But he doesn’t. Not anymore.
“This isn’t a reunion.” I place a casual hand on the mini Glock holstered at my hip. “This is business.”
All three Volkovs straighten, their vicious grins sobering.
“Someone is fucking with us. I need your help in tracking them down. Start with gangs and clubs. Leave no stone unturned.”
Vlad folds his arms and puffs his chest as if it’ll push more muscle to his pancake pecs. “We’re going to need more details than that to get started.”
“Too bad. That’s all I have.”
“You can at least tell us what they’ve done,printsessa.Otherwise, we’re going in blind.”
“Are you doubting your own abilities?”
Vlad scoffs, but the burn to his ego works in deterring his dangerous questions. “What about ourcontracts?”
“They’ll be taken off your plate and delegated elsewhere. This is your priority.”
Kai cocks his head. “Compensation?”
“If you’re successful, you’ll each be paid a generous bonus worth more than any of your current contracts.”
They share swift glances, and Kai asks, “What if we can’t find them?”
“No bounty, no reward.”
Vlad barks a laugh. “You want us to play bloodhoundblindfolded,but you won’t even cover the difference if we fail to complete a mission you’reforcingus to do?”
“Would you rather we find out if a bullet can make your ugly mug any better?”
Vlad bares his teeth at me, and I bare mine back.
Nik claps his cousin’s shoulder, digging his fingers into Vlad’s shirt to hold him in place. Gray eyes glinting like an ocean predator in the deepest waters, he asks, “Dead or alive,printsessa?”
I’m almost surprised he has the foresight to ask. My habit of offing smaller fish isn’t a secret. We once hunted the streets together. He taught me my best techniques. He knows in what condition I prefer my targets. He also knows this isn’t my typical protocol.
Normally, I’d deploy our cyber team to dig into medical records, criminal histories, camera footage—anything and everything they can get their fingertips on. Then I’d do the rest myself. But this situation isn’t normal. I don’t even have a name or affiliation. I’m working with nothing but a swiftly draining reserve of resources at my disposal.
The Volkovs are my wolves flushing out my prey while I follow at their heels.
“Alive,” I say, exhaling purple smog. “Bring them to Indigo, and call me immediately. The kill is mine.”
Nik nods, muttering something Russian to his cousins as they turn to leave.
That’s it. There’s no handshake, no parting goodbye. Just a final, fleeting glance shared between me and the Volkov who is only breathing because I never told a soul what he did to me.
Not even Emi.
BIBLIOPHILE
Brontë
“We’ve been here for over an hour,” I grumble, nursing my second cup of black and paging through the same book I’ve been pretending to read since grabbing it off a shelf labeled: Midnight Steam. All we’ve seen so far on this ridiculously amateur stakeout is too many living people, and none of them have been Poppy. “Are you sure this is the right place?”
“Oui.” Dantë nods from his seat across the table, his candlelit gaze lingering on the empty corner alcove nestled on the other side of the bustling coffee bar. “She’s usually over there with her pack of misfits and her pet panther.”
I pause mid-sip. “Petpanther?”