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)
“You won’t get away with this,” I tell my uncle. “The inner circle won’t stand for it.”
“Oh, but they will. When they hear how you attacked us because you were out of your mind, they will understand that it was in self-defense. After all, they witnessed you lose control in the meeting when you pulled a gun on Vadim in front of them.”
“Vadim will set them straight. He knows what you’ve been up to all along.”
Boris’ mirth leaves him. “He will be another dead body you will be blamed for before the day is done.” He points out the windshield. “Pull in here, and let’s get this done.”
We turn off the road and take the gravel driveway down to an old warehouse. Once we stop, Maksim and Boris hustle us inside while the driver remains in the vehicle.
This tells me he’s on watch for anyone coming. Which means there’s a good chance there aren’t too many soldiers around.
Inside, it’s dark, and it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust. The warehouse is dimly lit and empty, and I can’t see any more soldiers.
Boris takes us to a small room, an old office, similar to the one where we found Vlad earlier today. It’s empty of furniture. Water drips down the brickwork, and the air is musty. When we walk in, we step onto plastic.
It’s easy to dispose of bodies when all you have to do is wrap them up in the plastic they died on.
I don’t feel fear.
I feel rage.
Because Brooke shouldn’t be here. She wasn’t a part of this until I took her for my own selfish reasons.
She deserves more than this.
And our baby. He deserves to take his first breath. To feel sunlight on his sweet face. To grow into a man who is much better and a fucking lot smarter than his father.
Keep him talking. Stall him for time.
Feliks and Vadim will come looking for us.
“How does Vlad fit into all of this?” I ask.
“Vlad was an idiot. We recruited him, but then he went rogue on us. Kidnapped Brooke because he couldn’t contain his resentment toward you. He thought it would earn him our respect, when all it earned him was a bullet. He strayed from the plan. That’s when everything fell apart. It made him a liability.”
“So you killed him,” I mutter.
“And sent you and Vadim looking for him so I could meet with your bride.” He grins. “She’s a feisty one, I’ll grant her that. I wasn’t expecting her to get the better of me and my men. It was an annoyance, but at least we’re all here now.”
“Except Feliks isn’t here. He was with Vadim and me. He knows what’s going on and won’t stand for it. What are you going to do, kill your own son too?”
Boris nods to Maksim, and my cousin leaves the room, returning a moment later with Feliks, who is gagged. He shoves him into the middle of the room and removes the rag from around his mouth.
Feliks spits at his brother. “You motherfucking—” Maksim shuts him up by shoving the rag into his mouth before moving away to stand by his father. Feliks spits the dirty cloth out and glares at his brother. “Mudak.”
“What is this, a family reunion?” I ask, stalling for time and trying to process the scene so I can figure a way out of here.
But Boris knows what I am doing. He chuckles, his eyes sparkling with menace.
“Family? You want to know what I think about family? They get in the way.”
The way he says it makes something click in my head, and my nostrils flare.
He’s talking about my father.
“You had my father killed.”
“Of course I did. And Vadim was supposed to be with him.” His face twists into an ugly scowl. “Then I would’ve had a clear path to become pakhan.”
“But you didn’t know my father had declared me as his successor and that he would deny the bratva the hefty inheritance he had bestowed them in his will if they didn’t vote me in.”
His eyes flare with anger. “It was a thorny detail I was not anticipating. Not only did I have Vadim to deal with, but I had you as well. So I decided to start fucking with the both of you. Pit one against the other. While I remained the fun-loving uncle stuck between the two. I needed a war because it’s easy to hide the body count amongst all the bloodshed. A death here. A death there. My claim for the role of pakhan wouldn’t be as obvious.”
“Except Vadim had you all figured out.”
“Perhaps, but I knew you hated him enough to never believe him.”
I shake my head. After all this time, the man who murdered my father was the man I called Uncle. A man I trusted. “My father loved you.”