Sweet Collateral

Before I register the movement, my hand is around her throat, and her deep blue eyes are staring back at me without even a flicker of fear. “No. You’re not.”

So broken, so strong. She’s like a shattered mirror, cracks rippling over a distorted reflection. Her pieces are so desperately fragile, and yet unbreakable because she’s already irrevocably destroyed.

“Do you trust me?” I ask her for the second time today.

“You know I do.”

“Then know that I’m doing this for you.” I have a plan, but I need Anna to cling to that dark inhumanity that’s allowed her to survive so long.

She should be so jaded, but when she touches me—when those damn lips of hers press against mine, so gentle, so inquisitive… well, then she’s just a girl who’s never been kissed, never been protected. Never been loved. I’ve watched her blossom for me like the tight bud of a rose opening up, its petals seeking the kiss of the sun. And I worry that I’ve made her vulnerable every bit as much as she has me.

I pull her closer and her forehead touches mine, our breaths mingling until we share the same air. “You are not a whore, but if you believe you are, then so will everyone else.”

Nero wants her. This is simple fact. He also has the power to ruin me should I fight this. I’m not sure I can protect her from him, and it burns me in ways I can’t even explain. I’ve never felt so helpless because if I can’t protect Anna, then everything feels…pointless.

Aggravation is my constant companion at the moment because I don’t know what he fucking wants with her, so I need her to be tough. I need her to be every bit as unbreakable as she was when the Sinaloa owned her, but not because she has no other choice. She has to choose this, to be this person. And she’s not there yet. I see it in her eyes sometimes, this sadness, like she’s mourning the loss of who she might have been. The safer she feels, the more she trusts me, the more I see it emerging.

I press my lips to her forehead before I release her. She wordlessly slips from the car, closing the door behind her.

As soon as I set foot inside the house, I go to the lounge and pour myself a drink. The whiskey warms my throat and settles in my stomach, but it doesn’t help with the mess of thoughts running rife through my mind. Someone clears their throat, and I look up to see Carlos lingering in the doorway, his hood pulled over an old Yankees ball cap. He’s holding a manila envelope at his side.

“Got a minute?” he asks. I nod and lift my glass to my lips, swigging back the remainder of the amber liquid. Carlos comes into the room and takes a seat on the couch. I lean against the window, waiting.

“I found information on Anna. One of the hackers managed to access a sealed file from her orphanage.”

“Sealed? Why would a dodgy orphanage that sells children have sealed files?”

He tosses the envelope on the table and glances up at me, his expression pinched. “Because it wasn’t them that sealed them.”

He pushes to his feet and silently walks out of the room, leaving the envelope on the table. I guess it’s time to find out who Anna Vasiliev really is, and why she’s important enough to be priceless.

The dial tone reverberates around my skull in time with my pounding pulse until it finally clicks off and Nero Verdi’s face appears on my laptop screen.

“Rafael.” His usually polished appearance is a little rough around the edges today. His hair looks like he’s been dragging his hands through it and the day-old shadow on his jaw matches those under his eyes.

“We need to talk.”

He tips his head back. “If you tell me that something has happened to the girl…”

“She’s fine.”

“Good.”

“I’m going to give you one last chance to tell me who she is.”

His eyes narrow and he leans back in his chair, saying nothing for long seconds. “You already know.”

“Call this a courtesy to an old friend. I know that her sister is Una Vasiliev, changed ten years ago to Una Ivanov. Please tell me, Anna’s sister is not who I think she is…”

He inhales a deep breath. “Her sister is Una Ivanov, and yes, she is Nikolai Ivanov’s ‘daughter’, but merely by favoritism, not blood.”

“Angel de la Muerte.”

He nods. “Anna is collateral for her sister.”

“So you could use her to remove your competition.”

A small smile pulls at his lips. “Something like that.”

“And how exactly do you plan to use her?”

“Simple. Una has been looking for her sister. I found her, and I know where she is.”

“You’re not the only one who fucking knows where she is,” I growl. “Or who she is. I’m pretty sure Dominges has worked it out. He’s very keen to have her back. Having a master assassin in your pocket is always a plus, as I’m sure you know.”