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Ryzen.
“I guess nothing was ever good enough for you, was it?” He mused, and I turned slowly to face Valik, my mouth hanging open. “Have you missed me, Nova? Been dreaming about me? I’ve missed you.” He sounded unhinged, his laughter making my whole body tingle in a way that let me know danger was close. How the fuck had he known I was here? He must have been following me, just like I had suspected. Cian had been wrong, Dr. Loomis had been wrong, and Delove had been wrong. Ryzen wasn’t off on some lavish island starting his new life. No, he was right here in Chicago trying to ruin mine.
“Cat got your tongue? Don’t worry, soon we’ll be having this conversation face to face.” He hissed, and I snapped out of whatever terror demon that was trying to take over my body and possess my mind.
I was not a victim.
“Good. Because this time I’ll aim for your heart and not your leg, you fucking pussy,” I hissed, my voice trembling. Valik’s eyes widened and he rushed over, reaching for the phone.
“What did you say, you bitch?” Ryzen screamed into the phone. “I’m going to fucking kill you, you whore!” The sound of glass breaking in the background echoed in my ear.
“Nova, no.” Valik grabbed the phone out of my hand, his face pale as Ryzen screamed on the other end. A moment later, it was silent, and Valik placed the phone back on the hook. “Fuck,” he grunted and squeezed his eyes shut.
I’d known deep in my bones that Ryzen had been out there. Watching. Waiting.
But this time, I wasn’t afraid.
I would never be afraid again.
Chapter Seven
Ryzen
I smashed the motel phone against the wall, the plastic pieces shattering across the stained carpet. That bitch. She thought she was so clever? Well, I would show her exactly how stupid she was. The man in the room next to mine pounded on the wall, and I pounded back, screaming at the top of my lungs. Did he have any idea who the hell I was?
Fuck this place. It should be burned down to the ground. I had been trying to keep a low profile, stay somewhere I wouldn’t be recognized. The run-down old motel off Highway 55 was perfect, a den for lowlives and drug addicts who wouldn’t ask questions. The fluorescent lights flickered against the tattered wallpaper, and I sank into the old mattress. The smell of old cigarette smoke and mildew permeated my nostrils, making me more enraged.
I shouldn’t be here in this hellhole. No, I should be in a fucking luxurious penthouse surrounded by beautiful women, not a dump where junkies were passed out in the hallways and police sirens blasted all hours of the night.
It wasn’t like I didn’t have money—oh, I did. The FBI thought they had been so smart when they’d seized my assets, but they didn’t know about the offshore accounts. Rule number one, fuckheads: when you made the kind of money I made, you hid it away. Well, the kind of money Ihadbeen making.
No, money wasn’t the problem. The problem was, I needed to lie low while I worked on the next part of my plan. And it was going to be fucking brilliant. If I could just curb my constant rage.
I was feeling out of control. And an out-of-control Ryzen wasn’t good for anybody. It was her fault. That bitch.
My shoulders sagged, the weight of the world on them. Being a felon on the run wasn’t all it had cracked up to be. But my problems would soon be over, and Nova’s were bound to get worse. I would make sure of it.
Focus, Ryzen. Just fucking focus.
I had to be smarter. Killing that security guard on the roof had been the first big mistake I had made since Riddick and I busted out of jail with the help of Konstantin Zhirov. Voledetti wasn’t the only Mafia I had ties to. Lucky for me, Zhirov had owed me, and owed me big.
I couldn’t slip up like that again. If that guard had just listened and left, I wouldn’t have had to shoot him. And I would still have prime viewing access to Nova’s entire apartment. His death was on her hands now. It wasn’t like I enjoyed killing—I wasn’t some sicko. It was out of necessity. But nobody else had to get hurt. Except the two people who had hurt me.
My breath became ragged as the room spun. This seemed to happen more often now when I thought about what I had to do. But they had to pay for their sins. I wouldn’t rest until I got my revenge, no matter what the cost.
Man up.
I squeezed my eyes shut and flopped backwards onto the tattered bedsheets. Maybe it was time to pay her a little visit. Rattle her. Let her know I could get to her anytime I wanted. Maybe that would make me feel better.
No. Don’t fuck up all the months of planning.
The next phase of my plan was almost ready. Lucky for me, I had found myself a little puppet whose strings I could pull. A secret accomplice. They scratched my back, and I scratched theirs. It was all part of my genius plan, and nobody would ever suspect a damn thing.
Soon.
I just had to be patient and make the right moves.
Chapter Eight
