Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 73663 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73663 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Chapter 31
Renzo
Victor Solovyov’s head hangs against his chest. He’s not conscious, but he’s not actively bleeding anymore. I linger against the wall, watching him. Sweat beads on his forehead. The big man got unlucky. Dante’s bullets didn’t kill him right away.
“You know what this means, right?” Saul’s voice is hard. “Jasha Aslanov came after our family.”
“My wife,” I say. My hands are trembling. Rage rolls through my body.
If Dante hadn’t been there—
If he was only a few seconds too late—
“We’ll do something about it,” Carlo says. He’s pacing back and forth, looking agitated. “Motherfuckers. Motherfuckers. They tried to take a fucking woman.”
“My wife,” I say again, head ringing with the audacity of it. “Not just some cousin. But my wife.”
“She’s supposed to be off limits.” Saul shakes his head. “Aslanov knows the rules. No wives, no children, no fucking noncombatants.”
“Clearly the Russian prick doesn’t give a fuck about that,” Carlo says. “The animal doesn’t care about any of the rules. We’ve got to hit him back and hit him hard.”
“I agree.” I step forward from the shadows toward the unmoving Victor. “Wake him up. We’ll start now.”
Dante brings down a bucket of water. He dumps it over the unconscious man. He starts coughing and it’s enough to drag him back to the world. An animal terror plays through his expression as he looks around the room, taking in his situation.
“Renzo,” he says. His accented voice is pleading. “I think there’s been a mistake.”
“Did you threaten my wife with a knife?”
“No, no, please, Don Rossi. I only wanted to talk to her and thought—”
“You thought you could hurt my woman. My fucking wife.”
He shakes his head, terror in his eyes. “Please. I am doing my job.”
I snap my fingers at Carlo. “Pliers. The ones with the good grip.” He brings the tool over and I grab Victor by the head. “How about I make it so you can’t ever talk again?”
“No, please,” he moans. “I’ll tell you what you want to know.”
“I don’t want to know anything, you useless prick. You’re a mid-level soldier at best. You think I give a fuck what you were told?”
“Please. Jasha talked to me. He said he wanted to talk to her, that’s all. I was supposed to bring her in.”
“Talk to her about what?”
“I don’t know.” He starts sobbing. “Please, Don Rossi. I’m telling you the truth.”
I get down into his face, my grip in his hair tightening as I pull his head back. “Like I said, you don’t have anything to fucking tell me.”
I shove the pliers in his mouth. He struggles, tries to keep his lips closed, and squeals like a dying pig. I chip a few teeth, but eventually I catch hold of his tongue and slowly pull it out of his mouth. His throat gurgles as Saul comes over with the knife.
“This is a present for your Pakhan.” I accept the knife from Saul. He grabs onto Victor’s head to hold him still.
The Russian man tries to beg, but I slice his tongue from his mouth.
He gurgles on blood. Saul lets him go and I step back, the organ still stuck in the pliers. I bring it over to a box and drop it down. “Make sure Jasha knows what that is,” I tell Dante.
He nods, nonplussed. “Will do, Don Rossi.”
I toss the bloody pliers aside and wipe my hands on my shirt. Carlo’s standing near the steps with a sneer on his face. “That’s too good for him,” he says. “The bastard deserves worse.”
“Feel free to play if that’s what you want.”
He only grunts and shakes his head.
We leave the basement. Mother’s sitting out back with her nurse. Maddie’s upstairs in our room. I head into my office, pour drinks, and sit behind my desk. Carlo throws his glass back as Saul joins us.
“What a fucking mess,” he says, sitting heavily in a chair.
Carlo remains standing. “What’s the plan?”
“Victor’s nothing,” I say, waving a dismissive hand at the floor. “We need to make sure Jasha understands that we are not to be fucked with.” I sip the whiskey and let it burn in my throat. My head is heavy and my hands tremble. “Things are going to be different now.”
“I have guys checking on Stef,” Saul says. “They’re going to bring her in. I don’t think she can stay on campus anymore.”
I nod slowly. “She’ll have to commute from here.”
“She won’t like it.”
“But she’ll survive.” I lean back and close my eyes. “Everyone will have to be on guard. Maddie can’t work anymore. We’ll need more guys on the house.”
“I’ll double the guards,” Carlo says.
“What worries me most is how sudden this has been,” Saul says, swirling his drink in a lazy circle. “Jasha’s been difficult, but he hasn’t been outright aggressive until now.”
“He thinks we’re weak,” I say, staring at my brothers. They look back, both of them grim. “But we’ll have to show him exactly how fucked him and his entire bratva are now.”