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“Excuse me if I’d like to know what is going to happen, since it’smylife that is on the line.”
“Worried we’re going to fuck you over?” I asked, leaning forward. “Want me to tell you how it feels?”
“Old habits, Sasha,” she said with a sneer of a smile. “And considering the fact you said you’d kill me the next time you saw me, I’d say I have a right to be concerned.”
“Can I get you boys something while we wait?” Declan asked, pouring another shot of whiskey and sliding it down the bar. Sean caught it and tossed it back with a grimace.
“Vodka,” Misha and I answered at the same time.
Declan laughed. “That’s the spirit.” He poured two glasses and set them out for us before turning his attention to Daria. “And what about you, honey?”
She gave Declan a sweeping glance, sniffed, and turned away.
“Ain’t she a peach,” Declan remarked as I stepped up to the bar and swiped my glass.
“You have no idea,” I muttered, swallowing the drink in one go.
Two glasses later, the bells above the front door finally chimed.
Misha and I each grabbed Daria by an arm and yanked her to her feet, keeping ahold of her. She hissed her displeasure, but stopped whining the minute a troupe of men filed in the door. They spread out, surveying the interior, as unimpressed as Daria had been an hour ago.
Finally, their boss stepped through, peeling off his thin leather gloves slowly.
Kazimir’s nose wrinkled as he walked inside, smacking the gloves against the palm of his hand. Compared to the shithole prison he just crawled out of, this place was a goddamn palace. But apparently some things never changed and he was still an arrogant asshole, much like the rest of his fucking family.
A group of Irishmen appeared from various angles in the bar, making a beeline for the opposing Russians.
“Sorry boys,” Declan said, launching himself over the bar and striding forward with his hands spread. “No weapons allowed. Chicago has a very strict anti-gun policy. And as the mediator of this little exchange, what I say goes.”
Kazimir regarded Declan before glancing around at the rest of the North Siders. Once he nodded, the Irishmen stripped Kazimir’s men of their guns. They carried them back to the bar and laid them out.
Declan followed Kazimir’s dark gaze to where we stood and he chuckled, arms crossing while he rocked back on his heels. “Yeah, they got the same treatment. Don’t worry. Fair’s fair.” He pointed to our guns, which had been piled on a table off to the side.
Once everyone was relieved of their weapons, Declan circled a finger in the air, rounding up his men and moving off to the side to give us the floor, so to speak.
“Kazimir,” Misha acknowledged with a hateful smile.
“Mikhail. How’s your nephew? Still alive, I’m assuming, since I didn’t find an obituary this morning.”
“Unlike your spineless family, we’re from much hardier stock.”
Kazimir’s gaze rolled and flicked to me. “Aleksandr. How is—”
“Don’t eventhinkhis fucking name,” I growled. Grabbing Daria by the back of the neck, I yanked her closer, squeezing hard enough to make her yelp. “Or I’ll snap her neck right in front of you.”
His attention dropped to his daughter, but he didn’t say a word. He stared at her with a burning hatred, the muscles beneath his eye twitching. As much as her betrayal hurt him, he didn’t want to see her killed. At least, not by me. He probably wanted to do it himself, like his best friend Dimitri. Or imprison her for the rest of her life. Either way, I didn’t give a fuck as long as I walked out of here knowing they’d leave Roan and I alone.
“The terms are clear, are they not?” Misha asked.
Kazimir nodded, however reluctantly. “I’ll take my wayward daughter and the files she stole and never return to this godforsaken country. Sergei and I part ways as friends. For good.”
“And if I see you again, I’ll take your fucking head off,” Misha said. When Kazimir nodded his curt agreement, Misha tossed a jump drive across the bar and then shoved Daria forward.
She turned to him with tears in her eyes, rubbing her arm from where he’d been holding her. His fingerprints still marred her skin. “You promised to help me! How can you do this?”
“Ididhelp you,” Misha shot back, as cold as ice. “In return, it nearly cost me something dear.”
Her weepy gaze turned to me next. “Sasha? Please. Ididcare for you.”
