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“That’s enough!” Adrik’s voice cuts through Ben’s anger. “Get them inside and shut the fuck up, Ben.”
Ben flinches and throws Adrik a surreptitious glare. I’m getting the feeling that Ben might just be scared of the man he’s chosen to ally with. Maybe a part of him is already regretting the decision.
I hope so, at least.
“Do I have to repeat myself?” Adrik demands, waving his gun in the air.
Ben stumbles forward and gestures for us to follow him into the house. He doesn’t make another attempt to talk to me or the kids. It would be the perfect opportunity to run. The two of them wouldn’t be able to catch all four of us, right?
But the problem is that Adrik is armed.
And he looks just desperate enough to shoot.
The man is a mess, inside and out. His hair is dirty and disheveled. His clothes are ragged and bloodstained and a pungent smell clings to his skin like a disease. Worst of all, though, is the manic gleam in his eyes. That icy control he once had is gone. I suspect Ruslan has something to do with its disappearance.
Adrik makes eye contact with me. He pulls back his lips to reveal his teeth—or what remains of them after whatever the hell Ruslan did to him. There are bloody stumps of gum where his canines used to be. “Don’t you go getting any ideas. Iwillraise my gun—and it won’t be at you.” His gaze veers to the girls at my back.
“You are fucking scum!” I raise my arm and Josh inches towards me. “It’s just a matter of time before Ruslan comes for us, and then everything he did to you already will feel like a nice massage compared to what he’ll do next.”
“Yeah?” he glowers at me. “He can certainlytry.Now, get the fuck inside.”
And because he’s got the gun and I’ve got three children, I do the only thing I can do.
Listen.
55
RUSLAN
We’re down only one man and yet it already feels like a much smaller group. Mikael, Arkady, and Nikolai don’t address our missingvor,which is how I know that Fyodor has already informed them of the betrayal.
“I opted for mercy,” I start without giving them any context. “I opted for leniency. And he decided to spit in my face.”
Fyodor’s eyes go wide. “Who are you—?”
“I released Adrik a week ago. He repaid me by hunting down my family and taking them. Now, it’s time to end this.”
Nikolai clicks his tongue, a surefire sign that he approves. “This dance with Adrik has gone on long enough. It’s about time.”
“I agree,” Mikael says with a curt nod.
Arkady inclines his head towards me. “As do I. We are with you.”
Fyodor clears his throat. “Then you should know all the facts. I told you about my brother’s betrayal and I told you he was working with Adrik this whole time. What I didn’t tell you is why they decided to ally with one another.”
Kirill takes his seat heavily. “Does it matter, Fyodor?”
“It does to me.” His voice is raspy, his eyes cold. He doesn’t look at me when he drops the bomb. “Adrik is Vadim’s son.”
Nikolai is in denial. Arkady is in shock. Mikael is the only one who nods. “I fuckingknewit.”
“How?” Kirill asks with one raised eyebrow.
He shrugs. “I used to watch them together at parties and clubs. They seemed to get along really well,untilsomeone showed up. It always felt like their friction was a setup for the benefit of others.”
“Glad you waited ‘til now to mention it,” Kirill snaps.
Mikael simply leans back in his seat. “I had no proof. And I wasn’t about to accuse a seniorvorof keeping a secret like that.”
