Sinful Promise (Koslov Bratva #6)

7. Danil

7

DANIL

I have no doubt that I looked like a sad, lovesick puppy as I watched Emily rush out of the café earlier to go to class.

I wish she could have stayed. It felt good to see her and to make her laugh.

There is no doubt in my mind that this business with her stalker is weighing heavily on her shoulders, and while I can’t directly talk with her about it, I can at least provide a safe place for her to just exist, if only for an hour or two.

So many times, I almost came straight out and demanded to know why she didn’t tell me. But I couldn’t betray Zara like that.

I would hate to cause a fight between Emily and her sister, so I kept my mouth shut.

Tonight was Emily’s monthly dinner with her family, so while she stopped by the grocery store to pick up supplies, I headed to Espionage to sign for a couple of deliveries. It’s a task that even Luca could complete, but I know if Anton checked and saw a signature that wasn’t mine on the receipt, he would lose his mind.

So, I had no choice but to leave Emily unattended for an hour.

But it seems an hour is all it takes.

I glance up at her window when I hear a shrill scream.

Was that Emily?

Her window is open, but from where I’m standing, I can’t see much.

It’s quiet again.

Maybe I imagined it…

I’m about to pull my phone out of my pocket to send her a text asking if she’s all right when a giant of a man appears at her window, and my stomach turns to lead.

“Oh, no, you don’t.” I take off at a run.

By the time I cross the street, he’s jumped over the edge of the fire escape and is halfway down the street.

For such a big guy, he’s quick on his feet, but I’m faster.

It takes him until the end of the block to realize he’s being followed.

And from the sounds of it, so am I.

Footsteps sound behind me, and I curse under my breath.

Of course, he isn’t acting alone.

My lungs burn as I quicken my pace, but I’m not letting this fucker get away. If he put his hands on Emily, I’m going to personally cut off each of his fingers and make him eat them.

“Danil!”

I almost trip at the sound of Dimitri’s voice coming from behind me.

He’s the one who’s been following me?

“What the fuck?—”

“Split up!”

Dimitri and I have done this enough times that I know his moves like the back of my hand. I turn right at the end of the block, and he’ll take the left so we can back this guy into a corner.

It’s not going to be an easy takedown, even though there’s the two of us and only one of him. But that will make it that much more rewarding when I finally get my hands on him.

When he reaches the end of the block, he darts left down a side street and immediately halts in his tracks at the sight of Dimitri standing there with his gun aimed right between his eyes.

I pull out my gun. “You better start talking.”

He rounds on me. “I’m not saying a fucking word.”

But Dimitri doesn’t give him a chance to get very far before he lunges, throwing all of his weight at the guy’s back, knocking him forward just as I slam the barrel of my gun into his jaw.

The sound of bone cracking has my lips pulling up into a smile.

This is going to be fun.

Dimitri grins as the guy falls to the floor, completely unconscious. “Knocked him out with one hit. Didn’t think you had it in you.”

“Fuck off.”

Dimitri nudges the guy with his foot to check he’s definitely out. “Go get your car. We should take this somewhere more discreet.”

“On it.”

I run the few blocks back to Emily’s apartment, where I parked my car on a side street to ensure she wouldn’t notice.

As I walk past her building, I glance up at her window, and my chest tightens.

She must be freaking out right now, and I wish I could go up there and comfort her, but I can’t.

Emily doesn’t want me to know about this situation for a reason, and I have to respect that.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t beat the shit out of this guy in the meantime.

“I can’t believe that fucker was in Emily’s room.” I grit my teeth as we head toward our family’s warehouse in Chinatown.

I let Dimitri drive as my body is too pumped up on adrenaline to focus on anything other than the guy who is currently tied up and unconscious in the trunk.

“I thought you were meant to be keeping an eye on her?”

I bristle at my brother’s tone.

“I am. But once I saw Emily was back at home, I left for an hour to go check in on things at Espionage .”

“An hour is all it takes, Danil.”

“Don’t you think I know that? But since we can’t tell anyone, I still have a job to do!” My temper is rising, and I ball my hands into fists.

I’m so tempted to send one into my brother’s jaw, but now is not the time for us to be brawling.

I scoff. “Besides, I thought you were meant to have installed a state-of-the-art security system?”

He frowns. “I did. Though it’s deemed useless, seeing as Emily decided to leave her windows wide open while she took a shower.”

“For fuck’s sake.”

“Hopefully, we can persuade our little friend to talk, and we can get this situation taken care of once and for all.”

I hope he’s right.

I must have knocked this fucker out seriously hard, as he’s still unconscious when Dimitri and I drag him out of the trunk and into the warehouse.

Even with the two of us, it takes a while to bring him inside, considering his size and the fact that he’s a complete dead weight.

Emily wouldn’t have stood a chance against him.

The warehouse is cold and dark and reeks of stale blood.

I’ve lost count of the number of times my brothers and I have been put in a situation exactly like this one.

