AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I can’t let these people get the better of me. I can’t let them win.
“So now, we wait.” Gunsyn spins the phone on the table to face him. “For the call to tell us that your father is dead.”
I watch the phone, unable to speak or move. Unable to do anything but listen to the horrible silence in the stuffy room.
54
NIKOLAI
The ninth flooris kept vacant of tenants, but it’s always filled with my people. Rows of desks covered in fake wood veneer run the length of the space from window to window. Laptops connected to widescreen monitors on each desk survey accounts and videos of anyone involved with the Bratva. There is a constant hum of voices as information is given and received over burner phones as the darker side of our business is conducted daily. But today, the floor has been transformed into a command center for our operation to take out Zakhar Budanov.
I take a sip of water from a plastic bottle as I stare at the cityscape out the window. The view isn’t much down here, but it helps me think. I’m still trying to make sense of everything that’s happened in the last few days
I can’t deny my attraction to Eden. I can’t deny I still want her, and not just for her body. I want her soul and her heart. I want to claim Eden again. I want her to belong to me … to the Bratva. But I have to protect her.
Even if it means killing her father. Even if it means destroying her love.
I take a deep breath and exhale slowly, focusing on my work. I can’t let my emotions overtake my mind. I have to keep my head clear. I have to do what’s right for my lineage, though it may be mostly gone, and for the continuation of our Bratva.
“Any word from Ippolit?” I ask, turning to Pavel.
Pavel shakes his head, gazing at the monitor on his borrowed desk. His appearance is carefully groomed though he pulls his hair back in a ponytail; he always looks like he gets eight hours of sleep. “No word.” Pavel glances at his phone. “He should’ve called. Should I go out and look for him?”
I shake my head. “No. Give him another half an hour. If he doesn’t call by then, we’ll send a team.”
Pavel nods. “Okay.” His expression remains detached from concern.
As far as I know,he’snever fallen for anyone.
I walk over to another monitor and watch over the shoulder of a young recruit, but I can’t concentrate. I’m too furious at myself for falling for Eden. And I’m furious at her for playing me like a dummy.
She had to have known something. There’s no way she didn’t. Once she was out, I wonder why she didn’t keep going and run away.
Because she knew you’d find her.
The phone rings, and Pavel swipes to answer. He listens for a moment and then holds the phone out to me. “It’s for you,” he says, his expression grim.
I glance at the screen—it’s Ippolit. I take the phone and put it to my ear. “Yes.”
“I’ve cornered Zakhar,” he replies, breathing heavily. “He’s trapped in a storage building in Secaucus.”
This is the moment I’ve waited for, but it’s also the moment I’ve been dreading.
“Good work,” I reply. “How many men do you have?”
“Three, including me.” His words rush out of his mouth; he’s never this excited. “I can end this. Quickly and painlessly.”
My blood is ice, and my heart beats faster. This is my chance to rid the world of a scumbag who doesn’t deserve to live. But as much as I want to see Zakhar die, I can’t bring myself to give Ippolit the order.
“Ippolit,” I say firmly, “that is not the order.”
Ippolit clears his throat. “What?” he says. “But I thought?—”
“You are not to kill him,” I tell him severely. “You are to bring him in. Alive.”
Ippolit’s tone is borderline disrespectful. “That was not what we agreed! That was not my order!”
“You have new orders now,” I reprimand him. “I want to talk to Zakhar. I want him alive.”
