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

Chapter 49

Maybe I’ve diedand gone to hell. It certainly sounds like it with the chaos everywhere—men yelling and boots stomping all over the place.

There’s a sharp slap to my face, maybe from Satan himself, but when I open my eyes, it’s Pavel kneeling in front of me, frantically patting me down.

“You died too?” I ask.

Pavel frowns. “The only dead person in this room is Sergey.”

I force myself to sit up and find Nikolai’s gun smoking, the barrel still pointed where his brother just stood. Sergey is on the floor, motionless, with a pool of blood widening around him.

The Zhukov guards all look spooked. They draw their weapons, but Nikolai raises his hand, signaling everyone to stand down.

“Everyone in here, listen very carefully,” Nikolai booms.

All eyes land on him, and the entire room goes still.

“My brother wasn”t worthy of the Zhukov name. I am the rightful head of this brotherhood. If any of you have a problem with it, speak now. You”ll be free to go. But if you stay, I demand complete and utter loyalty.”

He scans the room, but not one person makes a move to leave. Instead, all the guards lower to one knee, demonstrating their allegiance to Nikolai, the pakhan—the boss. He nods and makes a motion for them to rise. Then he turns toward me.

”Thank you” might not quite cut it in this situation, but either way, Nikolai doesn”t seem like a man who wants to be thanked. In truth, he had his own reasons for killing his brother.

The air crackles with tension, but I stand and stride toward Nikolai.

His stare is piercing; he follows my every move, sizing me up and deciding if we’ll move forward as friends or enemies. I hold out my hand, making it clear I’m leaning toward friendship.

His jaw ticks, and I can see the wheels turning in his head. But he’s no idiot. Partnering with us is his best option, at least for now.

He nods and steps forward to shake my hand.

“You want to help us take down Anatoly?” I look him in the eyes.

He shrugs nonchalantly, a sly half-smile playing on his lips. “Got nothing better to do.”

Nikolai is either completely unhinged or an incredible actor because he seems completely unaffected as he kneels down beside Sergey’s lifeless body and rifles through his pockets. He shows no remorse or emotion over the fact that he just killed his own flesh and blood.

Their power struggle was a long time coming, judging by what we overheard on our way in. With all his men watching, Nikolai had to assert his authority once again. I have no doubt that Sergey wouldn”t have hesitated to put a bullet in Nikolai”s brain if given the chance.

“Get him out of here,” Nikolai commands one of his guards. He stands, holding Sergey’s phone, wallet, and a ring with what I’m guessing is the family insignia. ”Let”s take this to my office.” He motions for us to follow.

I exchange a look with Pavel, who nods though his expression is wary. It’s understandable, but we don”t have time to hesitate and we can use all the help we can get. Judging by what Sergey revealed, Liza is in danger and every second counts. Nikolai may be detached, but he”s not without sense. That”s more than I could say about his brother.

As we’re heading upstairs from the basement, Viktor intercepts us, his mouth drawn into a grim line. It”s a look I know well.

“What is it?” I snap.

“Feliks is dead. His body was found on the side of the road. Sofiya was taken from the car and…” His hesitation tells me everything I need to know. “Liza is also missing.”

“How is that possible?” I reel back, the air sucked from my lungs. “I would”ve gotten a security alert if anyone gained access to my property.”

I pull out my phone to check my security cameras, but when I attempt to launch the live feed, there’s nothing. Just darkness.

“Fuck me!” I roar.

How could this have happened? How could I have let this happen? My heart races and panic zips through my system, but losing my shit won”t help us find Liza or Sofiya.

Nikolai”s face is grim when he says to me, “Let”s go to my office. We need more information.”

Fury radiates through my chest as I wonder if Liza is in pain, if she’s hurt or worse, but I swallow down my devastation to plan our next move.

Viktor, Pavel, and I follow Nikolai up another floor to an office that looks like the headquarters of some high-tech security company. Everyone takes a seat but me.

I can’t sit; I’m too charged up. “I have the security footage right up until the moment she goes missing.”

Nikolai sits before an expansive computer console, tapping buttons to activate his system. He reaches out for my phone. ”Let me connect this, and we”ll be able to display the various camera views on these screens.” He nods towards the array of flat-screen TVs above his desk.

As soon as I connect my phone, I rewind the footage to just before I left in the middle of the night. It isn”t long before we can see several dark sedans arriving at the cottage”s main gates. A familiar figure emerges from one of the cars, surrounded by guards. I’d recognize Anatoly’s silhouette anywhere.

An unfamiliar blip catches my eye on one of the screens. A small, flying object appears, moving swiftly across the sky.

“What the fuck is that?” I point it out to the others.

As soon as I do, the screens begin to scramble, displaying pixelated and indecipherable images. A second later, all the screens go blank.

