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The jet has come to a full stop on the runway, its engines whirring down. All the windows are tinted, so it’s difficult to see what’s going on inside. We wait a good four to five minute before anything happens. We have them completely surrounded. Even if Konstantinwasplanning to put up a fight, I doubt he’d get very far before he was riddled with bullet holes.
I hold my breath when the jet’s door opens, falling forward to allow the slide-out staircase to descend. The pilot is the first to come out with his hands above his head. He looks to be an ordinary man unlucky enough to be roped into this mess. The fear in his eyes is a dead giveaway that he probably didn’t expect his day to take such a drastic turn of events.
“Get out of here,” Pyotr tells him.
The pilot nods and runs off.
The only person remaining is Konstantin.
He steps out slowly, pure hatred evident in his bloodshot eyes. Despite his obvious defeat, Konstantin holds his head up with pride. I doubt the man understands the concept of shame, but now is hardly the time for a lecture. He takes one step down, then two, his movements obscenely slow. He’s a prisoner on death row, taking his time to draw out the inevitable.
“I would like to make a deal,” he says.
Beside me, Luka scoffs. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
Mikhail raises a hand. “Let him speak. Everybody should be entitled to their final words.”
Konstantin’s nostrils flare. “You’re not going to kill me.”
“You shouldn’t sound so sure,” I hiss. “You’re going to pay for what you did to Charlotte.”
“Charlotte?” He arches a brow. “Oh, right. Your little friend. Did something happen to her?”
Fury and indignation boil in the pit of my stomach. I clench my fists into tight balls. Even though Charlotte continues to recover under Nicolai’s watchful eye, I want this man to pay for almost killing her.
“Easy,” Mikhail warns me, his hand my arm when I step forward. “Tell me about this deal, uncle, before I kill you and get it over with.”
“I can provide you with valuable information,” Konstantin says. “I know the inner workings of the Bratva’s side businesses like the back of my hand. You’ll need someone to help you with the transition of power.”
“I have it handled,” Mikhail says firmly. “Besides, why would I take advice from someone I don’t value?”
“There are still a handful of my loyalists hiding amongst your ranks. You’ll need me alive to keep them at bay.”
“We’ll weed them out,” Dimitri says simply.
Even at a distance, I can tell that Konstantin is struggling to find a leg to stand on. The Antonov brothers aren’t giving him an inch. Good. I find great satisfaction in watching him squirm like this.
“Fine,” he grumbles. “Then how about I offer you a prisoner in exchange for my freedom?”
I furrow my brow. “A prisoner?”
Mikhail presses his lips into a thin line. “Who could you possibly have captive? Everyone of importance to me is here.”
“Everyone?” he asks. His tone sends a chill crawling down my arms and the back of my neck. “Even your father?”
My heart skips a beat as I turn to look at Mikhail, my mouth dropping open in shock. It can’t be. No way. Everything I’ve heard from Mikhail and his brothers is that they had to leave their father for dead. It’s beendecadessince they last saw him. Could it really, truly be?
“He’s bluffing,” Pyotr says with a grunt.
“Don’t listen to him,” Dimitri growls.
“Think about it, my dear nephews,” Konstantin says with an easy chuckle. Even though he’s staring death in the face, he’s as calm and charismatic as ever. I’m not sure if it’s because of this ace up his sleeve, or if it’s because he’s a straight up psychopath. Maybe both. “You never saw a body,” he goes on. “You all left for America before I managed to get my hands on him. I might be capable of a great many things, but do you honestly believe killing my little brother is one of them?”
Catherina sucks in a sharp breath. In all the time I’ve known her, I’ve never once seen her lose her composure. This is the first time I’ve ever seen her ice-cold walls crack. Her shoulders tremble, her breathing unsteady. “No…” she whispers. “You killed Lev. He betrayed you. There’s no way you were going to let that slide.”
“I have been known to make exceptions. After all, what’s more important than family, hm?”
Mikhail is a stone statue. I don’t think he’s blinked since Konstantin dropped his bomb. His jaw is a hard line, the muscles in his face so taut I can almost see the vein at his temple pulse.
