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Castor… I’m so sorry.
My hear drops right with my stomach as we appear to jump from my bedroom window.
I try to shout, but nothing comes out.
A lump of fear forms in my throat as I come to the horrifying realization that this is over.
Leonid Barinov has captured me.
And there’s not a single fucking thing I can do about it.
6
Leo
“What the hell did you do?”
I’ve never seen my sister so enraged before. It almost makes me think I might truly have fucked up.
“I proved a point,” I stubbornly respond.
“And what fucking point was that?” Roman steps in. He’s not too happy either. I was supposed to return to New York with a wife and a promise of peace.
Instead, I’ve come back with a hostage… and the possibility of so much more violence.
“That I’m not to be fucked with,” I sneer. “That I’m the leader of the Black Delphi. That, limp or not, I’m the best assassin there is, and that’s why I’m the leader. Not because of birthright, not because of luck. But because I can take it.”
Valentina huffs and turns her back on me. Roman doesn’t say another word. He just stares at the door I’ve locked my new captive behind.
“This is bad…” Valentina mumbles, more to herself than to either of us.
“I don’t see how,” I respond, wiping my bottom lip. “To the Greeks, this girl is more valuable than any object or any pact. A marriage might have cooled things off for a bit, but what about when we both became unhappy with the arrangement? That was going to be inevitable. That’s when the true blood bath would have started.”
Valentina can’t bear to turn around and face me. It’s making me angry. I love my sister and I hate it when she’s disappointed in my decision. Why can’t she see this was the right thing to do?
… It was the right thing to do, after all… right?
“You’re really dead set on keeping this war going, aren’t you?” Roman asks, his gaze drifting away from the door and back onto me.
“And here I thought we were a family of fighters,” I meet him.
“We are, but smart fighters know when to fight and when to shake hands,” Roman says.
“Did you not think about your niece?” Valentina adds, finally turning back around. “Did you not think about what kind of world you want Bree to grow up in? This war with the Greeks could go on forever if we don’t nip it in the bud now. But when word spreads, they are going to be pissed, and those fools will want to make us pay. They’ll want to hurt us. And they’ll do that by going after our families… you know, as they’ve already done a half dozen times in the past.”
With a quick glance over my shoulder, I think of what Sophia must be thinking.
“I’ll talk to the girl, tell her what to say to her troops.”
“And you think she’ll listen?” Roman asks.
“What choice does she have?”
“It’s not about her choices now,” Valentina says. Straightening out her dress, she tries to compose herself. “The few Greeks that already know about Sophia’s disappearance have threatened to blow up the entire east coast if we don’t give her back immediately,” she explains. “Nolan was on the phone with Aiden and Shane before I came here. It’s not just us who are in danger now. It’s them too.”
“Danger,” I spit. “What the fuck are we all of a sudden? Civilians. I’m not scared of any danger. Have the Kilpatricks turned into cowards too?”
“You know that Nolan isn’t a coward,” Valentina warns me. That’s her husband I’m talking about.
