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Damien speaks up, his voice soft yet cutting. "Do you really want your son to see his father as nothing more than a coward?"
A tense silence envelops the room. For a heartbeat, nothing moves.
Chapter 26
Samuil
The ticking of a clock somewhere in the distance seems unbearably loud, the entire world narrowing down to this one room. Every heartbeat pounds in my ears. Radu's family are huddled before him, their eyes filled with anticipation and fear.
“Fine!” Radu spits.
With a sudden move, Radu pushes his family toward us, his eyes darting back and forth between me and the door they'd just run out of.
Radu produces a gun and points it straight at me, his finger twitching over the trigger. Time seems to slow, every millisecond stretched and distorted. My instincts scream at me to act, to pull my own gun and fire. Killing is not unfamiliar to me. It's a dark part of the world I inhabit.
In a split-second decision, I close the distance, my training and reflexes taking over. My hand wraps around the gun, wrenching it from his grip with a force that sends it skittering across the floor. Radu’s eyes widen, filled with a mix of shock and anger, but he barely gets a chance to react as I drive my fist into his gut. He doubles over, wheezing, and drops to his knees.
Roman steps forward, glaring down at Radu. “You should've just stayed down, mate.”
Andrei nods, giving me a look of approval. "Well done, brother."
I stand over Radu, his once commanding presence now reduced to a pathetic state, gasping for breath on the floor. The weight of it all finally hits me, a rush of adrenaline along with fear, then relief. I've taken many men down, ended countless threats, but this... this was personal.
“Samuil,” Roman speaks, concern evident in his voice, “You okay?”
I nod. “I am.” I gaze down at Radu. “He’s not worth another death on our hands. He’s done.”
Kneeling down beside Radu's crumpled form, I can see the panic and surprise in his eyes. It's a look I've seen before—defeat. But there's something else, uncertainty. He's waiting for the death blow, that final moment that most men in his position would expect, even hope for.
“You should be dead,” I tell him coldly, my voice barely above a whisper. The silence in the room is heavy, every breath audible. “It would be easy, definitely justifiable.”
Radu's gaze shifts to the door. I can see the calculations spinning in his mind, wondering if I'm the kind of man to use his family as leverage.
I think of Ana, of the future we could build. "You deserve to die. But you’ve caught me in a good mood, and I’m not the kind of man to leave a child without a father and a woman without a husband.” I lean closer, so he can feel my breath, my intensity. “But that doesn’t mean you get a free pass.”
Radu swallows hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Samuil—”
I cut him off with a wave of my hand. “You’re finished here in Moscow. Whatever power, whatever respect you thought you had—it's gone.” I pause, letting the reality sink in. “How youspend tomorrow, that's your business. But I’d advise you to remember this moment, remember this mercy.”
His eyes meet mine, searching for any hint of a trap, but he finds only cold resolve.
“You and your family have until the end of the day. If you're still in Moscow after that, it won't matter where you hide. We'll find you.” The underlying threat is unmistakable.
The weight of defeat presses down on Radu, and he nods slowly. "We'll go."
As Radu pushes himself up, I grab his arm, yanking him close. “Make sure your next life doesn't intersect with mine. Because next time, you might not find me in such a charitable mood.”
He gulps, the reality of his near-death experience making his face pale. “Understood.”
Releasing him, I watch as he stumbles toward the exit, every step that of a defeated man. I can hear the murmurs of my men outside, but a heavy silence fills the room. We all glance and nod at one another, the understanding of our brotherhood clear.
Roman steps in, breaking the moment. “That was...” He searches for the right word, then settles on, “unexpected.”
I chuckle. “Life’s full of surprises. Let’s just hope he heeds the warning.”
“He’d be a fool not to,” Damien says, watching Radu’s retreating form.
As the adrenaline starts to wane, a sense of fatigue washes over me. But it's not over yet. There's still work to be done, a city to secure, and a woman I need to see.
