18. Yana
Fyodor’s Rules #31 - Cultivate allies, but be mindful of who you trust with your secrets.
Lukas had left me alone in the woods. No, not totally alone, he’d left me with his two mutts. I had known them since they were puppies, although they weren’t so little anymore. Now they were giants, and barely looked like dogs anymore, they bore more of a resemblance to demons or hellhounds.
“What has he been feeding you guys?” I joked with them and hoped it would lighten the mood.
It didn’t get them to back off, but they didn’t have their fangs bared at me anymore, though their bodies were both tense. I brought my hands up, wincing at the pain in my back. It felt like my back was on fire, however, there wasn’t much I could do about it right now. I was somewhere in the woods, with no idea which direction would lead me to safety. And I knew if I even thought about running, Ghost and Demon would hunt me down.
With my hands up, I took a small step towards them. “Come on, guys, you know me.”
In some respects, dogs were easier to deal with than people, in others harder. Neither of them had tried to kill me yet, but I knew Lukas could communicate with them, I wasn’t sure if it was restricted by distance. After all these years, I didn’t know to what extent his control of them had developed. Could he have used them to spy on me, to lull me into a false sense of security before he orders them to rip me apart?
I really didn’t want to die that way.
When they didn’t move, I brought my hands down slowly, shifting them out in front of me with my palms open and facing up. Slowly, I reached out to them.
“You know me, boys. I used to sneak you treats all the time.” One of them, I wasn’t sure which was which, growled and I stopped my movement. Losing a hand would only increase my blood loss, and I really didn’t want to die like that either. To be honest, I didn’t want to die at all.
Taking a step back from the dogs, I leaned my body heavily against the nearest tree. All my weight was resting on the side of my arm, one of the very few places that didn’t hurt. I had to hand it to Alexei; he had gotten better at this whole torture thing in my absence. More controlled. The teenager I had known would have gotten too excited and cut too deep. It looked like I wasn’t the only one who had spent the past decade honing their skills. I didn’t even want to think what my back looked like. Hopefully, Fyodor had the number of an excellent healer.
My heart lurched as I thought about Fyodor, he was probably wondering why I had not returned. He knew I was going out to meet with Pasha, although I hadn’t told him where, and I wasn’t sure what he would do when I didn’t come home. He wasn’t the sort to do anything rash. I didn’t need to worry about him taking on the boys directly to get me back. However, I knew losing me would put a serious dampener on his plans, and I didn’t like to disappoint him.
I wasn’t sure where my phone had ended up, Alexei had probably taken it. Hopefully, they wouldn’t crack the password that protected its secrets. Most of the security measures were biometrics. I had been unconscious in their custody twice now, so who knew what had been done to me.
My hand reflexively went to my wrist to fidget with the cuff, but that just reminded me that, for the first time in ten years, it was missing. Alexei or Pasha must have removed it before they electrocuted me, and it had to be how Lukas found me. It was also the reason I knew I couldn’t lie to them anymore. So, I was going to have to come up with a new plan, and quickly. Just because they had caught me, that didn’t mean my quest for vengeance was over. If anything, I was now in a better place to achieve my goal.
Assuming Lukas ever came back to these woods to get me, and that they didn’t just finish the job they had started a decade ago.
Looking up at the treetops, I tried to determine the time of day. I wasn’t sure how long I had been in their basement, or how long Alexei had been cutting into me. Fyodor had always encouraged me to count in situations like that. It gave my brain something to do, as well as helping to keep track of time. But Alexei had made that so difficult as his every slice of the knife had been so precise, so sure, like he knew exactly where to cut to get the effect he wanted.
And he probably did.
I was working on all the ways I could adjust my plan to suit this change in circumstances, when suddenly Lukas was standing in front of me. He didn’t look angry this time, he just looked lost. That also may have been because he refused to look directly at me.
“Come with me.” He held his hand out, but for a moment, I considered running again. Although it had been a long time since Lukas had chased me, I had no doubt he would catch me easily. Plus, running in the woods in heels was a recipe for a broken ankle, and I was already approaching the upper limits of my pain tolerance.
I wasn’t sure where he planned to take me, but almost anywhere was better than here, so I took his hand. Unsure whether I wanted him to look at me, I wasn’t surprised when his gaze remained averted. He wanted information he wasn’t ready to hear, and gods knew I hadn’t been ready to tell him.
Unfortunately, everyone was going to have to be uncomfortable today, it seemed.
Teleporting really wasn’t the most pleasant of feelings; though maybe it got easier the more often you did it. My head was spinning, but that might have been the blood loss. I really was going to have to do something about that. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stave off unconsciousness. And if Lukas was going to kill me, I wanted him to look me in the eye when he did it.
Of all the places I had been expecting us to appear, an office with all four of my adopted brothers was not on the list. Each of them had grim, serious expressions clouding their faces. Alexei scowled at me like he wanted to murder me. Pasha looked like he was trying to hide whatever he was feeling, and it all resulted in a grimace. Nikolai, I watched as his expression turned from grim to something darker—hungrier. He also looked surprised; maybe he hadn’t been expecting me to be covered in blood. Too bad my blood wouldn’t do anything for him anymore. He could only feed on the people he loved, and there had been no love lost between us for almost a decade.
