Ruthless Reign: A Dark Mafia Forbidden Romance (Tarnished Reign Book 1)

Chapter 36

“She’s goingto fucking kill you,” Pavel says as Viktor hands me back Liza’s cell phone—the one his hackers broke into. “I amend that. She’s going to string you up by your balls, damage your internal organs, and then cut off your dick until you bleed out.”

“Sounds about right,” I admit, cracking my neck. I’m fully prepared to deal with Liza’s wrath because it’s for her own good, even if she might not realize it yet.

Pavel settles into the seat across from me, in our office tucked above a butcher”s shop in the seedier side of town. It’s the last place anyone would expect to find guys like us, which is exactly why we”re here. And hey, if you need to make a body disappear, what’s better than a butcher”s shop?

I sip my coffee, but honestly, I don’t even need the caffeine. It’s barely dawn, and I’ve gotten almost no sleep, but I’m still riding high on the night I had with Liza.

Truth be told, I had to tear myself from my warm bed this morning. There is no better feeling than waking up beside her. Well, perhaps the only thing better is being buried inside of her. But I couldn’t delay this meeting any longer.

“You’re sure there are no tracking devices on here?” I ask Viktor, slipping Liza’s phone into my pocket.

“Yeah, about that.” He shakes his head, almost looking impressed. “We couldn’t break into it. She has her phone locked down tighter than a nun’s pussy.”

“Jesus, I could do without the visual there.” I shake my head. “So you’re saying the hackers couldn’t get into her phone?”

Viktor sighs. “I don’t know what she’s hiding in there, but whatever it is, she’s gone to great lengths to make sure no one can access it. Which also means she’s probably tech-savvy enough to ensure that no one”s tracking her.”

Apprehension pools in my gut. We all carry secrets, and considering her decision to auction her virginity, I’m guessing Liza has more than her fair share. But what else is she hiding? There”s a nagging curiosity in me, a need to peel back the layers of her life.

“I thought you’d want to see this.” Pavel hands me a stack of papers. “The police report from the accident. The cops got there before our men did, but our contacts at the station sent this over. They ran a trace on the plates. They’re fakes, of course. Surveillance in the area showed nothing helpful. We’re still looking into the identity of the drivers, but so far, their prints are coming up empty.” He blinks, looking down at the gruesome photos of the two slumped bodies in the vehicles.

“You’re lucky you walked away with your life.” Viktor frowns. “I won”t ask why you dismissed your guard when backup would”ve been helpful.”

”I’m not sure if luck had anything to do with it,” I grit out. “The only reason we’re both still alive is because I’m a sure-shot and capable of driving one-handed.”

Viktor rolls his eyes.

I’m being an ass, but the truth is I did make a mistake. One that’s still weighing heavily on me because every time I think that Liza could have died, a knot forms in my stomach. She’s too damn bright of a light to be extinguished so young.

At thirty-eight, I’ve done most everything in my life I wanted to. I’ve seen the world, owned fast cars, drank fine wines, climbed mountains, and dived into the deepest seas. I never dreamed of having a family or a wife. Other than Maxim and Pavel, and now Kira, there’ll be no one to mourn me in death. Knowing my death won”t break hearts certainly makes my line of work easier.

But Liza is thirteen years younger than me and has her whole life ahead of her. She has Kira and Sofiya—people who love her and whom she loves. Dying beside me on a desolate stretch of Moscow”s highway would”ve been cruel and unjust. Then again, this world is cruel. I know firsthand.

I run a hand over the scruff on my jaw, feeling a heavy weight in my chest. “It could be the Albanians. They’ve wanted to take us down for years.”

“You’re grasping at straws. We need to look a little closer to home.” Pavel opens his desk drawer and pulls out a stack of papers. “This is what I wanted to show you last night.” He passes me two separate files. “The first document is the shipping logs that Anatoly’s men sent us. And the second is the logs Katerina sent you. Same shipment, same dates, but the logs don’t match. They should be identical, but they’re not.”

What the fuck?

I scoot forward in my seat and lean over the paperwork, my eyes darting between the two sets of logs. Anatoly”s version has the ship waiting out the bad weather in the North Atlantic—the reason given for the delay. But the unaltered logs Katerina sent show that the ship stopped in Port of Rotterdam for a full day. The port is a major hub into Europe, and the gateway to Europe’s underbelly. While it’s not exactly on the route here, it’s not a major detour either.

I look up at Pavel’s stony face. “That motherfucker doctored the logs.”

“Seems so.” He cracks his knuckles. “The question is why.”

My entire body radiates tension, like a coiled spring, and I slam my fist on the desk in front of me. “He’s fucking up to something. I can feel it. Secret meetings with the Zhukovs. Forging the logs.” I shake my head. “It doesn’t make sense. Our men went through each and every shipment. It was all in order, nothing was missing.”

The high heel I found on the cargo ship comes to mind. Is the crew bringing hookers onboard for a night of partying in Rotterdam? It certainly wouldn’t be unheard of. Maybe they make a regular pit stop on the way here to get their rocks off. If that’s the case, it would be a really fucking bad reason to deliver cargo late. Or maybe I’m reading too much into it.

Viktor’s forehead creases. “I’ll have my hackers pull CCTV footage from the port of the day the ship was docked there.”

“Good call.” I check my phone. “A shipment left New York today. Let’s send Savin to the Netherlands to watch the port in case there’s a repeat. While he’s there, he can make some inquiries.”

Pavel releases a quiet, tense breath. “You think Anatoly was behind last night’s attack?”

