s that life is too short. It needs to be now or never.