“Okay,” I nod, “once you find out what’s going on, we can start discussing how we’re going to take him out.” I look my dad right in the eyes for what I say next. “I’ve never been more serious about something in my life. Ivan is dead.”
“Agreed.”
“I’m going to grab a quick shower before I go back to the hospital. Let me know what time you’re leaving tomorrow. I’ll talk to Lev.” Hopefully we don’t end up throwing punches. I know that is where we’re headed.
2
CONNOR
“Do you need anything before we go?” I ask the girls.
Lily, Ivy, and Claire are all stretched out on the couches in our living room getting ready to watch some movies. Griff is sitting at the kitchen island on his laptop. He’s staying behind while Lev and I go with Dad to interrogate the guy Lily knocked out before getting stabbed.
“I think we’ll be okay,” Lily side-eyes me while pointing to the coffee table that’s covered with all their favorite snacks and drinks. “Plus, we have our babysitter over there to meet any of our unexpected needs while you two are away.”
“You need to take your pain meds in three hours,” I say, ignoring her attitude. “I set an alarm, so you don’t forget. Let Griff help you move around.”
“Con,” her electric blue eyes narrow, “I say this with love, but fuck off. I’m completely capable of taking care of myself.”
“Let me know if you need anything,” I say turning to Griff. I know that if I don’t ignore Lily now, we’ll just start arguing, and she doesn’t need that. I’m being overbearing and protective, but keeping my family safe is quite literally the only thing driving me right now. Everyone in this room and my dad are my priority right now.
Griff pats his back where a gun is tucked inside his jeans. He also knows my dad has his own security watching our floor of the building. We know that once Lilith figures it out, she’ll order them to go home so we decided to use own security that don’t answer to her.
Lev walks over to answer the door when Dad knocks.
“You ready?” Dad asks as he walks in and past me to check on the girls. He crouches down in front of Claire and kisses her forehead before doing the same to Lily. He pats Ivy’s cheek and asks about Frank, Levi’s father and her ex-stepfather, to see if he’s started increasing security. Ivy wasn’t a target according to what Claire overheard but now that she single-handedly saved Claire, she could be targeted for retribution.
I look over at Lev, who still barely speaks a word to me, let alone makes eye contact. Griff looks up at me with his eyes darting back and forth between Lev and me. He raises his eyebrows, and I know exactly what that look means.
This helicopter flight is going to suck.
Lev and I say goodbye to the girls and follow Dad to the elevator. Dad stops in front of the security guard who’s sitting there and reiterates the importance of not leaving that spot until someone else comes to relieve him. We go up to the helicopter pad and board.
The flight is as full of tension as I thought it would be. Lev completely ignores me and stays glued to his phone the whole time. It’s fine, gives me time to think and let my inner-monster bubble up to the surface.
I’m not sure what Ivan thinks he is doing, trying to abduct the girls and sell them into sex slavery. From the time I was eight until I turned thirteen, I spent my summers with him in Russia. He taught me how to fight by using me as his punching bag or forcing me to watch him execute members of other mafia families. He always threatened Claire if I told Dad, so I kept my mouth shut.
I did my best to keep her safe and tucked away from his brand of evil. I overheard Dad and Mom discussing sending her over there one summer when she turned eight. I remembered hearing one of Griff’s sisters talking about an intensive summer dance program and suggested that instead. Luckily, that turned into a recurring thing for her every summer until my mom whisked her away to Ireland.
I know at some point I’m going to have to tell someone. Griff has always known part of it but not all the horrible details. Every day since the attack I’ve had nightmares. I can feel my control slipping. My darkness is a bottomless well, and I can feel myself sinking. My fists burn to smash into flesh. I crave the crunch of bone against bone.
I’m pulled out of my violent fantasy when the chopper touches down on Lake’s compound in upstate New York. He’s waiting for us as we exit.
“He’s not talking,” Lake says as he starts leading us toward a cinderblock building.
We follow him through a steel door and down two flights of metal stairs into a dank basement. It smells like stale water and wet concrete. We go through another steel door into a large room. The guy is handcuffed to a bolted-down metal chair in the middle of the room. Spotlights shine in his face, which is mottled with blue and purple bruises and one of his eyes is swollen shut.
A tiny surge of pride pulses inside me, reminding me that I am still human under this cloak of rage. All that damage to his face is from his fight with Lily. I’m glad she’s stayed a relative mystery to my family outside of Claire and Dad. No one knew that she has been training in Krav Maga for ten years or that she is capable of taking grown men down in multiples. I catch Lev looking at the guy’s face with a half smirk too, and I know
