“No?” Elena’s eyebrow arches. “Well, we could always see how long it takes to make the boy scream. I hear children’s fingers are so delicate…”
Bile rises in my throat.You sadistic bitch.“Fine,” I grit out. “But Alex stays with me.”
“You have no leverage to bargain, little mouse,” Elena sneers, gesturing to take Alex away.
“Wait!” The word tears from my throat. “Okay. I’ll… I’ll do what you ask.”
Triumph blazes in Elena’s eyes as she pulls out a phone, manicured nail tapping a number.
“Speak.” D’s voice, gruff and disinterested, crackles through the speaker.
“Long time no see,lover,” Elena purrs.
“What do you want?” D’s tone could freeze hell itself.
“Oh, just catching up. Thought you might want to know…” Elena’s eyes lock onto mine, savoring every word. “I have the love of your life here. And your cute little baby boy.”
The silence stretches, endless and suffocating. I can barely breathe.
Finally, D’s voice, cold as a Siberian winter: “It’s none of my business.”
The line goes dead.
My heart plummets, shattering on the concrete floor. Elena’s laughter rings out, triumphant and cruel, but I barely hear it. All I can focus on is Alex’s trembling form and the sickening realization that we’re truly alone.
D, you heartless bastard,I think, fighting back tears.I hope you burn in hell for this.
70
Dimitri
The Audi’s engine roars, matching the fury burning in my gut as we tear through Chicago’smudak-infested streets. Five vans packed with my best killers flank us, ready to turn this town into a fucking slaughterhouse.
“Boss?” Saveliy’s voice cuts in. “Five minutes.”
I nod, my jaw clenched tight. “Let’s get them out. And no one walks away alive,ponimayu?”
The men around me nod, their eyes hardening. We’ve seen more wars than the average fucker, but this time, I’m sweating like a bitch.
Fuck’s sake, get a goddamn grip.
I lean back in my seat, watching the city blur past us in a dark streak of lights.
And then, my phone vibrates in my hand. Unknown number. I don’t need to answer it to know who it is.
“Poshol na khuy,” I mutter under my breath.
Finally,I think to myself, my finger hovering over the answer button.
I answer, keeping my voice flat. “Speak.”
Elena’s voice slithers through. “Long time no see, lover.”
My grip on the phone tightens. Plastic creaks. For a second, all I see is red, imagining my hands crushing Elena’s windpipe.
I swallow the rage, forcing it down. Can’t lose my shit. Not now.
“What do you want?” I growl.
