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Chapter Twelve
Aleksei
It barely tookme raising my voice for Don to give me every detail I needed to put it together. My brother, my own flesh and blood, took my swan princess. I’ve tried his cell several times, but it goes to voicemail. I know what I must do, and it doesn’t please me. When my father learns of what happened here, I only pray he sides with me. If he doesn’t, then I’m about to make a powerful enemy of Roman Ivanov with what I plan to do to Vlad.
If my idiotskiy brother thinks he will get away with this, however, he is mistaken. If he harms Raina, he won’t live through this. I return to my room to get my gun, quickly affixing a silencer. Vlad doesn’t operate alone. He’ll have at least two men with him, possibly more, and they’ll be expected to kill anyone who interferes, no questions asked. Then, when Vlad finishes with his target, they’ll be the ones to dispose of the body.
Not this time.
I take the stairs down two flights and enter the hallway of the residence I’d originally secured in this building, silently approaching the double doors leading to the condo. When I bring the keycard forward to enter, the most horrifying shriek echoes through the air.
“Alek!”
The sound of my woman’s scream curdles my blood and sends me into motion. I kick open the door, taking out the two enforcers with single shots between the eyes as they rush me from the shadows, guns drawn for their own killing strike. Another one appears behind me and attempts to jump on my back, but I dodge the move, spin, and have him down, bleeding out from a shot to the neck. After each deadly encounter, I return my focus and hatred to the man I’m here to stop.
“Vlad! Where is she?”
My brother grins and steps aside to reveal a shadowed figure tied to a chair, slumped over. No. No! My Raina. My beautiful swan princess. She can’t be gone. I can’t be too late. Dear God above, please don’t let this be my reality. “Raina!”
She doesn’t move and I see red. Baring my teeth, I charge Vlad, not slowing until I have my hands around his throat. It catches him by surprise. With no other enforcer to come to his aid, it’s just him and me. “What did you do?”
“Brother,” he coughs. “What are you doing? She’s a whore! I’m helping you.”
“Nyet!”I squeeze, my fingers sinking into his neck until his eyes bulge. “You will die for harming her.”
He breaks out of my hold and staggers back, coughing and rubbing his throat. “What is the matter with you? She stole from the family.”
“She did not, Donatelli did. When I find him, I will prove it.” I go still when Vlad suddenly grins again, and I realize his manner is too manic, too excited. Disgust fills my muscles with lead until it’s a struggle to move. “What did you do, brother?”
He straightens his sleeves and dusts himself off, looking far too content for a man about to die. “I was afraid no one would know. It’s good that you know. I want you to know.”
“Vlad,” I say again. My tone is full of warning that my brother ignores, caught up in his own smug satisfaction.
“Donatelli isn’t that good of a thief. He’s not that good at playing pryatki, either. He also knows too much. You’ll never find him, trust me on that. Unfortunately, your little whore here knows more than she’s saying, too. And a message must still be sent. The Ivanov family is not to be trifled with.”
This isn’t about playing hide-and-seek. My brother has lost his fucking mind. “It was you. You are behind this all.”
His grin widens as he spreads his arms. “Since there was no way Father would ever see me as anything more than Aleksei’s little brother, the disappointing second son compared to the golden child, I had to do something to secure my own future.”
I take a step toward him and repeat, “What did you do? Where are the jewels for Natasha’s rings?”
“You think this is about some fucking rings? Come, brother. Surely you aren’t that ignorant. This is so much bigger. Donatelli is one of many jewelers on my payroll. Well, he was. That’s one body that’ll never be found unless they dredge Lake Michigan.”
I glance at my Raina, still motionless as she remains slumped over in the chair. Does she have a pulse? She’s doesn’t look to be breathing. Oh, my sweet princess. What did my brother do to you?
Taking advantage of my distraction, Vlad’s fist comes down, slamming into my temple and dropping me to my knees as the room spins. He follows it with a swift kick to my ribs, rolling me. Maybe this is for the best. Let him beat me to death. At least then I’ll be with my love for all eternity.
“A-Alek,” her faint whisper catches in my ear, lighting my blood on fire. She’s still alive! Hearing her voice is like breathing new life into my lungs, pumping energy into my muscles. I catch Vlad’s hand before it connects with me again. I stand and grab his arm, twist, and pull, dislocating his shoulder.
He screams. Ignoring his pleas, I do the same to the other shoulder, rendering them both useless. I have nothing to tie him, so I’ll do the next best thing aside from rip his arms from his body. “Now for the legs.”
“Aleksei! Brother, please!”
I ignore him and aim my gun, blowing out his knee, not giving him time to recover as I take out the other. He falls onto the plastic. Useless arms. Useless legs. Now he’s as close to being tied as I can make him under the circumstances.
Tucking my gun away, I approach him slowly and kneel next to him. “You dare cross me, brother. You dare cross me.”
He looks up at me with wide, bloodshot eyes, nothing but seething hatred burning in them. “You’re through, Aleksei. Once Father knows what you’ve done, you’re through! You’ll be marked for sure.”