Betrayal certainly puts a dampener on things.
“Fuck, Alexei. You went to fucking town . . .” Nikolai tried to hold his breath as he spoke, I could see it in the pinched expression on his face.
I narrowed my eyes, taking a step back, towards where I hoped the door was located. It had to be behind me because it sure as shit wasn’t in front of me. Lukas put a hand on my back, and I could barely hold in the scream. I lurched forward, away from him, and fell to my knees as the pain washed over me.
I could hear the scoff come from Alexei, but it was covered over by Pasha as he stepped forward. “She’ will answer nothing if she’s unconscious on the floor.”
He knelt in front of me and tried to look me in the eye, but I turned my head. I didn’t want his pity; I didn’t need it. In fact, he could shove it up his ass.
“Don’t ruin my art, Pasha . . .”
Oh, heaven forbid Alexei’s art gets ruined, and I do not end up dead on their floor. Now wouldn’t that be awful. But then I would die revealing nothing, and I felt a smug sort of victory in that. Clearly, they had brought me here to talk, given what Pasha had said, but I ’would not tell them anything. I’d rather die.
Pasha’s palm was laid gently on my shoulder, and a warm glow came from his hand. I could feel as it traveled under my skin and down my back. I had to bite my lip to hold back a whimper, but I ’would not give them the satisfaction of screaming again. The pain in my back faded a little but was not gone completely, not by a long shot. However, it was gone enough that I couldn’t feel blood running down my back any longer, and I could take a deep breath without wanting to vomit.
Pasha better not have been expecting a thank you.
Lifting my head, I still did not look at Pasha, but I could see Alexei and Lukas furiously murmuring to each other, before Lukas slid something into his ears. Looks like I probably couldn’t talk my way out of this one, but they wouldn’t be able to keep those things in their ears all the time. They’d slip up, or one of them would go to sleep, and then I would have my window of opportunity.
Pasha stood up, and I returned to looking at my hands. They weren’t bound, which was probably a mistake on their part, but I also didn’t have my knives. There was sure to be a weapon in the room somewhere, but I needed to get the lay of the land first. Find out what they were all thinking and what information they were searching for; only then could I come up with a new plan for how I was going to use that against them.
“You don’t have to kneel on the floor for this. You can stand if you like or sit. Although I am sure sitting won’t be the most comfortable.” Nikolai’s voice was smooth, charming, even. Devised to sound like he was on my side, and not holding me prisoner after his brother had tortured me.
Defiance flared within me, and I pushed up to my feet and sat in the chair that was directly opposite Nikolai’s. The desk was set between us, and this almost looked like a regular business meeting. Except for the way I was sitting ramrod straight, to make sure that my back wasn’t touching the chair. It wasn’t comfortable, but I would not face them on my knees. I raised my head and looked him in his mismatched eyes, forcing him to meet my gaze.
“We have some questions for you. You can answer them, or you can go back down into the basement with Alexei. Then you can answer them there.” He was trying to sound reasonable, using his cultured voice to make it seem like he was my friend, even though we both knew he wasn’t.
“I’ll go back into the basement, thank you.” I kept my tone dry and polite. Like I was being forced to talk to people I really didn’t want to engage with, which wasn’t far from the truth. Nikolai just raised an eyebrow, not rising to my bait, and I heard Alexei snort behind me.
“She has a death wish, Nik. Why make her wait?”
He sounded so eager to get his hands on me again, or his knife. He was a bit of a perfectionist, and I was sure it was bothering him that whatever he had been doing to my back was unfinished. But honestly, I would rather face the knife than these questions. The knife wasn’t too bad; the gouge and that last thing he had used to peel off my skin, I could definitely do without experiencing again.
Nikolai ran a hand down his face. Well, that was something that hadn’t changed; I had to tamp down hard on the wave of nostalgia that threatened to pull me under. “You haven’t heard our questions yet.”
I just shrugged and lifted my chin. It didn’t matter what questions they asked, did it? I would not answer them, and I think on some level, he knew that.
“Are you planning to kill us all?” The question was out there now, heavy in the air. Even Nikolai looked surprised that he’d asked it. Maybe he had been trying to shock me with an unexpected question.
And maybe that’s the reason I answered him.
“Yes.” The word snapped crisply out of my mouth, and I felt the tension in the room ratchet up.
Alexei laughed, a dark, menacing sound behind me. Not the last thing I wanted to hear before I died, but it wasn’t the worst. I just had to hope he made it quick. He must have been moving towards me because Nikolai held a hand up, and then lowered it again.
“Why? We don’t even know you.” Always so calm, as he tried to get the information he needed.
I realized it was funny, so I tilted my head back and laughed. Not just at Nikolai’s demeanor, but at his statement. It was both true and yet false at the same time. They didn’t know me anymore, but they had, they were the ones that had known me best of all.
