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“Angel?”
THUD!
CHAPTER 31
Nikolai
“No, thanks Dima, thisis more than enough... Yes, you have my word that he will suffer and that whoever we save will have a safe return if they so wish... Yes... I’ll keep you posted... Yes... Alright, thank you, bye.”
With a long sigh, I toss my phone onto my desk. Using my hands, I rubbed my temples in an attempt to ease away the budding headache that came on from the information my cousin just provided me.
Seems like I underestimated Ivan. He’d been trafficking humans right under my nose while my men unknowingly protected the places where the humans were housed. Well, most of them were oblivious to the darker trade that happened—literally—right under their noses. Those who worked with Ivan would all be dealt with once I figure out who betrayed me. And let’s just say the river has been fed good the past two weeks with how many bodies were dumped into it. I had no place for traitors, and their deaths would serve as a stern reminder for everyone who worked under me to never cross me.
Ivan would be dealt with accordingly once I got my hands on him. If it were up to me then I would kill the snake outright, especially after finding out all about what he was involved in. Some might see me as the devil, and given the things I’ve done, I wouldn’t argue with them. I may be a devil, but I was a devil with morals, very gray morals, but they still existed.
Ever since I took up the mantle of Pakhan, I abolished any and all activities related to human trafficking within our businesses. Women, children, the elderly, and anyone innocent were to never be touched or harmed in any way, shape, or form. I never cared for arms deals, drugs, prostitution, murders for hire within limits, but human trafficking and all that went hand in hand with it appalled me to no end. Anyone who partook in such activities would never be in business with me. If I knew Ivan smuggled and sold humans then I wouldn’t have ever shook on anything with him.
“Kolyenka?”
And there’s my only solace in this hell.
“Angel.” The only person I’d ever smile upon seeing their face. Hell, the only person I would ever smile unconsciously with just a mere thought.
“Everything okay? You have been up here longer than expected.” Sometimes I feel like she was actually an angel in moments like these where she showed genuine curiosity and concern for me.
Sighing softly with a nod, I stood up from my desk. “Yeah, just got off the phone with my cousin from Russia. I’ll go over that information in a bit with everyone else.” Walking over to her, I took her in my arms, kissing her forehead and holding her for a moment to take in her soothing scent.
“How are you feeling? Did you get enough rest?” Even though it had been two weeks since her fainting incident, I still worried about her greatly. I nearly had a heart attack when Lev shouted for me that day and I ran down to see Angel passed out in his arms. Both Alexei and the doctor said it was because she was highly stressed and needed a lot of rest to recover fully, but she still hasn’t been her full self ever since.
Smiling softly, she loosely wrapped her arms around my waist and rested her head against my chest. “I’m fine, don’t worry. Once this whole shit show with my stepmother and Ivan are over then I’ll be less tired and stressed, probably. The others will be easier to deal with once we cut off the bigger players.” She tried to give me a reassuring look, but I saw right through it.
Her exhaustion was clear as day to me upon a quick glance. As breathtakingly beautiful as she was, her eyes have gotten darker and more sunken, the lines on her face more noticeable than before, her movements held a weight to them as if she struggled to move her own limbs every time. No doubt I look like that on a daily basis, but to see how much all of this affected her weighed on me as well.
With my arm around her waist, the two of us headed downstairs to the living room where all my brothers, Angel’s two friends, and Greg filled. The polished coffee table nowhere to be seen being buried under all the papers, pictures, and laptops.
“How was the phone call with Dima? Everything okay back in Moscow?” The idle chatter in the room died down with Stepan’s question. Everyone’s eyes trained on me as I sat down in the armchair, pulling Angel onto the armrest and keeping my arm around her waist.
