Page 92 of Fractured Ties

Kolya kept an eye on the camera in the corner of the elevator as they silently rode the floors higher. It wasn’t until they were standing just beyond Konstantin’s office that Kolya reached out to stroke Maya with two fingers against the back of her neck.

“Quiet, I know,” she told him.

He nodded. “Good.”

All hell broke loose when they entered the office.

Or rather, Vadim’s usually thin patience snapped.

“Where in the hell have you been, no? I called for you hours ago!”

Kolya pressed a hand to Maya’s back and gestured for her to go sit against the far wall in one of the available chairs. He waited until she was seated, comfortable, and Sumerki had placed himself directly at her feet before turning his attention back on the men. He found Vadim sitting behind Konstantin’s desk—certainly an irritation for his brother if Konstantin’s scowl was any indication from where he stood just in front of the desk.

“No Grisha?” Kolya asked.

“He has other things to do,” Vadim barked.

“Ah. Well, here I am. What do you need?”

Vadim’s gaze drifted to Maya, but just as quickly, he went back to Kolya. A good thing, surely. No one—and certainly not Kolya—wanted his father’s attention on Maya for too long. Nothing good would come of that.

“What do I need?” Vadim asked.

His father let out a sharp, dark laugh.

Konstantin, on the other hand, gave Kolya a look that practically screamed for him to tread lightly. Shit was not good, it seemed. Kolya had missed something.

But what?

Vadim snatched a remote from the corner of the desk and pointed it at the flat screen on the far wall just above Maya’s head. “You see what was sent to us this morning, and then tell me what I need, Kolya.”

Kolya would have responded to his father, but the scene playing out on the television took his attention, and seemed far more interesting. At least, for the moment. Even Maya crooked her head back a bit to watch what was happening.

The first thing to focus on the screen?

A man tied to a chair with a black hood pulled over his head. Other than the boxers the man wore, and the hood, he was naked. There were no defining marks on his body—no tattoos, or scars to say who he was. He struggled against the thick ropes keeping him bound, but he wasn’t going anywhere. A knot formed between Kolya’s brows as he moved slightly closer to the television in an attempt to make out the surroundings behind the unknown man.

Kolya stopped walking the second a Gashi Albanian came into frame, and moved close to the man tied in the chair. The Albanian captain took his time to fix the suit jacket he wore before pulling a gun from inside, and then smiling coldly at the camera.

Maya was quick to scoot to the edge of her seat; Kolya didn’t miss it.

“A message, Vadim,” the Albanian said on the camera, “from me and my bosses, so you can rest assured this is all an answer to your recent gift of my boss’s man being sent to us in pieces, as well as our property you have yet to return in the form of Maya Kozlov. We answer your actions back in blood—we will continue to answer this way until you give us an appropriate apology, and the rest of what belongs to our family. I am sure you don’t need me to explain how seriously we Albanians take our blood debts.”

The man in the video lifted his gun, racked the weapon, and then tapped it against the struggling man’s temple, saying, “Today, we’ll start with Alexei Kozlov. Tomorrow, it’ll be Sergei Kuznetsov—a captain of yours, I believe. We’ll continue to remove one Volkov man until we are satisfied that your debt has been honored.”

Behind Kolya, Konstantin murmured, “Sergei was removed from his home this morning by force. His wife was left untouched.”

Shit.

“These deaths are not a suitable repayment,” the Albanian’s voice echoed.

And then gunfire.

Kolya glanced back at the screen in just enough time to see the struggling man in the chair go still before he slumped off to the side, and the camera cut out. The video was silent for less than two seconds before Vadim exploded behind the desk.

“I want them gone! I want this mess fucking finished! Make it happen.”

Something crashed behind Kolya, but he didn’t bother to turn around and check. He was a little distracted by the fear reflecting on Maya’s face as she stared at him. He did catch sight of his father leaving the office in a rage.