Page 171 of Ruthless Sin
Nico has not spoken since his report. He is looking at the table.
I run out of intel after a long stretch.
I stop.
The room exhales. Dante speaks first.
“You’ve been carrying this.”
I look at him.
“Yes.”
“You didn’t tell us.”
“You didn’t ask. And I didn’t trust the household with my stepfather’s empire until tonight.”
“And tonight.”
“Tonight I am done letting him take things that belong to me.”
I look at Dante.
“I am going on the river.”
A beat.
“Mila.”
“I am the only person in this room who has been inside one of Alexei’s basements. I am the only person who knows what room he keeps his interrogations in and what room he keeps his trophies in. I speak Russian. I speak English. I can listen for the difference between a Velikov accent and a Morozov accent through a wall. You need me on the river.”
Renzo. “She’s right, Dante.”
Dante looks at Renzo. Looks at me.
Nico has not moved. He is still looking at the table.
“You can shoot.”
“I can shoot. My father taught me.”
“You can take orders in the dark.”
“I have taken orders in the dark for years. From men who didn’t deserve them. I can take them from you.”
A long beat.
Dante nods.
“You’re with Renzo’s team. You don’t leave his sightline. You don’t engage unless Renzo gives the word. You hear Russian, you translate. You see a face you know, you name it. That’s what you’re there for.”
“Yes.”
“You hear me, Mila.”
“I hear you, Dante.”
The first time I have used his name to his face.
