Page 60 of Mafia King

But so are they.

19

NIKOLAI

The industrial edge of the city is quiet at this hour. Long stretches of darkened warehouses and empty lots sit under sparse sodium lights that leave more shadow than illumination.

Nikolai watches the GPS count down the final distance, then speaks without raising his voice.

“Pull over here. One block short.”

“Got it,” Theo replies.

Theo eases the town car to the curb and keeps the engine running. The low idle is the only sound inside the cabin. Streetlight cuts across the dashboard and catches the edge of the platinum bracelet on his wrist. Nikolai turns in the seat to face the boy fully.

“If I go down,” Nikolai says, each word measured and final. “If I go down… you run. You do not look back. You do not try to help. You disappear exactly the way you were trained to, and you stay gone until it is safe.”

Theo’s jaw tightens. “That won’t happen.”

“Promise me,” Nikolai demands. “Promise me or I’ll have you spanking yourself red raw on the street right now.”

“Don’t tempt me,” Theo says, a knowing look in his eyes.

Theo holds Nikolai’s gaze for a long second, the defiance and the devotion warring visibly behind his eyes. Then he nods once.

“I promise. I would never disobey my Daddy.”

The words land with quiet force. Nikolai leans across the console and kisses him. The contact is deep and unhurried despite the clock running against them. Adrenaline sharpens every sensation until the taste of him, the soft sound he makes, the way Theo’s fingers curl into the front of his shirt all feel heightened and necessary.

When Nikolai finally breaks the kiss he rests his forehead against the boy for one additional breath.

“You keep Tracker talking,” Nikolai tells him. “Whatever they want to hear, whatever reassurance or detail they demand, you give them enough to hold their attention. You do not move until I send the signal that we are ready to strike.”

Theo’s voice is steady. “What will the signal be?”

“You’ll know it when it happens.”

Theo nods again, accepting the answer without further question. Nikolai reaches for the door handle, then pauses.

“Drive back one full block,” Nikolai instructs. “Then approach the warehouse from the opposite side. If Tracker or the Rossinis have people already in the area, the change of direction may throw their timing off long enough to matter.”

With that, Nikolai steps out onto the quiet pavement. The night air is cool against his face. He closes the door with a soft, solid thunk and stands motionless while Theo executes the maneuver exactly as instructed: reversing, turning, disappearing around the far corner to begin the longer approach.

Only when the taillights vanish does Nikolai allow himself a single deep breath. The encrypted phone is already in his hand. He types the same short message to both Maxim and Xander.

NIKOLAI: Time. Move slowly. Use the shadows. Be ready to let hell break loose the moment the signal is given.

Nikolai sends the message, slips the phone away, and begins walking toward the warehouse from his own planned angle. The weight of the pistol under his jacket is familiar and comforting.

Somewhere ahead Theo is driving into the mouth of the trap they have deliberately chosen to spring. Somewhere in the surrounding dark Nikolai’s men and Maxim’s are already sliding into position like pieces on a board that has finally been set.

Nikolai keeps to the deepest shadows, every sense stretched tight, and advances.

The next few minutes will decide whether the boy he has claimed survives the night—and whether the Rossini threat is finally put down for good.

It’s all or nothing.

And that’s the only way Nikolai knows how to play it.