Page 30 of King of Shadows

“I was just about to tell him to fuck off,” she says, glaring at me. “If you had waited another few seconds, you would have heard me tell him exactly that.”

I look at her, my anger still simmering. “It’s a good thing I stepped in then, so you could save your breath.”

She stares at me for a moment before shaking her head. “You are—”

I pull her toward me and kiss her deeply, cutting off whatever she is about to say. When I finally pull back, she looks at me, breathless. “That guy…” Her eyes narrow. “You're going to do something to him, aren't you?”

I say nothing, and her expression changes immediately. “Kazimir.”

“Baby don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to.” She sighs, but before she can say anything else, I pull her back into my arms and kiss her again. Before sunrise, that cretin will be missing some of his fingers, if not all of them. No one touches my wife.

Two Days Later

The tension in the room is thick enough to cut with a knife. It’s time for the votes. I sit back in my chair, my eyes moving across the room until they settle on Vadim. He’s sitting directly across from me, and the look he’s giving me could cut through steel.

I notice as he keeps tapping his fingers against the table, the rhythm growing more restless by the second. His leg bounces beneath it, never quite still. He knows he’s losing. Our eyes meet, and I can’t help the small smile that pulls at my mouth. Vadim’s face hardens into a scowl, and he looks away. Coward.

Olov clears his throat, drawing everyone’s attention. “Gentlemen, it’s time.”

Chairs scrape against the floor as everyone moves into position to cast their votes. One by one, the votes are cast. The room falls silent again as they’re counted. I watch Olov carefully as he goes through them. His expression doesn’t change. Then he looks up.

“It seems we have a unanimous decision.”

My heart gives one hard beat. Olov turns toward me. “Kazimir Sokolov is the new Pakhan.”

For a second, everything goes quiet. Then the room erupts. Men rise from their seats, shaking my hand, patting my shoulder, congratulating me. I accept every handshake with a smile. I did it. I’m the Pakhan.

“Bullshit!” Vadim’s voice cuts through the room.

He pushes himself to his feet, his face twisted with disbelief. “This isn’t possible!”

He looks around the room as if expecting someone to explain themselves. Such a sore loser, I slowly rise from my chair. “You should learn how to lose gracefully, Vadim.”

His eyes snap toward me as I take a step closer. “Now it’s time for you to back down.” I hold his gaze. “If you don’t quit, I’ll put a bullet in your head.”

The room goes completely still, Vadim stares at me for several seconds, then his mouth twists into a bitter smile. “This isn’t over, Sokolov.”

He turns and storms out. The moment he leaves, the room comes alive again, hands reach for mine, congratulations coming from every direction. I’m Pakhan. I finally have the position I’ve been fighting for.

Chapter 9

Chloe

I stand at the window, my heart beating fast as I watch Kazimir step out of the car. The outdoor lights illuminate the bloodstains covering his shirt, and my stomach twists at the sight. Lev had warned me what happened, Vadim attacked one of their warehouses, killing some of their men, they managed to take down several of Vadim’s men, but Vadim escaped.

He had also warned me that Kazimir would be in a foul mood when he got home, and I can see why. His men practically clear a path for him as he walks toward the house, keeping their heads down and staying out of his way.

This is the first time I have seen him like this. Would he want me to give him space? Would he treat me the way he is treating everyone else? Moving into the estate has shown me a side of Kazimir I never knew existed. With me, he’s goofy and playful, but I’ve seen how quickly that softness disappears when he’s around his soldiers and business associates.

The front door opens, and Kazimir walks in, and the moment his eyes land on me, the hardness in his expression fades.

“I heard what happened,” I say as I walk toward him. He gives me a nod. “I ran you a bath.”

He looks slightly taken aback, but before he can say anything, I add, “You're taking a bath, take off those clothes, and wash the blood off.”

He doesn't argue. We both head upstairs, and I help him take off his bloodstained shirt, silently relieved to see that none of the blood is his. He removes the rest of his clothes and gets into the bath, sinking into the warm water with a low groan.

He turns to me. “Join me.”