Page 91 of Born into Blood

He grunts on impact, and there’s no way in hell he’s going to be able to get up in enough time. He knows it. I can see it in his eyes—the hope that quickly dwindles and dies out.

I bring the sharp blade down with all the force I can, burying it in his heart. “This is for Lara,” I tell him, giving it a twist. He groans as his eyes widen in horror. Death is rarely instant, and as much as I’d like to keep my knife in his chest so it’ll last longer, Lara is my first priority, not this stupid fucker, so I pull it out. Without the blade in place, blood flows freely from the large wound and he loses consciousness in seconds. I don’t bother to wait around for him to bleed out. He’ll be dead in minutes, but I don’t have the time to waste.

Stepping out of the storage closet, I shut the door behind me and immediately meet my dad’s eyes. I give him a quick nod, letting him know it’s over. My Uncle Vitaly is patting some guy on the back and motioning towards the bar that’s now missing a bartender. As I walk by I hear him say, “All you have to do is serve drinks. You can keep any money you make and feel free to take all the liquor bottles you want when you leave for the night. All you have to do is keep your fucking mouth shut.”

“I won’t say a word,” the guy promises, shaking his head for emphasis.

My uncle laughs and smacks the man’s shoulder. “Of course you won’t, Sam.”

I don’t have to ask to know that my Uncle Vitaly has already taken a picture of the man’s driver’s license, so unless he wants a late-night visit from us, he’s going to keep his goddamn mouth shut.

We leave Sam to his new bartending duties and walk out of the club, heading straight to the SUV Danil is in. When I see the annoyed look on his face, I know I’m not going to like what he’s about to say. I ask anyway.

“Find anything?”

He looks at me and shakes his head, clearly pissed off at being stumped like this. “I’ve done everything I can think of, but I can’t find out who it belongs to. I’ve never seen anything like this, it’s like he’s put up decoys, so when I try to hack into it, it sends me on a wild goose chase.” He lets out an annoyed sigh. “This is going to take a while, Luka.”

“No,” I tell him, shaking my head and digging my phone out of my pocket, already tapping Niki’s name as I’m telling his dad, “Niki can do it.”

My uncle starts to argue, but I cut him off. “He hacked into your computer.”

He has just enough time to say, “The fuck?” when Niki answers the phone.

“We need your help,” I tell him while his dad says loud enough to be heard over the phone, “You hacked into my computer?”

I expected some anger, but there’s only a stunned sort of respect in his voice right before his eyes widen and he says, “Tell me you didn’t open the file with your mom’s name.”

“Tell him I avoided that one like the plague,” Niki says in my ear.

“No, he left it alone,” I tell my uncle, who visibly relaxes at my words and mutters a quick, “Thank god.”

I tell Niki we’re on our way and jog back to my car with Val and Max. All I can think about is Lara and how it’s taking way too fucking long to find her.

“We’re going to find her,” Val tells me when we race through yet another red light.

“We have to,” is my response, because that’s the only outcome I’m willing to accept.

“Niki will get us an address,” Max says from the backseat, nothing but confidence in his voice, because as good as his dad is, there’s no denying that Niki is even better. “We’re getting her back, Luka. We won’t stop until we do.”

I know he means it. They both do. They’re more than my cousins, they’re like my brothers, and they have my back just like I will always have theirs. We’re going to find Lara, and not a single one of us will stop until we do. Whoever took her is going to die a very painful death. They’ve just fucked with the wrong goddamn family.

It doesn’t take long to get to the apartment building, and as soon as I’ve cut the engine, we’re piling out, already pushing the button for the private elevator when our dads pull in. We don’t wait, just get on the elevator as soon as it opens and head up. I know my uncle has already texted Niki the number, and I’m counting on it not being a long wait. I’m not sure how much longer I can last.

My aunt is waiting for us as soon as the doors open. She takes one look at me and pulls me in for a hug.

“I’m so sorry, Luka.” She squeezes me tighter before letting me go and meeting my eyes. “You’ll find her,” she tells me, holding my gaze until I nod in agreement. She pats my cheek and blinks back her own tears. “No one will quit until you do.”

“Thanks,” I tell her, both of us turning when we hear the elevator doors open again and the others step out. I take advantage of the distraction and head for Niki’s room. Max and Val follow me, and when we find Niki, he’s focused on his laptop, fingers furiously typing away.

He doesn’t bother lifting his head when he says, “I’ve almost got it. Just a few more minutes.”

My Uncle Danil steps into the room and goes to stand behind his son, curious to see how he’s doing it. He watches the screen before shaking his head, unable to hide the proud smile on his face.

“Jesus,” he mutters, giving a soft laugh. “You’ve been keeping secrets, Son.”

Niki shrugs. “Is now a good time to admit that I’ve been hacking into our school and changing our grades for years.”

His dad laughs. “That sounds like something I would’ve done. I can’t even get angry about it.”

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