PROLOGUE
LIANA
Eight Years Ago
Ialways knew I’d been born with violence coursing through my veins, destined to become the darkness to my twin sister’s light. I just didn’t know it would be a decision made here, on a frigid December night, that would put me on the sure path to hell.
The winter air howled with bitterness, welcoming me into its unforgiving embrace. Every inch of exposed flesh was raw from the cold, but it didn’t bother me. Not like it did Lou. She hated the cold; I thrived in it.
The moonless night settled over me like a cloak, guiding me around every corner of my mother’s compound that I knew by heart.
I found myself holding my breath every so often as I made my way to the agreed-upon meeting spot. My boots crunched the fresh Siberian snow, and I thanked whatever higher being was responsible for the gusting wind masking the sound.
I did my best to cover my tracks, calling on every piece of tracking information I’d squirreled away over the years. It was what’d inspired me to pick up this branch from a fallen pine and use it to sweep the powdery snow over my trail. Because that was the thing about the guards around here—they loved to hunt, but they loved to brag about it even more.
And I’d be damned if I got this far only to leadthem to Kingston and Louisa.
A part of me wished it was just my sister and me running away, but there was no separating the lovers, and there was no way in hell I’d allow anyone to get between my twin and me. We shared one beating heart, and the thought of being away from her was inconceivable. So, I’d suck it up and accept that, at least for the time being, I’d be the third wheel.
If Louisa and Kingston were running, so was I. Especially because Ivan, that son of a bitch, was trying to use Louisa as a pawn to get closer to the Tijuana Cartel. He was so fucking greedy, desperate to get his dirty paws involved in their flesh-moving business. And I didn’t trust my mother, the great Sofia Volkov, to protect her. No, she’d sign-off on whoever Ivan decided Lou would marry, no questions asked.
She didn’t like my sister’s aversion to the criminal world any less than she hated her soft heart. Lou wanted world peace while I wanted to send the whole fucking world—especially the men in it—into chaos.
The sound of heavy boots nearby sent a jolt of alarm through me. I spun around, narrowing my eyes while scanning the darkness.
Then a voice whipped through the air.
“Look here. Do we have a runner?”
“Nah, looks like she’s just taking a stroll,” another voice answered. This one I recognized, and my heart lurched into my throat.
Whirling, I spotted them. Ivan Petrov with the head of the Tijuana Cartel and his disgusting son. My face paled as I studied the two men leering at me. Their guards were closing in on me, fast and steady, like vultures on dead animals.
“Which twin is this?” The older guy’s grin widened. “Not that it matters.”
Ivan’s eyes narrowed on me. He could never tell us apart. Bile rose up my throat as an idea flickered in my mind. One that would change everyone’s lives—though I didn’t know that then.
I was young. Too young to know better. There was a reason they say teenagers think they know it all. I saw a window to escape the house of sinners that was about to be burned down, and I took it. It should be easier to escape the cartel than my mother’s prison that was guarded better than any president’s house.
Lou and Kingston were already on their way out, and I refused to be left behind.
So I took a deep breath and raised my chin in defiance.
“I’m Louisa. What—” I broke off when I remembered Lou was more reserved, rarely speaking so freely, and then schooled my tone. “What’s happening?”
Ivan, the fucking idiot, smiled darkly at me. “Louisa, meet Santiago and his son, Santiago.”
“Let me guess, everyone calls him Junior.”
Suddenly, a strong arm wrapped around my middle from behind and my whole body turned to ice as I was tossed roughly to the harsh, snow-covered ground.
“You will show respect.”
I bit my tongue, swallowing my retort. Louisa might have her reservations about confrontation, but she wouldnotgo down without a fight. I waited with bated breath as one of Santiago’s goons stooped over me, and then I shifted around and swiftlykneed Junior in the balls. Then I jumped to my feet, rising all the way up and putting my hands up to shield my face.
No sooner than I was standing, a weight slammed into me from the side, shoving me flat onto the soft snow again as a gun cocked loudly. I blinked to clear the dizziness and found it pointed at me.
Ivan stalked toward me, his face filled with malice. When he was only inches away, he wrapped his hand around my throat with an iron grip. I gasped sharply, staring into those black eyes and unwilling to show fear, until Junior stepped forward and his palm connected with my cheek.Slap.
