Mercer is inside, barking orders at his remaining loyal men, oblivious to the net tightening around his entire life. Three years of careful work, hacks into his shell companies, falsified transfers, quiet disruptions to his transport network, have led to this moment.
Three years of me pretending to be someone else. Pretending to be this disgusting fuck’s and his slimy peers’ friend.
Finally, today, Gerald Mercer’s empire burns. And it’s not fucking soon enough.
“Phase three complete,” my second-in-command mutters through the comms. “Accounts frozen. The last shipment of girls was intercepted twenty minutes ago.”
Satisfaction surges through me, cold and sharp. In the last few years, this is all I’ve lived for. This is what I’ve my relationshipwith my brother for…my relationship with Sydney, but I can’t think of that right now.
I can’t afford the distraction in this big moment of the Kedrov revenge. The trafficking routes that snaked through Mercer’s logistics network are collapsing in real time. His dirty money is evaporating. By morning, he’ll be a ruined man staring down federal charges that will never let him see daylight again.
I adjust my cufflinks and step into the light as Mercer’s security waves me through. He thinks I’m still the wealthy investor ready to “save” his company. Fucking fool.
“Max.” Mercer greets me with a sweaty smile, clapping me on the shoulder like we’re old friends. “The transfers went through?”
“Every one.” I keep my voice smooth, the Volkov mask firmly in place. “Though I must say, Gerald, your accounting was… creative.”
His laugh is nervous. I let the silence stretch until his smile falters. Then I drop the hammer.
“It’s over.”
His face drains of color as men flood in behind me. Feds in tactical gear. Kedrov enforcers in the periphery. They’re on site today, but in the official report, this was all the FBI. We were never here.
Mercer sputters, reaching for his phone, but it’s already dead. I watch the realization hit him, the way I’ve imagined it for months. This is for the Kedrov family and for every other family’s life he destroyed.
“You son of a bitch,” he hisses as cuffs snap around his wrists. “Who the hell are you really?”
I lean in close, voice low. “The man who brought your ruin. Rik Kedrov sends his regards. This is for his sister. You don’t remember the young Russian girl your men kidnapped and trafficked. One of many who committed suicide to escape the life you’d trapped her in. But the Kedrov family does.”
He’s dragged away screaming. I stay until the last van pulls out, the flashing lights painting the outer wall of the warehouse red and blue. The adrenaline that once would have left me buzzing now feels flat. Empty.
Because all I can think about is her.
Sydney.
The way I sent her away claws at me. I know I was too cold and distant.
I told her to pack like she was cargo instead of the woman who’s become my everything. I regret it with every breath. I was terrified, for her safety, yes, but also for the way she makes me feel. Big, messy, uncontrollable feelings I wasn’t ready to name.
Possession that goes far beyond the auction contract.
Love.
When Rik warned me she was in danger, panic froze me. I pushed her away to protect her, but I did it like a bastard.
I climb into my car and drive, knuckles white on the steering wheel. Memories flood me, unbidden and vivid.
The way she looks when riding me, head thrown back, moaning my name as her tight pussy clenched around my cock. And whenshe comes apart so beautifully, trembling, whispering she’s mine. The tender moments afterward. Me stroking her hair, kissing her head while she’s curled against my chest.
I want that again. For the rest of my life.
But I never explained that. I let her leave, thinking I didn’t care about her.
I fucked up.
I slam my hand against the wheel.
Rik calls as I near Alex’s house. I put him on speaker. “It’s done,” I tell him. “Mercer is finished. The family has its justice.”
