Page 80 of Heritage of Fire

“Remove her and give her to one of the men to play with.” The tall man flicks his hand, and Bella screams when the guard gripping my hair starts to drag me away. I fight, digging in my heels and thrashing as best I can. But, weak, I’m losing ground and being dragged away from?—

“Wait, wait! I’m hersister!” I yell, and the beady-eyed man holds up a hand to halt the guard.

“Her sister?”

“Yes. I’m her older sister. Luna Buscetta. Take me, useme. I guarantee I’m worth more than her.Please,” I beg, tears welling my eyes. A mixture of debilitating panic and courage heightens my awareness; I know what I need to say.

“You think you’re worth more,” he repeats slowly. He looks skeptical. “Why is that?”

I don’t know who this group is, but it’s clear they don’t run in the same mafia circles as our family.

“Will you let her go? If I can deliver on this—prove to be more useful? You’ll let her go?”

“Ifwhat you say proves to be worth something—yes, I will let her go. You have my word.”

I know better than to assume this man is actually a man of his word. But what choice do I have?

A man with glasses speaks up. “This better not be a game.”

I step forward, yanking away from the man holding me. “I am Luna Buscetta, but I …” I take a breath, looking to my sister.

Bella’s tears are falling uncontrollably now. “Luna, don’t …” she cracks out hoarsely, unable to fully speak. Her expression is broken and full of fear.

I steel myself and look the man dead in the eye. “I am Luna Buscetta. But … I am also Luna Balakin. Nikolai Balakin is my husband. I married into the Bratva.”

One of the men stands abruptly to lean over the table, eyes wide in probably shock, while a slithering laugh falls out of the beady-eyed man. “This is—this isbeyondwhat I could’ve hoped for.” His laughter rings in the silent room.

Disgust curls my lips as he revels in my declaration.

“No! Wecannotdo this,” the man standing behind the table yells. “This will not end well.”

“Shut up, Senator Hope. Just because you screwed up the destruction of the Bratva, doesn’t mean we should pass up on this opportunity.” His eyes slide to me. “A bargaining chip worth something to both sides. I wonder how much they’d give up to have you back?”

He laughs again, brandishing a knife from his pocket as he moves over to my sister. I lunge toward her.

“Relax, my little puppet. Lucky for you, youarein fact worth ten times more to us than your little sister here.” He cuts both her hand ties and the bindings at her feet, then he nods to one of the guards. “Take her outside the city and drop her off. She can find her own way home.”

“Hey!” I say, marching forward, but yelp as my hair is snatched back, straining my neck.

“Stop,please,” my sister cries as she’s ushered out of the room. “I’m so sorry, Luna.”

I’m shoved onto the floor again. The tall man steps over me, smiling as he draws a syringe out from his suit pocket.

“Prep her for transport and alert the others. We need to be prepared for Luka.”

He grabs my throat, not caring he’s crushing my windpipe. A flash of gold glimmers on the hand holding the syringe. A ring. A gold ring to match his pin. I squirm.

I try to breathe, my fingernails scratching at his hand. The needle jabs into my neck, and the room circles around me as white dots cloud my vision. My last coherent thought is to try to glimpse any last clues that might help me escape. Black curtains float in my peripheral, and then the whole world goes dark.

Chapter 31

Nik

Warehouse Nine has the world’s smallest bathrooms. I stand here over a tiny sink, trying to wash the blood off my hands and out of my shirt as best I can.

Luka wasn’t too happy I killed the junkie during the interrogation, but I reminded him EV would have done the same. Drawing out his torture and death would be their pleasure if he ever tried to go back to work after being captured. And hewouldhave gone back. He needed the money for his drug habit.

I showed him mercy.

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