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"I’m not joking, Valachi. If you slow me down, I will get rid of you.”
"Relax," Angel says, raising his hands slightly in a mock gesture of surrender. "According to the world, I’m already a dead man. You’re the only one who knows I’m alive."
"I’m only doing this for your sister’s sake," I say, my tone icy as I lower my pistol.
"I know," Angel responds, his expression serious for once. "That is exactly why I am helping you."
I reach the Corolla and open the driver’s side door. Angel appears at the passenger side, and I shake my head.
“You are driving.” I keep the door open for him. With his injured arm, this won’t be easy, but he’s tough. He’ll survive, and if he makes one wrong move, I’ll empty my gun into the back of his head.
Angel smirks and walks around to me; I release my hold on the door and let him take the wheel. “I mean, you could have picked something better than this piece of shit.”
“I could have done a lot of things,” I answer, my mind already wandering to Vivi. She’s alive. Nikolai’s betrayal cuts deep, but I can’t afford to dwell on it now. I need to stay sharp, focused. Angel starts the car, and we begin moving.
"First things first," I say, my voice steady. "We need to narrow down the possible locations. Nikolai will be somewhere he feels secure, but also somewhere he can easily negotiate from."
Angel nods, thinking. "There are a few places that come to mind. We should start with the ones that offer the best strategic advantage."
"Agreed," I reply. “Near the docks, there’s a small shop. It’s a front for us.”
“The name of this shop?” Angel asks.
I don’t give it to him. “Take a left up here.” I’ll direct him the entire way so he doesn’t make one wrong move.
As we drive through the city, the streets are bustling with life, completely oblivious to the war brewing in the shadows. I glance at Angel, who’s silent, lost in his own thoughts. Despite our differences, we’re united by a common goal: to save Vivi and bring down Nikolai.
Every safehouse, every hideout, every lead will be pursued relentlessly. I will find her. And when I do, Nikolai will pay for his betrayal. The game has changed, but I am still a player. And I will not lose.
Not this time.
Chapter 11
Vivi
Across the street, thefigure leans, motionless, against the steel post of the streetlight.
I can’t tell if they’re male or female, only that they wait with patient perseverance. The width of two car lanes and a couple of sidewalks separate us, but they still stand out to me. Their head is positioned in such a way that it’s clear they are looking directly at the window from where I peek from behind the plastic blinds.
An unnamed person. An unknown threat.
Only I know exactly who they are.
Azrael. Waiting. Watching.
Nikolai’s phone goes off again. It has been ringing off and on the entire day. The tiny apartment where we’re holed up has basicsupplies, including powder to make into milk and emergency rations like canned meat.
I spent time once, years ago, in one of my father’s safe houses. It was luxurious by comparison—clean and well-appointed, with clothing for us to wear and cable television to watch. Ivan’s safehouses aren’t as cozy and comfortable as the Valachifamiglia’s; it feels like this was made for war.
I suppose it is war. Or it will be, once Lulu and Damon find out what happened.
I tear myself away from the window as a surge of emotions hits me again. I cannot get the image of Angel’s face as Nikolai dragged me away out of my mind. The sheer relief on his features. He loved me. Despite everything that this world made of my brother, he did love me.
And Ivan. Is he even alive?
Despite the monster the world claims him to be, I cannot begin to fathom his loss, and what it means for me.
With a resolute swallow, I push all of that away. I can’t think about it right now.
