4
Dominik
“Up against the wall!”
The air is punched out of my lungs when two of Gavriil’s guards slam me headfirst into the concrete wall of my cell.
Pain radiates through my temples and my rib wound, forcing me to grit my teeth through the uncomfortable sensation.
“Stay there,” one of the guards, Roman, warns near my ear as the other steps away to switch my empty food tray with a full one.
They could’ve just slid the tray into my cell, but I know they’re doing this shit on purpose. They want the physical contact, the humiliation. It’ll be the only chance they ever get of laying hands on me without repercussions.
I can’t see the cells on either side of mine, but I can hear the shoves, the curses, my men getting the same treatment.
This is the punishment for our betrayal.
My betrayal.
“YourPakhanis breaking his own deal,” I say, cheek grinding against cold concrete. “You’re not supposed to hurt any of us.”
“ThePakhandoes whatever the fuck he wants,” Simeon replies in Russian, stating the words like it’s a well-known fact that’s not up for discussion.
Gavriilthinkshe can do whatever he wants. He’s never been denied anything. But one day, he’ll face a battle he can’t win, and it will destroy everything he’s built.
My brother has never been humbled.
I’d love to be the one to do it, but what can I do while stuck in this goddamn cell?
“I want to talk to him. Bring him down here,” I tell the guard firmly, as if I still have any authority.
“ThePakhanwill come down if or when he wants,” he replies, his hand pressing against the side of my head even harder.
“Tell him that I need to speak with him,” I demand, my voice bordering on a growl as I fight through the ache pounding throughout my skull. “He can’t ignore me forever.”
The guard leans in, crushing me harder. “I don’t take orders from you anymore, traitor.”
He’d rather continue taking orders from my psychopathic brother who will toss him to the wolves the second he fucks up.
Not me. I’m done being one of Gavriil’s fucking lackeys. I can’t be the man who follows someone else’s orders anymore.
Alina was right.
I was a coward for refusing to stand up to him before. If I had, maybe I wouldn’t have lost everything I’ve ever wanted with one final order.
“Stay here. Move before I’m out and I’ll knock your teeth in,” Simeon warns me.
I grind my teeth together as his weight moves off me, resisting the urge to spin around and drop him with one fucking punch. I’ve considered holding him or one of the other guards hostage to negotiate my release, but I don’t want to jeopardize the safety of my men any more than I already have. Besides, Gavriil doesn’t care enough about the guards to give me anything for one of their lives.
When the door eventually clanks shut, I peel myself off the wall and face the cell.
All that Gavriil has allowed me to have is a shitty mattress on the floor, a sink, a toilet, and a showerhead in the back right corner. While I can see through the cell door, there’s not much to look at besides a wall and the occasional guard walking by.
Gavriil hasn’t shown his face once since he tossed us down here. He’s letting me rot while he plays upstairs with Alina.
Guilt hits me like a punch in the chest at the thought of what she’s enduring. Mydikaya koshka.Fuck.
I rake a hand over my hair. All I can do now is hope that Alina is staying strong, and torment myself wondering what Gavriil has already done to her. What kind of sick games is he playing withmygirl?
