Page 120 of The Bratva Sinner

I want to give her that now.

I ease out from under her carefully, the way I’ve gotten good at doing, and she stirs but doesn’t wake. I stand at the edge of the bed for a second, just looking. The nightmares hit her hard last night. She came back from them and directly into my arms.

She’s so much stronger than she gives herself credit for. I hope someday she realizes it. I’m so fucking proud of her. I carefully pull the sheet over her and resist the urge to kiss her. She needs to rest.

I get dressed in the closet and find Damien downstairs with coffee. He’s got a look on his face that promises I’m going to have a very bad day. I could tell him to hold off. Give me a second to process.

But that doesn’t make it go away.

“Tell me.” I pour my own cup.

“Briar.”

I set the carafe down. “What about her?”

“I’ve gone through the last few weeks of security footage. She never went back to the house after starting the fire here.” He turns his laptop so I can see the screen. Footage from one of the exterior cameras. A timestamp from three in the morning. A figure moving along the eastern fence line with a bag over one shoulder. “She didn’t use a car. She went on foot.”

I drink my coffee and look at the grainy figure on the screen. Briar has been with my operation for fourteen months. I’d trusted her. She had a good backstory, and I wanted to help.

“Who else?” I ask. “Did he get to anyone else?”

Damien looks at me. “I don’t know.”

“I want everyone who’s had contact with Arlind’s people in the last six months pulled and reviewed. I want everything — communications, financials, dates. All of it.” I set my cup down. “Someone in my operation has been feeding him information. Briar didn’t do this alone, and she didn’t start doing it last month. The fire, the parking garage ambush… the timing on all of it is too convenient.”

“That’s a long list to go through.”

“Then start now.”

He nods, pulling up another screen. “What do you want to do about Briar?”

“Find her. Not to punish her.” I think about what I said to Cinder about Haylie. Same answer. “I want to know she’s not in a ditch somewhere because she outlived her usefulness to them. And I want to know what she gave them.”

“That second part might be harder to get if she’s gone to ground.”

“Try anyway.”

He closes the laptop and picks up his coffee. “How’s Lila?”

The question surprises me. I look at him, trying to understand why he’s asking. But I see nothing that would suggest the question was anything more than a polite inquiry about my wife.

“She’s fine.”

He nods. “She’s young. Been through a lot.”

“She’s working through things,” I say. “She’ll be okay.”

He nods. “Good.” He slides off the stool and closes the laptop. “I’ll start on the audit. You need anything before I go?”

“No. Keep me posted on Briar’s location.”

He leaves through the side door. I stand in the kitchen alone for a few minutes, finishing my coffee, looking out at the back property. The security rotation just changed. Everything looks normal, but I feel a charge in the air. It’s not normal. The enemy is inside the same gates that are meant to protect Lila.

Something is coming.

Lila pads into the kitchen in bare feet and one of my shirts, her hair loose and her eyes still puffy from sleep. She sees me and looks surprised.

“You’re still here,” she says.