Round one. I win.
I kneel beside him, my voice smooth and calm. “Did you hit her first? Did you have one of your men do it? Or did you just grab her by the throat like a fucking coward?”
He moans something incoherent, blood bubbling at his lips.
Rodion doesn’t wait. He walks over and gleefully kicks him in the ribs. Hard.
This isn’t the first time we’ve beaten the shit out of somebody together. Somebody who deserved it.
Yaroslav chokes on a scream.
“I asked you a question,” I snap in a too-calm voice.
He curls in on himself, must’ve already figured out he’s a dead man. But still, he has the fucking audacity to say what he says next, a dying man’s last words. “She was a whore?—”
Rodion doesn’t let him finish. He delivers another brutal kick, this one to the spine. Yaroslav’s body jerks violently, and he screams.
I exhale through my nose, shaking my head, then press my heel to his chest, crushing him to the ground.
My hand moves to my belt, where the weight of my knife rests.
My phone buzzes.
Rodion’s foot pauses mid-strike.
I glance at the screen.Anissa.
Rodion smirks. “Perfect timing.”
I get off Yaroslav. Rodion takes my place, kneeling on the son of a bitch, a knife to his throat.
“Move, and I’m gonna slice you right here,” he says, tapping the tip of the blade right over the man’s heart. “That way, you bleed. Maybe even get to see a little of your own blood before I leave you for him. Unfortunately, this isn’t my kill to make.”
When I answer, my voice shifts—gentle, something softer.
“Everything alright?”
On the floor, Yaroslav whimpers.
Rodion sighs and stomps on his ribs to shut him the fuck up.
Anissa’s voice is trembling. “Hey. Everything’s fine. Cillian’s crazy.”
I lean against the table, eyes never leaving the battered form of the man who abused her. “What’s up, love?”
“I just… I need to talk to you when you get back,” she says softly. “I wanted to hear your voice.”
There’s something in her tone… hesitant. Fearful.
I don’t like it.
“I’ll be there soon, baby,” I say, my voice smooth, as if I’m not currently standing over the beaten body of the man who hurt her.
Rodion kicks Yaroslav again, and he hisses out a breath.
I press a finger to my lips, signaling for silence.
Anissa exhales. “All right. Just… be careful.”
