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Something that’s going to get me into a world of trouble if I don’t put it out right this instant.
Jasha thumbs through my phone, checking everything that’s there and probably discovering the poorly disguised texts to Diego from the Cartel. I can tell by his expression that I’m in serious trouble, but I won’t know how much until we get to wherever we’re going.
They said something about a house?
At least it’s not a jail cell, but I can’t be too hopeful just yet. They don’t sound like they have any intention of letting me go.
Ever.
I’m starting to hate Eddy for getting me wrapped up in this. The drug business is a dangerous game, and I’m not at all prepared to play it, especially not with the Cartel. Eddy wasn’t either, it seems, and that’s why he got snatched up and held for ransom.
Idiot. He could’ve lived his life as a moderately successful mechanic, and he wouldn’t have had to endure being beaten and recorded on a shitty cellphone camera, begging for his life.
The video is still vivid in my mind. He barely even looked like Eddy, and I could tell they’d been starving him. His eyes were so sunken into his head that it felt like they would disappear entirely if he blinked too hard.
I wonder if he regrets this. He must, and he probably feels terrible about the Cartel forcing me to bring the drugs he stole back to them, but no amount of ill feeling is going to change this. If I ever get out alive, assuming he does too, I’m going to slap him so hard he won’t know which direction the border is anymore.
“Diego?” Jasha asks, jarring me out of my thoughts as he pushes the phone into my face. “Is that your contact with the Cartel?”
I nod. There’s no point in hiding anything now.
“And Eddy, that’s your cousin,” he says, scrolling through the messages.
“Yes, Eddy is my cousin, and as you can see, all I’m trying to do is get him back. He doesn’t deserve this.”
Jasha rolls his eyes, dropping back into his seat. “Anyone who’s stupid enough to steal drugs from the Cartel deserves to be thrown in an asylum at the very least. It’s probably for the greater good of the United States that the Cartel has him. He’s an idiot.”
“You’re a fucking prick,” I snarl.
He smirks. “I’m just being honest with you.”
“Enough with the honesty until we get to the house,” Nikolai snaps. “I don’t want you bothering her anymore.
“You got a crush on her or something?”
“Shut up,” he growls, his voice plummeting to a guttural, animalistic tone. “Before I break every bone in your goddamn body.”
His words send another wave of chills through my body, a clear warning of his power and influence. He’s the one in charge, and although I’m certain Jasha is capable of terrible things, I know if I were to anger him, Nikolai would show me Hell itself.
Jasha is aware of this too, shrinking down in his seat and grumbling something in Russian as the car slows down.
The SUV takes a sudden turn onto a dirt road, and I’m thrown against the door. Nikolai continues driving with his eyes locked to the road, a silent fury swirling underneath the surface of his stoic face.
The landscape becomes greener as we approach a large iron gate, golden flowers blooming to either side of the car, and I realize the Bratva isn’t anything like the Cartel. These two brothers are filthy rich, and the exterior of their mansion alone tells me their wealth far exceeds what people like Diego could ever dream of having.
Eddy should’ve robbed these assholes instead.
As we stop at the gate, two guards come out of the booth beside it, dressed in suits with machine guns hanging across their chests. They’re expressionless until Nikolai rolls down his window, and then they smile, the gate opening like magic the second they’ve confirmed it’s their boss coming home.
Jasha turns to me, his voice dripping with menace. “Welcome to your new home, at least until we decide what to do with you.”
I swallow hard, looking at the imposing structure, realizing that my fate is now entirely in their hands. The place looks more like a fortress than a home, and I have a sinking feeling that once I’m inside, there’s no getting out.
“You cooperate, and maybe, just maybe, we’ll let you live,” Nikolai says, his voice void of emotion. “But cross us, lie to us, and you won’t live to regret it.”
“What did I tell you?” Nikolai asks as we pull up in front of the house.
Jasha shrugs. “I already forgot.”