“Motherfucker,” Viktor curses as we all stare dumbfounded. “He”s using a drone to jam your signals. But … that should be impossible.”

“Are you fucking serious? How is he doing that?” I hit the desk in front of me.

Viktor shakes his head in disbelief, his jaw locked. “This is military-grade tech he”s using. You can’t even buy this shit on the market. He must have connections in special forces or something.”

Guilt snakes its way up my spine. This is my fault. I was so fucking sure that she’d be safe—I promised she would be—and I was wrong.

As if reading my thoughts, Pavel lays a hand on my shoulder. “Don”t blame yourself, man. You couldn’t have anticipated this. None of us could. For now, we need to focus on finding Liza and Sofiya.”

He may be right, but I”ll never forgive myself.

Nikolai sits back in his office chair, a thoughtful expression softening his harsh features. From his pocket, he fishes out Sergey’s cell phone. “Considering how closely my brother and Anatoly were working together, I think it’s time we hacked into his phone.” Nikolai chuckles as he taps the phone to life and shakes his head. “My idiot brother didn”t even bother with biometric security. Sloppy as fuck.”

Just as he comments, the phone vibrates loudly in his hand, causing everyone in the room to glance sharply at one another.

He smirks, holding up the phone. “It’s Anatoly. People say Sergey and I sound exactly alike. Let”s test that theory.” He puts the phone on speaker and drops it on the desk so we can all hear. “Privet,” he answers.

“Sergey, where the fuck have you been? We’re waiting on the tarmac for you.”

As soon as Anatoly’s nasally voice comes through the phone, rage erupts in my gut. I have to turn away, brace my hands on the windowsill, and focus on my breathing so I don’t lose control.

“Something came up,” Nikolai replies, mimicking Sergey’s clipped tone. “Roman Vasiliev and his men paid me an unexpected visit. I had to take care of them first.”

There is a pause on the phone. “And?”

“All taken care of. You won”t have to worry about Roman and his lieutenants anymore. Or my brother.” Nikolai smirks at the last bit.

“Good. Vasiliev got exactly what was coming for him. I hope you made his death slow and painful.”

An anguished cry spills from the other end of the line. It”s Liza—I”m certain of it.

A bitter cocktail of hate simmers in my gut, and I”m on the verge of going apeshit when Pavel and Viktor flank me, making it clear that they won’t allow me to jeopardize our chances of finding her.

But damn, it hurts. She’s suffering because she thinks I’m gone, and there’s not a fucking thing I can do about it. I understand why Nikolai claimed that we”re dead. If Anatoly believes I’m no longer a threat, he’ll let his guard down.

“I don’t have time to wait for you,” Anatoly snaps. “Charter a plane and meet us there.”

“I will.” Nikolai pauses. “Text me the details again. Been having some trouble with my phone.”

“Don”t fuck this up, Sergey.” Anatoly’s voice drops low and creepy as hell. “Your teenage bride is looking forward to you breaking her in.”

“Can”t wait.” Nikolai’s face contorts with disgust. “Guess I should pack my tux,” he hedges.

“I don”t care what you wear, just that we’re united by the blood of these two sisters by the end of the day .”

My muscles coil; I”m itching to punch something or wreck a room—anything to ease the relentless tension within.

Pavel slips Nikolai a piece of paper, who reads it quickly and then says, “What about Maxim Belov? Will he be a problem for us?”

Anatoly snorts derisively. “His plane is still in the air. As soon as he lands in Moscow, my men will be lying in wait for him. No one on his plane will be getting off alive.”

“Good to hear it. See you soon.” Nikolai hangs up and gives me a penetrating look. “You heard the man. He”s got big plans for today. How do you want to handle this?”

My back snaps into a straight line as I pace through the room.

I turn to Viktor. “Warn Maxim, and make sure our men handle Anatoly’s goons before Maxim’s plane lands.” He nods. “Savin will stay in Russia and coordinate everything here. The three of us will go after Anatoly. Any idea where the hell he”s headed?”

Sergey’s phone dings with an incoming message. Nikolai swipes it open. After a minute, he announces, “Looks like we’re off to Santorini. Lovely place to ruin a wedding.”

My hands curl by my side. I can”t wait to be the one to steal Anatoly’s final breath.

“Any chance you can organize a private plane from here in under an hour?”

We”ve asked a lot from Nikolai already, but he”s buzzing with energy. After years behind bars, he seems eager for action, and today won”t disappoint.

“I can arrange something.” His expression flickers with a hint of amusement. “As long as I get a turn to torture the fucker.”

“I wouldn’t dream of robbing you of a little fun,” I say. “But I get first dibs. And I warn you, my vengeance will be thorough.”

Nikolai’s face breaks into a devilish smile. “Deal.”