The bullet meant for my head tore through my arm instead. Adrenaline dulled the pain, but I felt the force of it. Dragon grabbed me, dragging me toward the back door.
Aleksei cleared the way for us. He moved across the floor, killing two of Vincenzo's goons before they could even get their guns on target.
Then we were out.
A car was waiting. Aleksei got into the driver's seat, tires screeching as we drove out into the night. The sniper took another shot, shattering one of the side mirrors. Dragon had his gun on Aleksei's head but I instructed him to relax.
Jeez, this old geezer believes there is danger in every movement.
At the safe house, the room smelled of wet wood and gunpowder, the kind of place where men measured bullets instead of minutes.
Dragon reclined against the door, reloading his pistol out of habit. My arm hurt from the sniper's bullet, but I didn't notice. I had only one concern.
I looked at Aleksei, regarding him as a puzzle I hadn't yet solved.
"Why did you betray Vincenzo?"
Aleksei let out a breath, rolling his shoulders, as though determining how much truth to reveal to me. Then he leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees.
"Because he overpromised."
I remained silent, letting him go on.
"The day I discovered I was being released from prison, I knew I would be killed." He glanced at me. "You would have turned me over to the Russians. You were not to be influenced.".
I did not deny it. He was correct.
He smiled, seeming entertained. "So I had to vanish, leave there first. I needed to have time to figure out what I was doing next, and Vincenzo gave that to me. I utilized him."
A hesitation.
"And you really considered actually switching sides?"
Aleksei nodded. "Yeah. I did." He leaned his head. "Vincenzo had authority, structure. I could have formed something below him."
"But he became greedy."
A glimmer of dark humor passed through his eyes. "He guaranteed me second-in-command."
Dragon let out a soft, incredulous snort.
Aleksei chuckled. "Exactly. That's when I knew he wasn't serious about keeping me alive. Guys like him don't share power. He wanted my skills, but not my presence. The moment I served my purpose, he'd have had me eliminated for real."
"So you defected back to me."
Aleksei stood my gaze. "Because you pay for loyalty."
I let it hang between us.
He wasn't telling me a lie. I had paid for loyalty. But I never forgot betrayal.
"And what do you want now?" I asked, voice flat.
He didn't flinch. "Freedom. Let me run."
I leaned back, considering. "And where precisely do you think you'll run?"
Aleksei's silence replied for him: he didn't have a truthful answer.
