Chapter 34
Chapter
Thirty-Four
Katya
Driving three hours away to a cell tower that isn’t connected to the network I used the last time, I call Dimitri’s burner. Last call.
He picks up on the second ring. “Hello, my little otter.”
“Hello, my octopus.” I pause. “That’s a fucking horrible nickname. We need something better.”
Dimitri laughs. “We do. How are things with you?”
“Well, I am finally on a team with a leader who respects me, so that’s new.” I pick at the steering wheel on the rental car I’m using. “It’s like I’m free of all the shitty men in my life and I can focus on the things that really matter.”
“I hope I land in the second category and not the shitty men.”
I press the phone to my cheek, wishing it was his hand. “Of course. Declan is painting a one year target on finding The Spider, and we have the first few promising leads in months. I just want to catch him and maybe exact a little revenge on the Smirnovs and the Sotelo family.”
“I hate to break it to you, but that last one isn’t Russian.”
I know, but now my sense of loyalty has been amped up and I would like a little justice for my recently acquired mentor.
“Anything new happening with you?”
“Same shit, different day. Ian is a lot happier now that Drew is his friend. Alana seems to be recovering from the explosion. Izzy and Lance are officially dating. Oh, and Waverly has a secret boyfriend. Uri paid him a visit and told him to be on the lookout for the Majesty logo.” Dimitri adds to clarify, “He’s a tattoo artist. Same one who did my octopus. Glad I didn’t kill him when I had the chance. I like seeing Waverly actually happy instead of the fake smile she had when she talked about that Adam guy.”
Things seem to be moving forward with everyone else around us and we’re stuck in this limbo. “One more year,” I whisper.
“What?”
“One more year, and I’m out. I’m leaving when Declan retires.”
His voice jumps a few octaves. “What? Really?”
“I want to give this team some time, but if it doesn't work, I’m ready to move forward.”
He gets quiet. “With me?”
I can’t help but give him a hard time. “No, with the other sexy Russian man who’s a single dad to an incredible kid whose life I saved and risked everything for.”
He huffs. “See, you think you have a sense of humor, but you don’t.”
“I’m hilarious.”
“If you say so, but I’m not laughing.” He’s quiet for a minute. “This is the last call on these phones, right?”
I look out to the field ahead of me. “Yes.”
“I’ll ask Alana to deliver you a new one. There’ll be a pinned location and a date in the calendar. How many times can we meet before you leave the agency?”
I think it over. “Probably four, but I know I have a conference on our anniversary.”
“Oh, we have an anniversary? And when would that be?” he asks with a playful lilt in his voice that I love.
“I was thinking the first time we fucked.” It seems like a good day to start the clock on our relationship.
He lets out a low grumble followed by a sigh. It’s like I can hear his eyes rolling. “You mean the day after I watched my entire family die and lost the only life I had known, while my son was sitting in a panic room with his dead mother and you abandoned us shortly afterwards?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Um, let’s pick a different day.”
“That’s a good plan. How about the day we found each other at the club?”
“Oh, you mean my worst mission where I was a sex object for a douchey guy who took me to a sex club, where I found out my boyfriend works, and where he was flirting with a woman who would later have a wedding with no cake?”
He sighs on the phone. “How about the first time we met up in secret?”
“I’ll have to check my calendar. I don’t remember the actual date,” I lie and laugh.
He groans and it sounds like there’s no air left in his lungs. “It’s a good thing I love you.”
“Worked out conveniently that way, didn’t it?”
“Ugh. you’re such a pain in my ass.”
“But you’ve got a cute ass. I don’t mind being a pain.” I laugh. “Love you too.”
I hang up the phone and sit in the car for a moment before taking out the sim card and snapping it in half. Getting out of the driver's seat, I put the phone under the tires then turn on the car. Amanda Chase plays through the speakers as I back up the car, crushing the phone. The entire drive back, I drop tiny pieces of the phone in garbage cans and off the side of the road. The journey back takes five hours between backtracking, pit stops, and side roads.
The things I do for love.
Dimitri and I meet up two more times before I get word that The Deviant claimed another victim. His name is Adam and he was Waverly’s ex boyfriend. I half expect the Four families to retaliate. But they stay silent.
You know when you watch something from a distance and think, “Yeah that’s a big fucking mistake.” That’s how I feel about the Four Families right now.
There’s a noose closing in on them, and they don’t even see it. It’s only a matter of time before something happens and I won’t be able to protect them.