Ivan swiped at his glass and it slid from the desk and smashed on to the floor alongside the previous glass he’d smashed.
“That wasn’t the only time,” I said, watching his hand move to his desk drawer. “No, I also fucked her when we all went to dinner at The Willow Tree. I took her upstairs while you talked with my father about business. I fucked her so hard that she could barely walk straight afterwards.”
“I’m going to kill you!” he snarled, and I laughed in his face.
“How you didn’t notice anything when we came back to the table is beyond me.” I smirked, enjoying tormenting him. I would enjoy killing him even more.
“You cocky piece of shit,” he spat out.
“And today too… right out in the open where anyone could have seen us. Where anyone could have seen your wife fucking another man.”
He slid open the drawer and I pulled out my gun from the inside of my jacket and tutted at him. “Back away from it, Ivan.”
He glanced down at the drawer and then back up to me.
“You’re so predictable, no wonder she couldn't keep her hands off me,” I taunted. “Honestly, did you even change positions? Or was it always missionary, in and out, and leave her dry and wanting? God, the way that woman orgasms. It’s fucking heaven.”
His nostrils flared. “When I’ve killed you, I’m going to kill her too, but I’ll take it slowly with her,” he snapped, his eyes cold.
“Is that so?”
“I’ll put her to work in one of my brothels and I’ll have every man in the city lay with her. Marisha will be used up and begging for death by the end of the year, and only then will I kill her. And I’ll do it on your grave, you spoiled little fuck!” he roared, his temper finally fraying enough for him to lose control.
He reached for the gun in his drawer, despite my warning, and I pulled the trigger on my gun. My bullet ricocheted off the top of his desk as he ducked below it and yelled at me in Russian.
I watched his hand reach up to try and dip inside the drawer again and I let off another round. This one chipped the edge of the desk and he yelled at me to stop. It was a shame to destroy such a beautiful piece of furniture, but it would be worth it when he was dead.
“There’s only one way out of this for you, Ivan.” I narrowed my eyes, watching his slight movements below the desk
“For me?” he roared. “For me! You arrogant little shit. You and your father think you run this city still, but you don’t know anything. There are spies on every corner, just waiting to take him down. Even after all this time, you still thought I needed your family's acceptance,” he laughed loudly.
My ears pricked up at this new information; were there other traitors in our midst?
The quick death I had planned for him suddenly seemed impossible. I needed to question Ivan and find out what he knew. His long, slow, torturous death would be much more satisfying for me given what he’d done to Marisha’s face, but I needed to get her away from here to make that happen. She didn’t need to see me torture a man; bastard wife-beater or not.
“We should talk. Perhaps we can help one another,” I tried, already knowing that it wouldn’t work. I’d pissed him off too much and now we’d have to do this the hard way.
“Help? What are you not understanding, Alexander? I don’t need or want your help. Not before you slept with my whore of a wife, and certainly not after. I’m going to enjoy this.”
Ivan stood up, his shoulders were wide and square, the beginnings of a paunch settling above the waistband of his suit pants. He’d always been a man to take care of himself, but the past year must have taken its toll on him because he’d aged, badly in fact. You would have thought that having a beautiful young wife would have made a man, but it had done the opposite to him.
I aimed the gun at him as he reached for the Makarov again, his gaze on me, almost daring me to shoot him.
“Don’t touch it,” I warned.
Ivan smirked. “What are you going to do? Kill me?”
The sound of footsteps whispered behind me and I watched as Ivan’s gaze strayed momentarily and he smiled. I turned my head to one side, hoping it was Decatur returning and not who I feared it was. It was the bodyguard, and the tightness that had sprouted quickly in my chest eased.
“No, I think not,” Ivan said with a smile as wide as a Cheshire cat. “Despite what you think, you’re still just a little boy and this is a man’s world.” He reached for the gun again and I fired at him without hesitation. The bullet hit his hand and he screamed in pain and clutched it to his chest.
His gaze flitted between Decatur and me, slowly putting the pieces together, and I smiled in satisfaction as the realization hit him where it hurt. Ivan, like most men, demanded loyalty. He just hadn’t realized that Decatur had been loyal to me and my family for many years now.
“You!” he roared at Decatur. “After everything I’ve done for you!”
Decatur came to stand by me, his hand instinctively reaching for his own gun. “Will there be anything else, Mr. Vasiliev?”
“No, thank you, Decatur. I’ll make sure that you’re compensated well for your loyalty.”
