Crimson Kisses

Amara pov: Moscow at night is cold as a corpse and twice as merciless.I crouched on the roof of an abandoned building, eyes locked on Dmitri Solokov’s fortress, more like a goddamn castle made of blood money and bullshit. The bastard lived like a king, but kings bled just like the rest of us.The place was crawling. Guards with AKs, security cameras on every damn wall, snarling dogs that looked like they hadn’t eaten in days. But when you screw over half the underground world, paranoia becomes your best friend.I checked my watch. Shift change in thirty seconds. Predictable as hell.“Time to meet your fucking maker, Dmitri,” I muttered, pulling my hood up.The second those guards moved, I did too, fast, silent, a shadow with a blade. Climbing the wall was a child’s play. Cutting the power to the cameras was a literal joke. By the time I slipped through an open window, I was already a ghost in his golden cage.Inside, the place screamed wealth. Gold-lined walls, marble floors, a chan

Amara POV:Viktor Dragovic wants to make a deal with me? That’s fucking hilarious.I’ve killed men with more brains and less ego. He thinks tossing money and whispers my way will get my attention?He has no idea who he’s playing with.Still, I couldn’t help but grin as I stared at the encrypted message glowing on the screen:“The Devil offers a meeting. Midnight. Iron Citadel.”Drama much?I leaned back on the hotel couch, swirling cheap whiskey in a glass. My black boots were muddy from last night’s kill, blood still crusted on the laces. I hadn’t bothered cleaning them. Why would I? The mess was half the art.He’d been trying to kill Dmitri Solokov for four fucking years. I did it in one night with no backup and no blueprint. That must’ve bruised his pride so hard he bled jealousy.Now he wanted to meet me. Like I was some damn contractor.My laughter cracked the silence, dry, bitter, dangerous.“Poor bastard’s probably jerking off to my kill report.”I shook my head and downed the

Amara POV:The night air outside the Iron Citadel smacked me in the face as soon as I stepped through the gates. It was cold, sharp, and cruel, like the bastard I’d just left behind. Viktor Dragovic thought he could reel me in with his big speech and smug smile, like I was some pawn ready to be played. Screw him. I wasn’t going to dance for anyone, least of all a man like him.The guards at the gate didn’t look me in the eye as I passed. Good. Let them be afraid. I hailed a cab, the sharp whistle cutting through the eerie silence of the street. The headlights blinked once as the car rolled up, and I climbed in without saying a damn word, slamming the door behind me. The driver asked where to, but I barely heard him over the pounding of my thoughts. When I finally mumbled my address, he nodded and took off.The city blurred past the windows, the dark streets and flickering lights swallowing me whole. My boots tapped against the floor of the cab, restless, angry. Viktor had pissed m

Amara pov:We were finally settled in the Iron Citadel, Viktor’s goddamn fortress. Everything screamed power, wealth, and danger. And the moment I saw Viktor’s smug face, that arrogant smirk like he’d just won some twisted game, I wanted to slap the hell out of him. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. Because my brother was here. Because I had to stay strong, for him. I couldn’t leave Luca alone in this lion’s den.They gave us rooms next to each other. There was a door between them, connecting our spaces, and even though I didn’t say shit about it, I appreciated it. Just knowing he was close helped keep the panic from crawling up my throat but our rooms being placed directly across from Viktor’s is not a fucking coincidence. He wanted us right in front of higreyes, under his control. They probably didn’t trust me; smart move.The room they gave me was… nice. Too nice. Big-ass windows, expensive furniture, a bed softer than anything I’d slept in, even better than the house I bought for Luca in

Viktor pov:My boots echoed like thunder across the marble halls, heart slamming against my ribs with a ferocity I didn’t understand, no, refused to understand. The boy was gone. Luca. A fucking child, stolen from my house like I was some fool running a circus instead of a fortress.I wasn’t thinking straight. And I hated that.The corridors blurred as I stormed past security gates, the lights flickering above like dying stars. I growled into the comm again, “Update, now.”Aleksander’s voice crackled through. “Motion sensors, lower levels. South wing.”“That leads to the underground tunnel routes,” Damir added, voice clipped and sharp.Fuck. Of course. If I were trying to disappear without a trace, that’s where I’d go.We took the service stairs two at a time, weapons drawn, adrenaline punching through my veins like battery acid. I didn’t know why I was this agitated. Maybe it was the thought of Amara