My lungs tighten. I walk to the window, gazing out at the streets below. “With Liza in the car? I don’t see it.” As far as I can tell, Liza is the only thing Anatoly cares to protect. Not because he loves her, but because he loves the control he has over her and her entire family. “But, fuck, who knows. I’m assuming it’s the same people behind the attack on the port and the attack last night.”

I’m struggling to piece together the full picture; it’s like all the pieces are there, but nothing is clicking together.

“Maybe it was the Zhukovs,” Viktor throws out, spinning a pen between his fingers. “Revenge for killing their men at the warehouse.”

I run an irritated hand through my hair. “There’s no way for them to know we were behind their soldiers’ deaths. Anyhow, they wouldn’t fuck with us unless they have a death wish.”

Pavel crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Should we loop Maxim in?”

“I’ll tell him when the time is right. I want him to know it’s being handled, that he doesn’t need to race home.”

After the attack on the port, Maxim whisked Kira off to the Maldives to steer clear of any trouble. He’s entrusted me to work out whatever shit is going on, and I don’t want to burden him unless I know more. I already feel stupid enough that the Zhukovs slipped under my radar.

“Maxim is the only one we tell.” I take a seat and rest my elbows on my thighs. “The less people who know what’s going on, the better. Whatever bullshit Anatoly is up to, we need to catch him unaware. It’s better if he thinks we’re clueless.”

“This may not be Anatoly,” Viktor points out. “We’ve had him trailed since London and after the meeting with Sergey Zhukov, and there’s been nothing out of the ordinary.”

I shrug. “Only time will tell.”

Pavel gestures to the documents on his desk. “And you’re sure Katerina won’t be a problem?”

“I had her send me over a bunch of files at once. She doesn’t know which one I was really after. Trust me, she’s not that clever.”

Pavel leans back, lacing his fingers behind his head. “Glad you’re feeling so confident, but if it’s business as usual, you need to return Liza to her fiancé before he gets suspicious.”

My lips press into a determined line. “Not happening.”

“How is that going to look?” Viktor frowns. “You know she wasn’t the target of the attack; you were.”

“We don’t know anything yet.” I shrug. “Until we do, she stays with me.”

Pavel presses his fingers into the bridge of his nose. “Sometimes, I think you’ve lost your mind.”

Over Liza, I definitely have.

Viktor squints at me. “How do you plan on letting Anatoly know you’re keeping his fiancé hosta— as a guest?”

I smile and take out my phone. “Watch and learn, my friend.”

I dial Anatoly”s number and put the phone on speaker.

“Roman,” he answers right away. “What the fuck is going on? Liza sends a cryptic text to her parents last night about some sort of attack on the way home from the opera, and then I can’t get through to either of you all night. What the hell is that?!”

Funny how he doesn”t sound all that concerned for Liza, only irritated that he wasn”t able to get ahold of her when he wanted to.

“It was best to have no outside communication while we figured out what was going on. We still don”t know who was behind the attack.” I pause to let my next words sink in. “Although, we have our suspicions.”

He releases a low grunt. “This is bullshit. Where is Liza now?”

“Don’t worry. She’s safe.” I smirk, though he can’t see it. “Maxim thought it best if she goes into hiding with Kira. We doubt she was the target of the attack, but it”s better to not take any chances.”

Maxim”s word is law in this city, and Anatoly knows that. What he doesn”t know is that Maxim and Kira are out of the country, and unless he has their private cell numbers—which he doesn”t—there”s no way for him to contact them.

“I’m perfectly capable of protecting Liza,” he snarls. “We’re getting married in less than a week! She can’t just disappear.”

“We were nearly killed last night,” I spit, “and you’re worried about a wedding? Delay the fucking wedding, for all I care. We have a bigger issue on our hands.”

Anatoly”s anger boils over, his voice rising. “She”s my fiancée. I deserve to know where the fuck she is.”

“Man, I wish I could help, but Kira’s keeping tight-lipped. You know how protective she is of her best friend.”

“I’m calling Belov!” Anatoly seethes.

“You do that.” I think he’ll find Maxim rather unavailable. “Might be smart for you to be careful as well. These days, it”s hard to know who”s your friend and who”s your enemy.”

“You don’t need to worry about me, Vasiliev. I always watch my back.”

“Trust me, I wasn’t.” I hang up before he can say another word.

I sigh and lean back in my chair, the weight of the last twenty-four hours pressing down on me.

“Does that sound like a guilty man to you?” I ask Pavel.

“He sounds like a man pissed off that you’re keeping his fiancée.”

“Screw him.” I rise from my seat. “He doesn’t deserve her anyhow.” My shoulders bunch around my ears. “There was a bruise on her face. I saw it in London. She didn”t admit that he”s the one who gave it to her, but I could tell. You can always tell.” Pavel knows how broken my soul is. How watching my father beat my mother, unable to stop him, left scars on my heart that will never heal. What he doesn”t know is that Liza is the first person to make me feel whole again. To make me feel something other than jaded and empty.

“Fuck me.” Pavel rakes a hand over his face. “Listen, take Liza and get out of town. Lay low somewhere until we can figure out what the fuck is going on with that mudak.”

Viktor’s expression is equally as dark when he says, “I promise to do everything in my power to uncover who is behind the attacks. Justice will be served. It’ll be my pleasure to watch Anatoly burn in hell.”

“Trust me, no one will enjoy that more than me.” I crack my knuckles, feeling a fierce wave of determination wash over me.

Maxim taught me the importance of patience, to wait for the perfect moment to act. When that moment comes for Anatoly, I”ll strike swiftly and without mercy..

But I won”t sacrifice Liza”s safety and well-being ever again. She is and always will be my priority.

“Gentlemen.” I head for the door. “Call me when you have something. I’ll be ready and waiting.”