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From the moment I had set eyes on him, Yerik had made me uneasy. Sofia knew I didn’t like him, but she couldn’t understand why I never wanted to be left alone with the man. Everyone who worked for her parents would give their lives to protect her, so she couldn’t wrap her head around the idea that one of them made me feel like he was thinking of doing very, very bad things to me every time he looked my way. She made me feel it was all in my head, but lately, he had made me more and more uncomfortable.
A hard laugh left Yerik, the sound making me shiver with dread. “I don’t answer to her, sweet Tavia,” was all he said as he continued to drive.
I hated the way his eyes darkened when he said my name. Hated the way he licked his lips as his gaze dropped from my face to my chest. I crossed my arms, trying to hide my breasts from him, only to hear him laugh again.
Fighting panic, I lifted my phone. My fingers trembled over my contact list, unsure who to call for help. If I texted Sofia and told her what was going on, she would just laugh at me. I loved that girl, but she had no real clue how things were outside the bubble her father had put her in.
I should have already been calling 9-1-1, but there was only one person I truly wanted to save me. The problem was, I wasn’t sure if he would even answer if my name popped up on his phone.
Theo had gotten his one taste and, just as quickly, tossed me aside. It was my own fault that I continued to hope he would open his eyes, see that he loved me, and want to be together. Forget the bullshit excuse that I was his sister’s best friend or that I was too young—too innocent for his world. Whatever the hell that meant. If we loved each other, the rest shouldn’t matter, damn it.
I tightened my hold on my phone and swiped my thumb over his name. Only to be sent to voice mail after two rings.
Heart breaking a little more even as my growing fear tried to choke me, I forced my numb fingers to dial 9-1-1.
And then Yerik stopped, snatching my phone before the call could connect, and my world was quickly turned upside down.
Chapter 2
Theo
Keeping my face impassive, I stood in the warehouse with two of my best men. Ivan and Yury had accompanied me when my pops gave me my own territory. I trusted them with my life, which was saying a hell of a lot because I didn’t trust many. Outside of my family, I trusted maybe a handful of people.
The man standing in front of me, two of his own men on either side of him, was definitely not on my list.
My control was already attempting to slip, to show my true feelings for the motherfucker who sneered at me as he waited for me to step forward and start our meeting. It felt like I’d been waiting a lifetime for this moment, to stare into the eyes of the monster who had given the order to have my biological father murdered.
I’d been deprived of the satisfaction of taking out the one who had actually killed Taras Volkov, but I’d be damned if I didn’t get to be the one to end the man who had given the order.
Viktor Petrov adjusted his suit jacket, a sign I’d come to learn meant he was growing impatient. I knew everything there was to know about this man, had made it my mission in life to uncover every single secret he wanted buried. I kne
w everything—from what he had for breakfast every morning, all the way down to what detergent his housekeeper used to wash his clothes. There wasn’t anything he did that I didn’t know about.
His impatience was what I’d been waiting for. Petrov made mistakes when he was impatient. Which was exactly what I wanted.
“Stay here,” I told Ivan and Yury. I felt them tense and knew they wanted to protest, but a single look from me had them both complying as I stepped forward.
Petrov did the same, leaving his two men behind as the two of us met in the middle.
I could have taken out this piece of shit multiple times already if that was what I’d really wanted. From the time I was ten, my aunt Anya had been teaching me how to shoot. With her as my instructor, I never missed. Whether I was a mile or a foot away, I always hit my mark.
But simply pulling a trigger and ending Petrov’s existence wasn’t enough for me. I wanted him to know why I was the one taking his life. Wanted to see his eyes as the life seeped from his body. I wanted to feel the heat of his blood as it poured from the hole I put in him.
“Thank you, young wolf, for taking the time to meet with me tonight,” Petrov said once mere feet were separating us.
“I think I’m the one who should be thanking you, Viktor,” I said in a bored voice. “You made it so easy for me to take your stock from you after all.”
He clenched his jaw for a moment, before his eyes scrunched at the corners in a full-on grin. “I did, didn’t I?”
To get his attention, I’d had my men steal his inventory over the last two months. Everything from guns to drugs, we’d taken it all, leaving him with nothing to sell on the streets. Petrov had been raising hell, trying desperately to find out who was stealing from him.
After the last shipment my men had intercepted, I’d had them leave a message for Petrov to meet me here.
“If all you want is to take over my territory, you could have had your father negotiate.” I refused to react to the way he smirked when he said “father.” “I’m sure we could have come to a mutual agreement.”
“I couldn’t care less about your territory, Viktor.” I felt my muscles tense when he just grinned. He thought he had the upper hand in this meeting, but that would soon change. I was going to enjoy every second of what was about to come crashing down on this sonofabitch.
“Let’s not be enemies, young wolf. In fact, let me give you a token of my great…esteem.” Lifting a hand, he signaled one of his men, who lifted his phone to his ear and spoke in Russian to bring in the package.
