AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A low chuckle reaches my ear. I don’t even have to look up to know my uncle has decided to pay me a visit. Not exactly the happy family reunion I was hoping for, but whatever.
“You know,” he says as he enters the room, “you were always my favorite nephew.”
“A little late to try and get on my good side, Konstantin.”
He smiles, nodding once in the doctor’s direction. “How’s he doing?”
“His lung infection has cleared up. He’s making steady progress.”
“When can I put him back to work?”
“By week’s end.”
My brows steeple together. “Wait a fucking second—”
“Thank you, Doctor. That’ll be all. Give us the room, please.”
Everyone except Konstantin steps out. It’s a cocky display of his power and confidence. He thinks because I’m handcuffed to my bed and recovering that I won’t be able to hurt him. It’s the only reason he’s comfortable being alone in the room with me. Little does he know how far I’m willing to go to get out of my restraints. I’ll gnaw my hand clean off my wrist if I have to.
“I’m not lifting another finger,” I growl through gritted teeth. “I’m done working for you. Now that Dani’s gotten away—”
Konstantin’s smile widens. It sends a shiver down my spine. “Your sacrifice was admirable, I’ll admit that much, but it was all in vain.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Dear boy… Did you seriously think you could escape us? Salkov has connections with some of the world’s finest dog breeders, all trained to sniff out their target without fail.”
It isn’t enough to say my blood runs colder. Itfreezes, clogging every vein and artery inside me. My chest pangs, my lungs tightened. “What did you do to her?”
“I can see why you liked her so much. Plenty of fire. But even she couldn’t outrun our dogs.”
I start shaking my head before I’ve even realized I’m doing it. “No. No, she’s… You’re lying.” I can’t allow myself to forget this man is a snake. If he was willing to force his own family out of the country to achieve his goals, surely a lie is as easy as breathing to a monster like him.
“The pups must have been particularly hungry that day,” Konstantin continues without a hint of remorse. I don’t like the look in his eyes. He’s too casual about it, like murder is an everyday occurrence—as common as rain. “They didn’t leave a scrap. Rather efficient, wouldn’t you say? There’s no need to worry about hiding a body when there’s nothing left.”
I strain against my handcuffs. “You’re a fucking liar!”
Dread tears through me. It can’t be. None of this is true. Konstantin has to be talking out of his ass. I refuse to accept what he’s saying as truth. And yet…
Fear washes over me, a cold and unforgiving wave. I can’t forget that Konstantin is old school Bratva. They are merciless in ways I can’t even begin to fathom. To men like him, killing is a sport. I don’t want to accept it, but the look of utter glee in my uncle’s eyes makes me question everything.
Is Dani really dead? I refuse to believe it. No, no,no. She had a better chance of escape than I did. I thought I stopped our pursuers from tracking her down.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Konstantin warns. “If you think about it, her death is really onyourhands. If you hadn’t run away, Levitsky wouldn’t have ordered her execution.”
“Levitsky?” I spit.
“We voted on it.” He says this with a prideful puff of his chest. “I personally didn’t think it necessary, but my partners… They decided I was being too soft on you. What can I say? Anything for family, right?”
My head pounds harder than ever before. “So they killed her… to teach me a lesson?”
“You must learn from this,” Konstantin says, sounding almost concerned. “I will not be able to protect you if you try something foolish again. Not only has your woman paid the price, but so have your guards. It was such a pity, having to put Jerome and Calvin down. Good help is hard to come by these days, but mistakes simply won’t be tolerated.”
I grind my teeth, my jaw popping loudly inside my skull, which makes my headache worse. Jerome and Calvin are dead? A part of me wants to celebrate, while the other half pities the poor fools. It’s obvious by now that The Trinity have no qualms about getting rid of obstacles—or those who dare to upset them.
“Don’t look so down,” Konstantin says warmly. “We’ve finally built our compound, so we don’t have to keep you in our underground bunker any longer. You’ll have an office with a view, isn’t that great? You’ll be back to work in no time.”
I can handle my uncle’s cruelty, but I draw the line at false kindness. He pats me on the shin. I all but kick him away. While I do feel exponentially better, my body hasn’t quite made a full recovery.
