Empire of Sin (Empire #2) by Rina Kent

The way they understand each other without having to say a word.

Before they left the following morning, she stood there with her hands crossed over her chest and told me point-blank, “You better not hurt my brother.”

That sentence stayed with me the most after their visit.

It’s as if she knew that’s exactly what would happen.

I don’t blame her for disliking me. I actually respect her for looking out for her brother. That’s what family does.

Unlike mine.

My gaze flits to Aleksander’s car. Even though it has tinted windows, I can almost picture him staring back with that cold gaze of his that only ever softens around Kirill.

He must’ve figured out my relationship with Knox, and if Adrian’s threat is any indication, they wouldn’t hesitate to use him against me.

To hurt him because of me.

Because that’s what they do in the brotherhood. They use people, break hearts, and crunch bones.

And I’m no exception.

If anything, I’m placed on a high pedestal for being the Pakhan’s daughter. It’s a cruel twist of fate that my mom got pregnant after a short fling with my father—the number one man in the Bratva.

She married my stepfather afterward and I should’ve been a normal citizen. But that jerk was abusing her, both physically and emotionally, and although she tried to protect me, she knew she couldn’t.

That’s why she took me to the park that day. I won’t forget it, ever. Not only because Mom was shaking, but also because she seemed relieved when a tall man with harsh features came.

And I remember how his shadow blocked the sun as he stood there, watching us. Or more like, watching me.

She told me he was my father and I grabbed onto her, thinking she’d leave me with him, but she didn’t.

They just talked while I played hide-and-seek with one of the other tall men who came with him.

Before Mom and I left, Papa patted my hair. I remember having eyes so big, they nearly reached my hairline. My stepfather never did that, never treated me like more than a pest in his path.

One he kicked around whenever he saw fit.

Papa also gave me a piece of paper with his number on it and told me to call him if I needed anything.

In hindsight, I should never have done that.

It’s why I got trapped in his world in the first place.

But it’s not like I had any other option that night.

Now that I think about it, the moment I called him, crying on the phone, was when I sealed my fate.

That was when I became part of the Bratva.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, bringing me out of my reverie.

It’s a text from an unknown number.

I don’t see the lawyer losing any cases. On the contrary, he’s coming on even stronger. Here’s a little incentive for you.

My thumb shakes as I click on the attached video. It’s taken from a parking garage’s surveillance camera. The building in which Knox’s apartment is. I recognize it from the yellow lines on the ground and the strong light.

It’s dimmer in the video, though, as if someone cut off the power on purpose.

My heart hammers in my throat when Knox steps out of his car, carrying his briefcase and talking on the phone. He’s wearing the black suit that I helped him put on yesterday. I clearly remember it because he decided to fuck me at the last second before we went to work and ordered me not to mess up our clothes.

This footage was taken when he got home last night, later than usual, since he had a long meeting with Lauren about Sandra’s case.

At exactly that moment when he was getting home, I was trying to fix something for dinner. Elsa called me and I burned the pasta anyway, so I kept talking to her and ordered something.

It all seems normal until the angle shifts to following Knox from behind as he walks to the elevator.

I gasp, nearly spilling the coffee when I make out what’s at the back of his head.

A red dot.

A sniper rifle’s red dot.

And it’s following him all the way to the elevator until the video ends.

I’m about to have an epic meltdown when another text comes through.

If you don’t do as you’re told, the next footage will show a bullet in his head.

My legs tremble, refusing to hold me upright, and it takes everything in me not to collapse in the middle of the street.

It’s Adrian.

I knew his threats wouldn’t be empty ones and I just got firsthand proof that he already has someone following Knox, and not just anyone. A sniper.

Moisture stings my eyes at the thought that he could’ve died in that instant while I was completely clueless.

It doesn’t matter who I am or who my father is. When push comes to shove, I’m unable to do anything except for playing by the rules.

My focus falls on Aleksander’s car across the street and I hide my phone, then quicken my pace to inside the building, my mind nearly exploding with a thousand thoughts.

If I suspected it before, then I’m sure about it now.

I’m a danger to Knox.

If I don’t stay away from him, he’ll sure as hell get killed.

My heart squeezes, then thumps loudly in a sporadic rhythm. The possibility of something happening to him churns the contents of my stomach until I feel like I’m going to throw up on the sidewalk.

I place a hand on my chest, trying to quench the nausea rising to my throat.