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Paige stops mid-step when she sees the large group of men waiting in the hall. Holding their bags and belongings, they’re ready to follow her anywhere. Her face shows no reaction, but her hand grips the banister tightly.
She walks over and places a gentle kiss on my cheek. For a moment, I imagine that she’s ready to give in to me.
But not this time.
Paige was taught how to be a Bratva wife by the best. Without a word, she heads toward the door.
A part of me feels pride watching her stand among my men, ready to lead them away. But another part is screaming at me to follow, to run after her and take her into my arms.Stop her, you fool! She’s walking away. She belongs here! With you!
But I don’t. Something keeps me rooted to the spot, watching helplessly as my wife walks away from me.
Seven Rovers head toward the gate, following Paige’s little Mercedes. I watch, but she doesn’t turn her head to look back as she races out of the gate.
I lie to myself that this was the plan all along. The marriage was always fake. And that’s why I bought her the inn, so I’d always know where she was with my child.
I lie to myself that Paige will come back to me, and I’ll wait for her.
I try to convince myself that she can’t live without me.
Because I can’t live without her.
Chapter 41
Andrei
The music from the club is loud enough to vibrate my ears though we’re outside and a distance away. The flashing neon lights are visible through the few windows. An intensely bright spotlight sweeps the surroundings, but its purpose isn’t decorative, though it shows off the luxury automobiles parked out front.
“How many of Gleb’s men are guarding the perimeter?” I ask Dmitri as we wait in the dark.
“The headcount is eight, all armed with automatic rifles,” he replies. “Not exactly an army.”
“Pathetic,” I scoff. “The rest of his men are probably sitting around drinking inside, which makes it easier for us.”
In the middle of nowhere, Gleb’s private club is a solid square of concrete blocks, surrounded on all sides by acres of parking lot. Anyone approaching would be caught before they came too close. If you’re uninvited, you risk being shot.
Let them try.
Dmitri crawls flat on his belly and stops beside me. We’re too far away to be spotted, and I don’t think anyone is looking. Gleb and his men are too busy partying to care that it’s all about to burn down.
“All these years of putting Karamazov men in the ground and making fun of their plans,” whispers Dmitri while peering through binoculars. “And now we’re about to follow one.”
“Funny how that works, isn’t it?”
Dmitri cracks a smile. “It’s not a terrible plan.”
To keep the advantage, I have to act fast. Sonya and her men remain at the Karamazov estate while I bring my remaining men to strike the Novikovs at their local club. The Nikitin Bratva are hiding in the hole where I left them.
Dmitri sighs. “How long are we going to wait?”
“We wait until I’m certain it will be a surprise.”
“They can’t know we are here unless they see us,” he replies. “And from the activity I’m spotting, they haven’t. Nor do they care.”
I pull the binoculars out of Dmitri’s hands and watch a group of scantily clad women enter the club. Their dresses barely cover their backsides, and their straps are slipping off their shoulders. They teeter on their heels over to a guard as another one leaves his post.
Then the fool follows them inside.
I couldn’t have set up a better decoy. Laughing, I hand back the binoculars.
