Page 91 of Innocent Prey of the Bratva

“Maxim, get this bastard away from my sight,” I bark. Maxim drags Arina along.

“She was always a tool. A beautiful, soft, deadly tool. A distraction. And even after you kill me, Kazimir, she will still end up dead. There’s a bounty on her head that you can’t erase with blood.”

I pull out my gun. Maxim tenses. Niko, behind me, is already moving fast.

“Kaz,” Niko barks, grabbing my wrist. “Don’t.”

“I’ll do it myself,” I grit.

“You won’t,” he snaps. “Not because they don’t deserve it—but because you don’t need more blood on your hands. Not theirs. Not today.”

I shake with rage. But I let go. Barely. Niko nods toward the guards. “Get them loaded into the van. Now.”

They drag Arina away. Their smile never leaves their face, and that burns more than anything else.

I don’t watch them go.

I just turn to Maxim. “Make it painful.”

Niko smirks. “Trust.”

Then he follows Maxim up the stairs and disappears from sight. I wait a few moments to calm myself before going to find Violet. I have plans for us today. She can go to town to hang out with her friends. She’ll have bodyguards, of course, but she’s free to do what she wants from now on.

Or maybe we can have lunch with Jennie and Adrian, or Zoe and Lukin, or maybe a group dinner. A smile touches my face despite everything.

I head to our bedroom, hoping she’s back. She stormed off earlier, and I’ve been trying not to imagine the worst—again. But as I push open the door, I see her.

She’s standing on the balcony, her back to me, hair tangled in the evening breeze. Her posture is stiff, unmoving. In her hands is a piece of paper, crumpled at the edges. I don’t know what it is.

“Violet.”

She whirls around. Her eyes lock with mine—and my heart nearly stops. Fear. Raw and unfiltered.

“What’s going on, Violet?”

Her voice hits me like a backhand. “You’ve wanted me dead for so long, haven’t you?”

“What?”

She flings the paper at me, her hands shaking. “Don’t lie to me.”

The page floats like ash and lands at my feet. I pick it up.

Shit.

It’s the list. The fucking kill list.

The one from Arina’s room—the one I found after they were arrested. I meant to destroy it. Meant to burn it into oblivion. But I didn’t. I left it. Careless. Stupid. And now she’s standing here, unraveling because she went snooping.

“Violet—”

“What did I ever do to you?” she says, voice cracking. “I thought you wanted me.”

“I do.” The words leave me in a rasp.

“Then why?” Her voice rises. Breaks. “Why was one of your closest people planning to kill me? What am I even doing here, Kaz? You were never going to let me live, were you?”

Her words stagger me. I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. She looks at me like I’m the end of every good thing she ever believed in.