Page 68 of Demitri

“Guess we know I’m definitely made now, huh?”

“Probably. But isn’t that what you wanted?”

“It is, but not this way. I’m afraid all of you are in danger now. Two of theirkryshashave been removed from the ranks. You know he’s not going to stay silent, and as soon as he gets a phone call, he’ll call Sasha.”

“You let us worry about us. You worry about yourself and staying safe.”

“Part of me wants to talk to her. Find out what she really wants. If it’s the money, fuck, she can have it.”

“I think we both know it’s not just the money. She needs you.”

“Why?”

“Because you have what she doesn’t. It resides between your legs. You were born with it, and therefore, are always a threat to her. If she can’t get you to join her, then she has to eliminate you to demonstrate her power over the ‘rightful heir’.”

“You sure know a lot about crime families and how they work.”

“Had to. Special Ops. We did all kinds of interesting things. I spent a lot of time in areas where the mafia ran everything.”

“Were all of you in the super-secret military society?”

“Not all of us. Some of us were just Rangers.”

“Fuck off,” Daniel calls from the other side of the room where he’s working on a computer with Joker.

“Yeah, fuck off.” Joker grins and I shiver.

See, that grin is terrifying. Grady has some practice to do.

I shake my head, chuckling at the group. What they all have is something I’ve never experienced. Being in the military has made them all family, even if they didn’t serve together or at the same time. I never wanted to be a part of my family, and I knew from an early age I didn’t want to be like my father.

I pull out my phone. Four-thirty in the morning. Mia’s going to kill me.

“I need to get home. Mia’s either worried or pissed, and I’d prefer to grovel as soon as possible.”

“No need to rush, she’s not there.” Grady smirks.

“What do you mean, she’s not there? Is she alright?”

“I don’t know if she’s alright, but she’s safe. Aunt Linda called for a sleepover. All the girls are there.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about Aunt Linda getting so close to Mia,” I confess. “She knows too much, and that could be dangerous.”

Daniel walks over to us, a knowing look on his face. “I can promise she’s alright.”

“What do you know?”

“Not allowed to talk about it, but it’s not bad.”

“I’ll believe it when I know what you do. Until then, I’m going to remain skeptical. I don’t like not knowing the secrets.”

“I know you don’t, but all I know is that there’s an idea being floated. No more, I swear.”

“I need to get to Aunt Linda’s.”

“Nope. We just did a damn fine job not breaking the guy’s legs and turning him over to the cops. We’re going to celebrate with breakfast.”

“Nothing’s open,” I point out.

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