Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
But for now, I’m going to wait until Brooke falls asleep.
And then ensure the impenetrable wall of security will keep her safe when I’m gone.
She reaches for me, and I hold her, waiting for that sweet lullaby of her sleeping breath. But it doesn’t come.
“I know you have to leave,” she says quietly. “But can you just stay with me a while?”
I think about the war I’m about to unleash on Vlad. But how can I leave her when she needs me?
My men know what I need from them today. They can gather the arsenal I need while I stay where I am needed the most. I will push back my urge for bloodshed and focus on Brooke’s needs.
Today can wait.
Right now is for her.
7
LEV
The Zarkov Bratva.
A family born from blood, sweat, and power sit around the war table in the basement of ZeeMed headquarters.
The inner sanctum consists of the twelve men who were loyal to my father and now to me: my uncles—Boris and Vadim, my cousin Maksim, and, of course, my most trusted Feliks. Our soldiers, of which there are thousands, do not attend these meetings. This is where the decisions are made. This is where war is declared.
When Feliks and I walk in, the energy in the room is tense. Every man is ready to respond to what Vlad has done with uninhibited force.
Taking my place at the head of the table, I’m ready to address the issue at hand. But when I see Vadim sitting there like he doesn’t have a fucking care in the world, I have to bite back the urge to pull out my gun and demand he tell me how involved he is with Vlad.
Luckily for him, drawing a weapon during one of these meetings would be breaking a long-standing rule. But that doesn’t stop the blood heating in my veins or dampen the urge to put a bullet between his eyes.
I don’t know if Vadim has a secretive alliance with Vlad or if he is, in fact, the one pulling Vlad’s strings, but I am sure he is involved somehow. Did he have Brooke kidnapped? Was he the one who ordered the car bombing? The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and I have to remind myself that there are ways to do things, and shooting my uncle in the face for his betrayal is not it. Well, not today.
It might actually be good he’s here.
Because right now, I don’t know how deep his disloyalty runs, but after today, I will. He’s not leaving until I find out the goddamn truth.
Further down the table, I notice two chairs are empty. Boris and Maksim. I frown and drum my fingers against the table. I didn’t expect Vadim to show his guilty face. But Boris and Maksim’s absence is surprising.
“You look well, Pakhan,” says an older vor. “It was a blessing you were not injured as badly as our dear friend Igor.”
“Is Igor expected to live?” another vor asks.
Feliks replies, “Igor is as strong as an ox. He will survive.”
I think of my friend swathed in bandages and fighting for his life in a hospital bed, and my gaze slides to Vadim. He will pay for what he has done.
“Vlad Bhyzova declared war on this bratva when he kidnapped my fiancée and then attempted to assassinate me. Since then, it appears he’s fled underground. I’ve called you all here today because I intend to smoke him out…” My eyes lock with Vadim’s. “…and whoever he may be working with.”
“Who would be dumb enough?” an old vor at the end of the table scoffs.
“Do we know who might be working with him?” another vor asks.
Again, my gaze moves to Vadim. “I have a fair idea.”
Vadim frowns. “And who would that be?”
My eyes narrow. “Why don’t you tell me your theories, Uncle?”
“Vlad Bhyzova is a mudak. He couldn’t orchestrate a fuck in a brothel. If he did what you said he did—”
I grit my teeth. “He put Brooke in the hospital after he kidnapped and beat her.”
“Then my condolences to your bride-to-be, Nephew. But Vlad isn’t smart enough to do this alone. Someone else must be driving the machine.”
“My thoughts exactly,” I growl.
He has the nerve to look indignant as he asks, “You think it’s me?”
“If it looks like a rat and smells like a rat, then it must be—”
“My acquaintance with Vlad does not extend to an alliance.”
I bang my fist on the table. “Enough with the lies. You and Vlad have been working together.”
“I am not working with him. Vlad Bhyzova is of no use to me.”
I stand and stalk down the table toward him. Then breaking the sanctity of the inner sanctum, I pull out my gun and point it at my uncle. Rules be damned. “Lie to me again, and I’ll shoot you in the fucking head.”