AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It’s a second. Maybe two.
But it’s enough.
Enough for Sergey to pull the loaded gun from his holster and pull the trigger.
Enough for the bullet to hit Rodion square between the eyes.
He cracks against the tile floor at Sergey’s feet with no resistance. Blood pools around his head, spilling out of him in rhythmic bursts that grow slower by the second.
Sergey blows out a breath and steps carefully over the puddle. When he turns to me, there is a faraway smile on his face. “I don’t know why I didn’t do that the day he was born. It sure would have saved me some trouble.”
I’ve seen Sergey kill men in cold blood. But this feels different.
“You taught me to never betray the family,” I rasp.
“Rodion isn’t my fucking family. How many times do I need to explain it?”
“The Bratva is a family,” I clarify. “All of us. If I could have killed Rodion because he annoys me, I would’ve done it years ago. But we can’t. Because—”
“Becausenothing,” Sergey cuts in. “I’ll let you in on a little secret: you can do whatever the hell you want. Who is going to stop you?” He chuckles to himself. “Well, I am now. Because you don’t know when to keep your head down and your mouth shut.”
“Rodion was your biological son.”
He rolls his eyes. “Fine. Yes. But that doesn’t matter. He was a sick boy. No one expected him to make it past toddlerhood. When he did, I knew he didn’t have it in him to lead. He was impulsive and angry and reckless. So I gave him a job that suited his talents. I did right by him.”
“You did—” I almost choke on a laugh. “You turned your son into a murderer. Rodion has been shot at, stabbed, and thrown into more dangerous situations than almost anyone else. It’s like you’ve been trying to kill him for years.”
“Him dying would guarantee no one contested your position as don.” Sergey shrugs. “When I adopted you and made you the next in line to leadership, plenty of men grumbled about your legitimacy. Some of them even wanted Rodion to lead.”
I know that. I heard plenty of men who were mad that I wasn’t born into this world. They didn’t think I could handle it.
I showed them otherwise.
“Imagine if it ever got out that he had a blood connection to me.” Sergey shakes his head. “There would have been a coup.”
“No, there wouldn’t have been. Because I’ve earned my place. The men trust me.”
Rodion’s blood has spread even further and Sergey has to move closer to me to avoid getting any on his shoes. “This is why you need my guidance, son. The Bratva is built on tradition. You think you’re safe now that you’re at the top, but you have to fight to stay there. Everyone wants to take you down. Every man in your employ wants to be you, which means they’ll gladly watch you die and try to take your place. You can’t give them an excuse.”
“If you were so worried about Rodion taking over, why not kill him?” I snarl. “Why did you go after Emily?”
Part of me wants him to deny it. I want him to say,Rodion is my son, but I never killed Emily. I would never do that to you. I would never do that to her.
Instead, he shrugs weakly. “Rodion is the best hitman I’ve ever had. I didn’t want to get rid of him.”
I try to blink through the rush of anger that courses through me, but all I see is red. “Emily wasn’t as useful to you as Rodion… So you murdered her.”
“She was bringing you down. The girl was headed nowhere fast. Why the fuck do you think she ended up with Rodion, after all? She was looking for trouble, and you were spending too much time and energy keeping her alive. I did you a favor. Both of you.”
I hear the echo of my words to Piper. I want to deny the similarity between me and my adopted father, but there it is.
He got rid of a woman who was family to me, supposedly for my own benefit.
Is that what I did to Piper when I paid off her father?
“She was snooping where she shouldn’t have been, and I found out about it,” Sergey continues. “When I realized she was going to get back with Rodion, I knew I couldn’t let her live. So I killed her. You’re welcome.”
The bubble inside of me bursts. Without thinking, I charge at Sergey.
