Semua Bab Blood And Betrayal : Bab 151 - Bab 160

Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-TwoDimitriI stared at Alexei. Phase two. Tomorrow night. Less than twenty-four hours to prepare for whatever was coming."What else did the text say?" I asked.Alexei pulled out his phone and read from the screen. "Just that one line. Phase two begins tomorrow night. Nothing else.""Who was it sent to?" I demanded."A number we do not recognize," Viktor said, walking in. "We are tracing it now but it will take time."I stood up and started pacing. My mind was racing through every possibility. What was phase two? Another attack? Another kidnapping? Or something worse?"We need to talk to the prisoner again," I said. "They know what phase two is. They have to.""They are not talking," Alexei reminded me."Then we make them talk," I replied.Irina stood up. "Dimitri, no. Whatever you are thinking, no.""We do not have time to be gentle," I said. "In less than twenty-four hours, something is going to happen. Something big. And we need to know what it is.""

Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-FourDimitriI stared at the person standing in front of us.The person who should be dead.My mind refused to accept what my eyes were seeing."This is impossible," I said."Clearly it is not," they replied.It was Maria.The same Maria who Katerina claimed was her sister.The same Maria who Lucia supposedly killed.But here she stood, alive and breathing."You died," Alexei said. "We were told you died.""You were told a lot of things," Maria replied. "Most of them were lies."She looked around the hotel lobby. The clerk had run away. The traitors had scattered. We were alone."We need to move," Maria said again. "They will regroup and come back.""I am not going anywhere until you explain," I said.Maria looked at me with frustration. "Fine. But we need to make this quick."She walked to the door and locked it. Then she turned to face us."Twenty years ago, your father killed my father," Maria began. "Anton Sokolov. You already know this part.""Yes,"

Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-SixDimitriI stood in the center of the warehouse facing Pavel Sokolov. The man who had destroyed everything I cared about. He looked nothing like Katerina or Maria. Where they had been passionate and emotional, Pavel was cold and calculated. His eyes were dead. Empty of everything except hate."You came alone," Pavel said. "I am impressed.""I keep my word," I replied. "Unlike you."Pavel smiled. "I never gave you my word about anything.""You killed Viktor," I said. "He was innocent. He had nothing to do with what my father did.""No one in your organization is innocent," Pavel replied. "You are all guilty. All complicit in what your father built.""Viktor was my cousin," I said. "He was family.""So was my father," Pavel shot back. "But that did not stop your father from putting a bullet in his head."I had no response to that. Because he was right. "What do you want from me?" I asked. "You already took everything. What more is there?""Your life," P

Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-EightDimitriSomething was wrong.I felt it in my gut.Irina and Elena should have been back by now."How long have they been gone?" I asked Alexei.He checked his watch."Three hours," he replied."Too long," I said."Give them time," Alexei said. "It could have taken longer to find the safe than we thought."But I could not shake the feeling that something was wrong.I tried calling Irina. No answer.Tried Elena. No answer."That is it," I said. "I am going after them.""Dimitri, wait," Mikhail said. "If you go now, you could be walking into a trap.""I do not care," I replied. "That is my wife out there.""And your son is here," Alexei said. "If something happened to Irina, he will need you more than ever."The words hit me hard.Because he was right.Nikolai was sleeping in the other room. If I left and got killed, he would have no one.No, that was not true.He would have Alexei. His real father."You are right," I said to Alexei. "Nikolai needs his

Chapter One Hundred and SixtyDimitri"Why would they want to speak with you?" the voice on the phone asked."Because I have something they want," I said. "Information about their operations. Secrets that could destroy them. And I am willing to trade it for peace."There was a long pause on the other end."Hold," the voice said.We waited in tense silence. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. This could go very wrong very quickly.Finally, a new voice came on the line. Older. Deeper. More authoritative."Mr. Volkov," the voice said. "My name is Don Romano. I am the head of the Romano family. And I must say, I am surprised to hear from you.""I want to make a deal," I said."What kind of deal?" Don Romano asked."I have files," I explained. "Documents and videos left by my father. Information about your operations. Your enemies. Your secrets. I will give them to you. All of them. In exchange for a guarantee that you will leave my family alone."Don Romano laughed.