“Why do you care? You’ve caught me. You’ve won. Take your victory. We both know I am not walking out of here alive. So do whatever you want, but I am not telling you anything.” I spoke with more confidence than I truly possessed. It wasn’t like I wanted to die, not really, but I was also stubborn. I didn’t want to give in to them, and I wasn’t wrong. As soon as they knew who I was, they were going to kill me. Why should I give them any closure before they did?
Sighing with a sound that made him seem older than he was, Nikolai ran that hand down his face again. He really needed to learn not to do that, it was such a tell that this situation was getting to him. He looked first to Alexei, then to Pasha, and finally Lukas. His eyes remained fixed over my shoulder, where I knew Lukas was standing, like he was searching the face of the other man for something, perhaps absolution.
The silence stretched on, maybe for more than a minute or for only a few seconds. Maybe it was a century. But when Nikolai’s eyes finally snapped back to mine; I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved. His words didn’t help me decide either. “A pact then. You answer three questions, and I will answer three questions. Honestly.”
That was a weighty offer. The pact magic would ensure we were honest. But how useful would the information really be to me if I was dead before I could share it with anyone? While I wanted the chance to ask him questions, I also needed a way out once it was done. I couldn’t just ask him to let me go—it was a pointless question—he would never agree. Instead, I would have to hope that the questions he asked me were open enough that I could gain his interest and he would want to keep me around. My chances may be slim, but it was better than letting him hand me over to Alexei, to answer his questions in the basement before I died.
Everyone broke eventually. I wanted to think I was stubborn enough to last, and I knew I would last a while. But I had learned many lessons under Fyodor’s tutelage, and that had been an important one.
“I agree. We take it in turns. You can start.”
I wouldn’t risk him having asked me his three questions, and then killing me before I posed my final one. Besides, letting him go first would make it seem like I was conceding to my situation, to him, when really all I was doing was gaining an idea of what he wanted to know, which allowed me to narrow down my own questions.
He nodded at my request and held out his hand. “Three questions each answered honestly. We take it in turns. I swear.”
I looked at his hand for a long moment, feeling the tingle of magic in the air. With resignation, I put my hand in his. “I swear.”
The magic snapped into place, binding us to our oath. This weight on our chests would only get worse until we fulfilled the pact.
Pulling his hand back, Nikolai steepled them like he was some kind of villain, and it took a lot of my depleted energy I had left not to roll my eyes. He didn’t leave me hanging in suspense for long. “Why do you want to kill us?”
I almost scoffed at his question. It was such a waste, and I would not be so careless with mine. “Betrayal should be paid in kind.”
He didn’t look happy with my answer, a mix of confusion and annoyance creased his brow, but I didn’t care. It wasn’t my job to make things easy for him.
“What do I need to do, in order for you not to kill me?”
Again, a look of surprise crossed his face. I wasn’t sure if he was tired, drunk, or just let his guard down. Or maybe it was all a ruse, and he was trying to play me just as much as I was trying to play him. “Give me a piece of information that is useful enough for me to keep you around. Or you could try begging, but that is a bit hit or miss.”
Like I would beg him for anything. He could probably feel the disdain I was sure was rolling off me, given the way he was smirking at me. This time, he didn’t just blurt out a question, instead he looked thoughtful. “You clearly know a fair bit about us, more than you could have learned from gossip between the families.” His eyes flicked again to Lukas and then back to me. I wasn’t yet hearing a question. “When did you meet Lukas for the first time?”
I felt like the air had been knocked from my lungs. He hadn’t flat out asked me who I was, but it was still a smart question. It was one I had to answer, although I did so through clenched teeth.
“We met as children.” I was as vague as I could be, while still being truthful.
Nikolai looked both smug and scared at the same time. As if he had backed me into a corner and knew he had me trapped, but at the same time, was scared to capture me. And he should be.
My next question was aimed at gathering information I wanted; I needed to use this situation to my advantage. “Why are you allying yourself with the Italians, and not the Bratva?”
His brow furrowed, but my question did not have to be explained to him. “The plan is to ally ourselves with all the families. But we trust the Italians more than the Bratva right now.”
He didn’t look happy about handing the answer over. Interesting, I would have thought they’d be doing everything they could to ally themselves with our former family. If there was tension there, maybe it was something Fyodor and I could exploit.
I didn’t have time to plan that out though, and the next question chilled me to my bones. “What is your name, pchelka?”
My eyes slid away. I couldn’t look at him. I couldn’t look at any of them. This was how I was going to die. I lifted my chin, staring at the roof. I refused to look at the floor, to act meek. If they were going to kill me, I wanted to see it coming.
“Yana Sirota.”
I hadn’t changed my name when we moved. I refused to let them strip that from me. Sure, I had false identification papers that had a few different names on them, but none of those names was truly mine.
I didn’t get to take in more of their reactions than a sharp intake of breath around the room. The last thing I heard was the muttered word “sleep” from Alexei, who was closer than I thought.
And unable to fight his command, I slept.