Page 100 of Fate and Family

Mikhail is hurt—well, not just because his face has been mashed up. His shoulders sink as he struggles to breathe.

Dimitri steps away from his former friend turned enemy. He walks toward the door but stops behind Declan. Is he going to introduce himself? Say, “Thanks for being a great boss to my spy girlfriend.”

Instead, he takes a deep breath and mumbles, “You smell like my ex-fiancée.”

Alana slams her hands on Mikhail’s shoulder, slithering behind him, and addresses the room. Her eyes are locked on the agents. I can smell Declan’s cheap cologne, which is impressive since the whole room reeks of plastic. Declan grunts behind me. Ohhh I feel a monologue coming on.

Alana squeezes Mikhail’s shoulder and he winces. “He’s The Deviant’s right-hand man for the East Coast. Well, the OG Deviant. The name was passed down to his son, and I don’t give a fuck about the son at the moment. No, I’m only concerned about The Spider.”

Something about this isn’t right. There’s no way Mikhail could be The Spider and The Deviant. He’s too careless and stupid. There’s definitely more, and my brain is working overtime trying to sift through all of it.

Cell phones start buzzing as notifications go off. Mine, then Waverly’s and Declan’s. Alana’s lips curl. Is she smiling? “The Spider jumped ship from the Bratva and went running to The Deviant as soon as he saw his opportunity. Can’t fault a guy for being a go-getter. Loyal to a new master now, racing his way up the ranks. Too bad a better offer came in, didn’t it?” She ruffles his hair and he pulls away but winces in pain.

Mikhail coughs. “Huh?”

“Sure, the U.S. government. Right?”

Mikhail shakes his head. “No.” His eyes flash back to me, then to Declan. “Um, yeah.”

Something’s wrong.

More notifications buzz. One more deep breath—blood, plastic, Declan’s woody oud scent with a mix of fallen trees and decay on a forest floor.

Alana continues, “Obviously. Why else would you destroy the rest of the Majesty stock?”

Marshall digs his phone out of his pocket and whispers, “Holy shit, there are purple smoke plumes all over the world.”

The room is silent as the news hits us. Majesty is gone. Annihilated the planet over. Alana just did what it took me years to not even come close to accomplishing. “How much did the U.S. government pay you to push the button?” Alana asks, tiltingher head to the side, twirling his hair in her fingers. “Was it worth betraying The Deviant too?”

“No! Please. I didn’t.” But Mikhail isn’t looking at me. He’s focused on Declan.

Alana’s voice lowers. “The worst part is you think he’s going to save you.”

It’s Declan’s cologne—an old nostalgic odor. I’ve smelled it before. On Sveti at the party where Ian was cut. She was sleeping with a “creepy silver fox.” The Deviant.

Fuck! Declan is The Deviant. He was the mole who killed my team. The reason Dimitri doesn’t have a family. And the fucking reason I missed the last two years of my life, sleeping alone when I could have been with the man I love.

Two guns rattle off within seconds of each other, followed by a scream.

The room remains still until the body in the chair slumps over. And seconds later, Declan falls forward onto his face—or what’s left of his face anyway.

The gun is warm in my hands.

It takes my brain a second to register what it’s seeing. Alana’s once super cute dress is now soaked in blood. And bits of skull are stuck in her cleavage. And there’s definitely brain matter on her face. Oh, and her mouth is open.

“There are brains in myMOUTH,” Alana says, but it doesn’t really sound that clear because she’s afraid to close her lips.

Dimitri says, “That’s the reason I never open my mouth very wide when I talk.”

“That’s the reason?” Waverly snaps at Dimitri. “On the off chance a guy’s head might get blown off in front of you?” She turns her attention back to Alana. “You should go throw up in the corner. No one will think less of you.” Waverly steps around the two bodies on the floor, sliding a little in the blood,but stabilizing herself before she wipes out. “I’ll hold back your hair.”

Wow, the mark of a true friend.

Before I can say anything, Marshall raises his gun at me. “What the fuck just happened?”

“Declan was The Deviant. That’s why this whole rescue mission went tits up from the beginning. He shot The Spider because he thought The Spider betrayed him. Or he was pissed that Majesty is gone. And I shot him. Because, you know, he’s fucking evil.” Do I really have to explain everything?

“Jesus fucking Christ, do you have proof of any of this?” Marshall’s rage is lessened by the hopes of a promotion and the promise that this is going to be the biggest collar of his career.

---