The hold wasn’t of restraint, but control—a warning. My eyes stayed locked on Rodion as he came closer. His stare never wavered. The old fear buried inside me twisted, wrappingaround my ribs.
Dmitri’s chuckle brushed my ear, low and wrong. He pinned the gun under my chin. My body froze, recognizing that breathless stillness before chaos. If anyone had told me this morning, my smile wouldn’t last, I would’ve nodded. That’s the cost of believing there’s light in this life. Darkness always waits to snuff it out.
“Looks like you found out,” Dmitri said.
Rodion stepped forward. “Let her go.” His voice scraped. He looked at me like I was the last piece of something he couldn’t afford to lose.
Dmitri’s arm tightened, not enough to knock me out but enough to crush the air from my throat. I gasped. Rodion stopped cold.
“Let’s test it,” Dmitri murmured. “Let’s see what she’s really worth to you.”
Rodion took another step, his fingers locking harder around the gun. “Let her go.”
“One more step,” Dmitri said, “and you watch her die.”
This wasn’t just some brotherly feud; it was something older, something rotting beneath the surface. Rodion’s face wasn’t just angry. Betrayal broke it open.
“Luigi.” The name cracked through the air. My knees buckled as my mind scrambled to catch up. Dmitri was working for Luigi as well? “Is it true?”
Rodion had torn out the parts of himself that used to love.
Dmitri scoffed. “So you figured it out. Now what?”
Rodion’s eyes sharpened, his grip choking the trigger. “Did you kill them?” Dmitri didn’t flinch. My spine locked. “Did you fucking kill them?”
Dmitri exhaled, bored. “Them? You’ll have to be specific—”
“Don’t fuck with me!” Rodion’s shout cracked through the trees. The birds were gone. The silence afterward felt loaded, theforest itself held its breath as well. “Did you kill them?”
“I’m not answering that,” Dmitri said flatly. “I’m done wasting time. Drop the gun.”
Rodion moved, and a shot cracked through the air. I flinched, bracing for the pain, but nothing came. Only the ringing in my ears and the sound of the world holding still.
“One more step,” Dmitri said, “and I’ll put her down. I’m Luigi, so you should know what I can do.”
Those words didn’t belong in daylight. They crawled out of nightmares. My heart stuttered.
Dmitri said he was—no. No, it couldn’t be.
Rodion looked at me. Maybe he saw the fear as the truth unraveled behind my eyes. He lowered his arm, dropped the gun, and kicked it toward Dmitri without a word.
Dmitri let out a short, mean laugh. “I thought your kidney was your weakness. Turns out she is.”
He kicked the gun behind him, then shoved me so hard I stumbled. My knees buckled, but Rodion caught me before I hit the ground. My hands clung to his shirt, and for a moment, I held on like it was the only solid thing left.
“Don’t look for me,” Dmitri said. “I’ll find you when my next job is done.”
He emptied Rodion’s gun, letting the bullets scatter on the ground. His eyes looked straight at me.
“Sorry, darling,” he said, and winked. “Mafia shit.”
Rodion had left the bike running. Dmitri swung on and roared away without a glance back. I stepped out of Rodion’s arms, watching the dust curl behind him as the silence wrapped around everything.
His jaw locked so tight I thought his teeth would shatter. His chest rose and fell, he couldn’t contain what was breaking inside him.
I shook my head. “Is Dmitri…”
“Go inside.”