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Chapter Twenty-Four
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I’ve been here for over eight hours with Ruslan as he cuts Artos’ skin open inch by inch. He looks like some filleted piece of meat that would be served at a restaurant right about now, but I don’t feel the least bit sorry for him. He’s made this incredibly more difficult on himself by not giving Ruslan or Eset the answers they seek, and while it’s just Ruslan and me here today, I have a feeling that Artos will fold.
I’ve counted every single cut my brother has made on his body. All five-hundred-and-seventy-four. Think about all those cuts and how after a while, it must feel like your insides are burning. Ruslan continues to drag the jagged blade against Artos’ skin, and I know he didn’t choose a jagged blade out of the kindness of his heart. He chose it because he knew it would hurt Artos more.
I don’t feel bad for this man in the least bit. He dug himself into this grave. He brought this torture on himself. The only man to blame for what he did, is the one he looks at when he’s staring into a mirror.
“I want the answers I seek, Artos! You betrayed us, betrayed all of us, and for what?” Ruslan screams, finally shakes his head, and drops the knife onto the concrete floor as he walks away.
“I wasn’t the only one who betrayed you,” Artos speaks lowly. His voice is gravelly from the lack of water he’s had over his time here. Ruslan gives him enough to keep him alive, but never more than that.
“Yeah, we know,” Ruslan grits.
“Did you make Anzor’s death as slow as mine? Hmm? He was the man who had people plotting against your father before your father even died.” Artos coughs, and blood comes up as he does.
Ruslan turns around to face Artos while both of us are staring at a man who could very well be giving us actual answers or simply lying to make things better for himself. “He only killed your father after he made sure the Umarova allies would side with him. It was orchestrated, every last bit of it. Anzor required my father’s trust and word before the duties were passed down to me. I never had a choice in any of it. Surely you can see that.”
“You always had a choice, just like everyone else did too.” Ruslan’s quick to remind him.
“I never knew how much of a coward you were until now,” I state, looking right at Artos. The right thing to do would’ve been to come to Ruslan, but he never had the balls to do it. He simply kept being loyal to Anzor, and his loyalty to the wrong man will cost him his life.
“What do you know of the old man from the fishing shack?” Ruslan questions Artos.
The old man made sure my brother’s life was hell while he was missing. We found out some information about the old man, but we don’t know too much. However, we did find a photograph of the old man with our biological father, so they must’ve known each other for a time.
“I’m sure you know as much as you can about him. He served with your father in the militia. That’s all I can tell you. I’m sure you know why Anzor did what he did, don’t you?”
I look at my brother, and outside of our stepfather’s hunger for power, we don’t know anything.
“The Chechen people grew tired of your father and the way he ruled. They wanted someone else to be at the top of everything, so they put their faith in Anzor. He bedded the wife of an Umarova, so the people felt fine about him coming to power. They figured he could teach you both how to lead and how to lead in a way your own father didn’t. He was the only way you two ever stayed alive, and his allies will confirm it to you.”
I can’t tell if Artos is being honest with us. People turned against my father because they didn’t like the way he led, and then they ultimately gave the go-ahead for our stepfather to kill him. With our own father’s death, they gave their loyalty to our stepfather… and they hoped our stepfather would train us to lead in the way he did. It sounds preposterous, but it doesn’t sound like it could be made up. If it’s true, it means more of our allies are our enemies in disguise… and we have to find out who is really here with us and who is not.
“Many of your allies never wanted you to step into your stepfather’s role,” Artos adds, and Ruslan clenches his jaw as Artos speaks.
“You mean my rightful place? They never wanted me to lead, which is my fucking right? It was ripped from my father, and the Umarovas have led Chechnya for many, many years. Over my dead body will I ever let another family take what is ours.”
Artos laughs lowly. “Funny you say it like that because it’s what will likely happen to you. You’re not safe. Your family isn’t safe. They will try to turn those closest to you against you. Nazyr would be my next best bet. I wonder if they’ve even reached out to him yet… or if they’re waiting for a better opportunity.”
Ruslan takes his gun from his holster and aims right for the center of Artos’ chest. The bullet goes through him, and the man chokes on his own blood before finally going still. “I couldn’t bear to hear any more of his bullshit,” Ruslan admits.
“I don’t blame you. I was going to do the same thing after a while,” I tell my brother in an effort to make him feel better.
“Now that Artos is dealt with, it’s time we discuss something else. Julio Ramirez reached out to me. He wants to meet when he’s in Paris in two weeks’ time.”
That fucking bastard. “What does he want?” I have a hard time keeping my anger in check, but I’ll do what I must.
“I don’t know much besides that he wants to discuss a business arrangement. I have gotten word he wants to set up an arranged marriage between his son, Santos, and Eset.”
I laugh at my brother’s words. “We promised Eset we’d never put her in such a position. If you were to agree to it, it would gut her.”
My brother simply stares at me. I know he’s very well aware of the promises he made to our half-sister. “If Eset wants to marry anyone, it will be because she wants to do it, not because of a political arrangement between two powerful families,” Ruslan tells me, and relief washes over my body. Our family is just now being shaped into something strong, and the last thing we need is for there to be a rift between any of us. Agreeing to a marriage such as this would surely cause it with Eset.
My brother knows what Julio did to Emily and to her daughter. He knows everything, and because of it, I know I can trust my brother to not conduct any business with these bastards. I have plans to go after Julio, and he will suffer in a way far worse than Artos ever did.
Chapter Twenty-Five
