Page 54 of Fate and Family

Alana nods. “Yeah, I understand. Most kids are from old money, but this school is different because every week they learn about the rise and fall of historical icons, governments, and families. There’s a deep understanding that you never know who your allies are going to be or how your enemies can hurt you. Power and money are temporary.”

“Sounds kinda heavy for preschool.”

“It’s sugar-coated with glitter and songs, but the school has a zero-tolerance policy on bullying for exactly those reasons.” She shrugs. “Haedon and his brothers went there. Some kids picked on Haedon when he was in sixth grade. It took a few years, but his brothers bankrupted every family in that sixth-grade class. The school changed their policies and curriculum shortly afterward and took this new approach instead.”

Uri rubs the back of his neck. “Whoa, you know a lot about the Olympians.”

Alana huffs and ignores him because Ian moves the uniform out of the way and makes a sound that’s not a cry, but not a laugh. Again, it takes me a second to realize what I’m looking at, but it’s a lopsided octopus.

“Snuggles!”

It’s the cold—that’s why my eyes are watering and it’s hard to breathe. Germs and my immune system, not the emotional gut punch of seeing Ian and pieces of his long-gone childhood returning in a black duffle bag.

Holy shit, she went to Russia. Her eyes move between Uri and me. “There’s a box coming in a few hours, baby pictures and things I thought might be important to you. A limited edition Amanda Chase LP with a fake signature.”

Uri backs up. “It’s not fake.”

“Yes, it is.” But she doesn’t elaborate. “I flew to Russia, broke into a few houses. On the way back, I went to LA, played poker, bought a security company, and had brunch with Penny Olympian. But none of that is as interesting as Dimitri.” She raises an eyebrow. “Did you run into someone this week?”

What? How? “I’m so confused, you bought a security company? Why do you care about who I met?”

She closes the door and walks in. I’m about to protest that the place is a mess and we’re all infected with a snotty plague, but she doesn’t care. Alana tells Ian to go put his stuff in his room.Again, her Russian isn’t perfect, but it’s improved. She pats the couch cushion and demands I sit.

“Well…? Details.”

“Katya?”

“Who the fuck else?” Alana glances over at Uri, rolling her eyes like I’m the dumbest person alive. “Did you know she was going to be there?”

Now it’s my turn to look at her like she’s dumb… and the second I do, her face ices over, and it’s like I’m glaring at a dragon. I fix my face and sit next to her.

“No. I didn’t know. Shit, I haven’t spoken to her since we boarded the plane. The last thing I expected was to see her at a sex club, working undercover.”

Alana nods. “Yeah, I can see why that would be jarring.”

“How did you find out?”

“Bitch, please. I know and see everything. How are you feeling about all of this?”

I shrug. “It’s hard to figure it all out. Just when I’m ready to move past all of this and consider Katya a blip in my life, she comes in looking all cute in a corset. I can't tell how much of this is real.”

“That’s the hazard of dating a spy. Reality, lies, and covers make everything blurry. But I can tell you this, she’s risking her life to keep you and Ian safe. So don’t fuck up. She’s kind of a badass, and I don’t use that term lightly.”

Alana stands and pats me on the shoulder. “I’m leaving and taking a shit ton of vitamin C because your nose is a booger-encrusted mess and I don’t want the same future for myself.” Her phone buzzes, and she pauses, checks it, and frowns. “I’ll pick you up Monday morning to take you and Ian to school. There’s paperwork we need to fill out.”

And poof, Hurricane Alana leaves, dropping our past and future at our feet with a not-so-helpful dose of reality, and fear with a dash of hopeful optimism.

Chapter

Twenty-Five

Katya

There’s an alarming amount of scrolling through security footage in my job. I’m bored, and that’s dangerous. Boredom leads to sloppiness. But now that I’ve added the Four Families to my watch list, things are more interesting. I can’t understand how or why these four crime families are linked. It doesn’t make sense—four different factions, all rivals, but never any conflicts or wars. They’ve created some sort of multi-generational alliance. And they’ve made powerful enemies.

I was able to confirm it was in fact The Deviant who launched the attack in Russia. Got that info from a little honey pot action a few weeks ago, who ended up dead.

Alarm bells would’ve gone up that an asset was compromised, but Brian had been fucking his neighbor’s wife, and when her husband came home, shots were fired, and Brian was past tense, and hubby confessed to the cops. Even his underworld counterparts were unsurprised and underwhelmed.

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