Vasya laughs. “Bullshit. You really believe the myths about you, don’t you? But the truth is, you hide behind everyone else while they do your dirty work. You can’t save shit.”
A glint in his eyes makes every muscle in my body tense. My heart hammers, blood pounding through my ears, dimming the roar of the fire.
Before I can yell a warning or make a move, Vasya shifts and shoves Eva toward the cliff’s edge. My shout echoes her scream as she loses her balance, grabbing for anything that will hold her up. Her feet slip on the stones of the path leading down the cliff. With her weight already off balance, Eva tips.
I have the heartrending knowledge that I’m not going to make it to her in time, the certain knowledge that she’s going to tumble down the path, if not the cliff, and I’ll lose all of them.
But in a flash, she’s then falling into Dmitri, who has grabbed her around the shoulders and tugged her into him as I barrel into Vasya with an incoherent bellow.
Our guns fly as we go down in a tangle of arms and legs, just like when we were boys, wrestling in the grass. Except there is no laughter or good-natured name-calling. Whoever wins this fight will live, and the loser will die.
I manage to roll up onto my knees, straddling Vasya, and land several punches to his face as he thrashes below me. His fist connects with my side, right at my kidney, and I spring up to protect the spot from another blow, giving him the chance to dance away.
Vasya and I spent years training together, doing boxing, MMA, and even wrestling at our elite boarding school. I know his moves, yes, but he also knows mine.
“You think you can get one over on me, you fucking bastard?” He’s grinning, his blue eyes bright with the fire behind us andmanic rage, the rain washing away the blood pouring from his nose and split lip.
“My father gave you everything!” I shout to be heard over the rain and the roar of the fire as Vasya and I circle wearily.
Over his shoulder, I can see Dmitri standing protectively in front of Eva, the belt gone from her wrists.
“He gave you a home. The best schools. A place in the Bratva!”
“Your father took everything from me!” Vasya roars and barrels into me again like a linebacker. I see the move and try to dodge it at the last second, but he hits me from the side, knocking the wind from my lungs and thumping my head against the ground.
In a daze, I stumble to my feet, wavering, just in time to see Vasya scoop up his gun in one smooth move and shoot Dmitri.
Eva screams as my second goes down, ducking her head and curling around her belly as Vasya aims his gun at her, madness in his eyes.
Pure rage blocks out every other emotion coursing through my body and every other sense. No one will take my woman and my children away from me.
Mine.
Eva screams again. The gun goes off harmlessly into the air as I barrel into Vasya.
One knee in his chest, my hand holding down his shoulder, I pound my fist into his face again and again until he’s groaning, his head lolling.
No sooner am I on my feet than a sharp pain in my lower back doubles me over.
“I know all your moves, asshole.” Vasya’s mouth twists in a leer as he comes for me again with the bloody knife in his hand. I haven’t had time or the presence of mind to look for another weapon.
I manage to dodge the first, then the second thrust, and finally catch his arm on the third, hand clamped around his forearm as I turn into him and check his leg with mine. My back screaming, I yank Vasya’s arm up and forward and use his momentum to flip him heavily onto his back.
“You betrayed me, you fucking bastard!”
Before I can fall on him, Vasya kicks out, sweeping my legs out from under me, and I crash to the ground, rolling to gain space between us. He scrambles to his feet fast.
“I didn’t betray you with Tsepov. I used the asshole and took care of him when I didn’t need him anymore.” He’s panting. “I want everything your father stole from me, Evgeny. Everything. And now I will control the Kucherov and Sokolinaya Bratvas. I’ll be the most powerfulpakhanon the West Coast. Everything you’ve built, it’s all mine.”
Vasya tries to fall on me, to pin me, but I manage to knee him, then shove my palm up and under his chin, snapping his head and neck back. From the corner of my eye, I see the gun I dropped.
“It’s all Eva’s. You know that, don’t you? I had my lawyers change everything when your betrayal was revealed. It’s all Eva’s, all her children’s. You can kill me, but you’ll never see a fucking dime. And no one inmyBratva will follow you. Eva will make sure everyone knows what you’ve done, and they’ll kill you before they swear any loyalty to you.”
Vasya’s last grip on reality slips, I can see it in his eyes. With a roar, he smashes me across the cheek and temple. Dimly, flickering in and out of consciousness, I feel myself fall to the wet grass. In the back of my mind, I know I have to get up, defend myself, but I can’t open my eyes, much less get my body to respond. Through blurred vision, I see Vasya with my gun in his hand, getting to his knees, then his feet, to stand over me and point the muzzle straight at me.
He’s going to kill me. I’m going to die. I’m going to leave Eva alone, unprotected. I’m never going to meet my children.
“Vasya!” Eva screams.
