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I start to turn to Levin to say something, but a piercing scream from upstairs stops me.
“Viktor!” Caterina’s voice cuts through the house, followed by a soft shriek that sounds very much like Sofia. A masculine grunt follows it, with loud cursing in Russian, and I dash for the stairs, the sound of more gunshots and the acrid scent of smoke and gunpowder filling the hall from the foyer and living room.
“This is fucking insane,” Luca growls. “Liam, come with me. We’ll handle what’s happening out there. Max, Levin, stick with Viktor—”
“I give orders in this house,” I snap, and Luca narrows his eyes at me.
“Then give orders,” he says curtly. “But I just fucking heard my wife scream, and—”
We’re both interrupted by the sound of crashing from the top of the stairs. I turn to see three men, two of them struggling to hold Caterina while the other has Anika slung over his shoulder and Yelena gripped by the wrist. “I’ll throw you down the stairs, you bitch!” he shouts as Caterina tries to claw his face.
“I don’t care what you do to me,” she spits, wrenching in his grasp, but the man just laughs.
“I’ll throw one of the brats down then,” he says, picking Yelena up by one wrist as she squirms, starting to cry.
“Put her down!” My voice roars through the air as I stride towards the staircase, but the man just laughs.
“Back off,Ussurior I start taking pieces off of this one.” He reaches up, and I catch sight of a hunting knife in one hand, headed for Caterina’s ear. “She’s pretty, but there’s men that will buy a slut even with bits cut off, so long as they’re permitted to keep cutting more.”
Caterina shrinks back, naked terror in her face, and I can see every bit of blood draining out of it. Her eyes go wide at the sight of the knife, and I can see her reliving every cut that Andrei and Stepan ever gave her in that cabin.
A hot, furious rage wells up in me, and I aim my gun squarely at the man’s face. “Put the knife down, and step away from my wife.”
He just laughs, pressing the point of the knife into Caterina’s jaw. “Go ahead, shoot me. I’ll cut this one on my way down, and one of your daughters will wind up tossed down the stairs at your feet. Alexei told us to make sure we kept one alive for bargaining purposes. But two little girls is one too many, as far as I’m concerned.”
“Papa!” Yelena shrieks tears streaming down her reddened face. “Papa, help!”
Anika is limp, which tells me she’s passed out. I grit my teeth, incandescent with rage. “Levin, where the fuck is security?” I growl, speaking in a low tone, but the man holding Caterina hears it anyway.
“Your security is all but wiped out. Alexei had twice the men you do.” He grins, showing a mouth half-empty of teeth. “He made quite a profit from that warehouse full of girls. Turns out, what men he lacked from turning half yours traitor, he bought with the earnings. There are plenty of mercenaries happy to go up even against theUssurifor the right price. And there were some fine fillies in your stable.” He laughs then, shaking his head. “Big, bad bear. We snuck up on your fortress and slipped in, disabled your guards long enough to drive that truck through your gates, and let the rest in. So much for your safe house.” He grins down at Caterina. “This one is fucking gorgeous. Your wife?”
“Let me fucking go, ah!” Caterina screams as he twists a hand in her hair, wrenching her neck back.
“I’ll cut out your tongue if you scream again,” the man threatens. “Throw it down at your husband’s feet.” He jerks his head in the direction of the living room. “We’re rounding up the rest. Get going,Ussuri. The quicker you meet Alexei and hear his terms, the sooner we can all be done with this messy business.”
I’ve never wanted to kill anyone as badly as I want to murder the three men at the top of the stairs holding my wife and daughters. I’ve rarely felt this kind of burning urge not just to kill, but to make it last, to take them apart piece by piece and show them exactly where the reputation that they’ve chosen to ignore came from. But Yelena’s tears and the fact that I don’t doubt that they won’t hesitate to follow through on their promises keep me from charging up the stairs, or taking the shot that I know I wouldn’t miss.
I’d take at least one of them down, but there would be casualties, and at least one of them would be one of my daughters and quite possibly Caterina.
The helpless feeling that washes over me only adds to my fury. Caterina looks at me, her dark eyes miserable and terrified, and at that moment, I know that somewhere along the way, I’ve made a terrible mistake.
For all my wealth, all the men I’ve hired to protect myself and my family, all the efforts I’ve made, it’s come down to this. I can’t protect those I love most, even after everything. And when a door opens, and I see another two men come out with Sofia held between them and another with Ana slung over his shoulder, I feel a despondent pit open up inside of me.
I failed to protect Vera and the child I hadn’t known she was carrying, and now I’ve failed again. For all that I’ve followed the path that my father and grandfather set me on, for all that I’ve tried to lead fairly, follow a code, and be a man that other men could follow and respect, this is where it’s ended.
“Let her fucking go!” Luca snaps, seeing Sofia. “Both of them! They’ve got nothing to do with this—”
“You made a bargain with theUssuri.”
A voice comes from behind us, clear and sharp, and I know it. Slowly, I turn, along with Luca, Levin, and Liam, but I already know who I’ll see.
Alexei is standing there, flanked by a dozen men with automatic weapons. He smiles coldly at me, his white-blond hair combed back and blue eyes glittering icily. “Mr. Romano, you made a bargain,” he repeats, glancing over at Luca. “Which means that theUssuri’s business affects you and yours, as well. And you too, by extension, Irishman. Although if you wish to change sides, flesh isn’t the only business I have an interest in. Your arms-dealing is a market I wouldn’t hesitate to tap into. I hear your father was excellent at changing sides when the wind blew according to his favor.” He looks at Liam, his face impassive. “So I’ll give you, at least, a chance to choose the winning side today.”
Liam, to his credit, doesn’t so much as flinch. “I’m not my father, ya wee shite,” he says, his accent thickening as he speaks, almost drawling in a heavy Gaelic affectation. He looks at Alexei almost carelessly, as if he isn’t the slightest bit intimidated by the man or his backup, and it’s almost enough to impress me.
I haven’t thought much of Conor’s youngest son, but it’s clear that he has bigger balls than I gave him credit for.
“Shame.” Alexei shrugs. “I imagine if your brother had inherited, he might have chosen the side that would make him a wealthy man and protect the families he’s meant to lead. I’m coming for Boston next, Irishman, once I’ve finished making over Viktor’s businesses.”
“Isn’t Manhattan enough?” Luca glares at him. “If you’re targeting me and mine, then I assume you’re looking at my territories, too. So you’ll try to take Boston after that? Ambitious, for one man.”
“I’ve got my eye on the entire Northeast,” Alexei says with a cold smile, glancing at Luca. “From Newport to Baltimore. So yes, Mr. Romano, I intend to take Boston when I’m finished putting my mark on Manhattan.”
“Ambitious, indeed.” I look at him coolly. “It’s a shame you didn’t put all that focus into being a better brigadier. You might have been more pleased with your rewards—”
“Shut up, old man.” Alexei sneers at me. “And get moving. We’ll finish this discussion in a more comfortable place.” He gestures towards the living room as the men above us come down the stairs, Caterina, Sofia, Yelena, Anika, and Ana in tow.
He jerks his head towards me, Luca, Levin, and Liam, glancing at the men next to him. “Disarm them.”
