Viktor(63)

Winston gets up and walks out, probably to grab something to clean up my mess. But right now, I don’t care about anything other than getting my point across.

“I’m not working for Vladim ever again, do you hear me?” I scream.

“Why? Because of her?”

My jaw drops and Alexis’s eyes widen.

“How did you—”

“He told me you were preoccupied with a girl,” Marcus says. “I presumed she was the reason you stopped doing his bidding.”

“Damn right, I did. And you wanna know why? Because he wants her. That’s why he’s so upset. Not because I quit. It’s because I have her.”

His eyes narrow. “So … she’s the one?”

I nod. “She escaped, and now, he wants her back.”

“Is it really that bad?” Alexis asks.

“Hell, yeah,” I spit. “I told you what he does for a living.”

“But you did it too. And look how you turned out to be,” she says, smiling.

“Ha-ha, very funny.” I hate ironic jokes.

“I can see now why you’re suddenly so adamant about fighting him on this, but I don’t think it’s a good idea, Viktor,” Marcus interjects.

“What?” I spit. “Are you even hearing yourself?”

He leans forward. “I need you on this. You’re the only one I can trust, who hates them as much as I do. There’s too much at stake here.”

“Fuck the stakes. I’m doing this to protect her.”

Alexis sinks back into the couch, her lips slammed together, but I need to deal with Marcus first.

“This is dangerous, Viktor. You don’t know what you’re doing.” He gets up. “If you don’t rectify the situation quickly, someone could get hurt.”

“I don’t care as long as she’s safe,” I growl. “I’ve risked too much already.”

He yells in my face. “Then why did you invite her into your home in the first place?”

I jump up from the couch. “She came into my home! To steal!”

“Hey! That wasn’t me. My sister had that brilliant idea,” Alexis scoffs. “I just came to save her.”

“Whatever. The point is she came to me. Not the other way around.”

“What a coincidence,” Marcus hisses, “but it doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t have kept her here.”

“What else was I supposed to do? Send her back out there? His men are on every fucking corner of the streets. It’s a fucking wonder she hasn’t been snatched yet.”

He paces around my living room. “Why did you have to do this? Why now? I was this close.” He makes a gesture with his fingers. “If you knew anything about this … goddammit!” he growls.

“No, I don’t because you don’t fucking tell me anything.”

“Because it’s supposed to stay under wraps! Because it’s a fucking secret none of them are supposed to know, not even you.”

“Why? You said you trust me.”

He frowns. “I do, but this is too important to fuck up, and if you get caught, it goes down with you. I can’t let that happen.”

I narrow my eyes. “You think I’m a liability …”

He runs his fingers through his hair. “If Vladim gets his hands on you and finds out you know I’m planning something, everything will be ruined. Gone.”

I hold my hands up. “I’m not the problem.”

“Yes. You. Are.” He taps my chest. “You decided to go play hooky. You could’ve just … just …”

“Given her up? Told them I have her?” I hiss, facing him. “You’re out of your fucking mind.”

We’re in each other’s face now. “She’s not worth risking our fucking lives for.”

“She’s worth everything to me!” I yell, our foreheads touching. “And I’d die for her.”

He sneers at me and scowls but then retreats again. “Fine, if that’s how you feel about her.” He sighs, rubbing his forehead with his fingers. “If you won’t work for him and you refuse to help me, you know what that means, right?”

I nod.

“This is it, then. Our ways part here. But make no mistake … if you utter just one word about our conversations, I’ll hunt you down myself,” he says.

“I’m well aware of what you can do,” I say. “But make no mistake about me either; I’m a vicious, possessive bastard who’ll do anything to keep what’s his.”

A smile creeps onto his face. “I can admire that.”

He picks up his coffee and takes the last sip before letting out a sigh. “Guess this is good-bye then.”