When are these fuckers going to learn that they can never win against the Koslov Bratva?

Dimitri and I haul this guy into an old folding chair, and I make quick work of binding his ankles to the chair and his wrists behind his back before he wakes up.

His tattooed head hangs forward, and there’s drool sliding down his chin, mixing with the blood that oozes from the gash on his jaw.

He looks pathetic, but I take a little satisfaction from the sight in front of me.

I doubt even seeing him lying dead in a pool of his own blood and piss will make me feel better.

All I can seem to focus on is the fact that I’m the reason we’re here. If I hadn’t left Emily alone, this guy would never have gotten even one foot on the fire escape.

Maybe my brothers are right not to give me more responsibility.

“He’s waking up.”

Dimitri’s words snap me back to the present, and I reach for the gun tucked into the waistband of my pants as the guy groans.

He’s huge and the moment he starts to wake, I wonder if I shouldn’t have chosen something more industrial than cable ties to bind him to the chair.

I guess I’m about to find out.

“Wake the fuck up!” Dimitri sends his foot into the guy's shin, causing him to cry out.

My finger flexes on the trigger of my gun. “Trust me, that’s nothing compared to what you’re going to experience if you don’t start talking,”

He groans, and my temper flares.

“What’s your name?”

“Isaak.” His head’s still hanging as he fights to stay conscious.

“Who are you working for?”

Isaak looks up at us with bloodshot eyes. A dark purple bruise is already blooming along his jaw, which, from the looks of the swelling, might be broken. He spits blood on the ground. “I’m not telling you shit.”

“Maybe this will change your mind,” Dimitri reaches into the inside of his jacket and pulls out a six-inch blade.

Isaak eyes the razor-sharp blade, but then his lips pull up into a smile.

“I’ve been stabbed six times.” His Russian accent is thick. “It will take a lot more than a knife to kill me.”

Dimitri smirks. “Oh, I’m not planning on stabbing you. Danil, take off his pants.”

I try to hide my surprise at my brother’s order.

Is he going to do what I think he’s going to do?

From the way Isaak’s face pales, I think it’s safe to say that he is thinking the same thing I am. But who am I to question my brother’s methods?

Dimitri’s feral smile tugs at his lips as he eyes Isaak. “It wouldn’t be the first cock I’ve sliced off. And I won’t make it a clean cut.”

“Rather you than me, brat .” I pocket my gun and take a step toward Isaak, who seems to have decided against calling Dimitri’s bluff.

Panic flashes in Isaak’s eyes as he realizes Dimitri isn’t fucking around. “Wait! I-I’ll talk.”

Dimitri runs his index finger along the blade. “Make it fast. And if any of what you tell us turns out to be a lie, I’ll cut off more than just your dick. Do you understand?”

Beads of sweat are forming on Isaak’s forehead, and the last of the color drains from his face as he glances between Dimitri and the knife in his hand.

It’s almost amusing how the threat of getting your dick chopped off is enough to make a six-foot-four, two-hundred-pound man crumble.

“I-I saw her at a party.” He pulls against the ties on his wrists.

I perk up a bit inside but make no move. “Who was hosting this party?”

From the growing pit in my stomach, I have a feeling I already know the answer.

“The Ivanov Bratva.”

Fuck .

“Igor likes to keep a close watch on who attends.” Isaak winces as he talks.

The pain from his broken jaw must be excruciating, but it’ll be nothing compared to what he’ll feel if he doesn’t keep talking.

“He saw Mullens on the list, and the name jumped out at him.”

“I’m sure it did,” Dimitri retorts.

I glance sideways at my brother.

From the way the muscle in his jaw ticks, I know it’s taking a lot for him to keep his anger contained.

“He… He discovered that Emily was there and…”

It’s getting harder and harder to keep my composure too. “And what? What exactly is Igor trying to achieve here? Surely, if he wanted her, he could have just taken her at this party.”

The thought makes my blood run cold, but it’s the truth.

Emily was completely unprotected at this party. It would have been all too easy for Igor to snatch her away. So, the fact that he didn’t is concerning.

“He asked me to mess with her,” Isaak grunts.

“Mess with her?”

“Scare her a little. Until she asked her sister for help.”

My blood is boiling. “If Igor only wanted you to scare her, why did you try to kidnap her?”

Isaak looks up at me with a feral gleam in his eye.

“That’s when the real fun would start.”

“You son of a bitch—” I lunge for Isaak, but Dimitri steps in my way.

He places a hand on my chest.

I point at the man tied to the chair. “That fucker was going to do god knows what to Emily, and you expect me to just stand here and have a pleasant conversation?”

“I can tell you what I was going to do to her if you like.” Isaak smirks, and this time, Dimitri had to wrap his arms around my torso to haul me away from him.

“If you can’t handle this, step outside,” he hisses in my ear.

“Get off me, Dimitri.”

“Not until you calm the fuck down.”

I shove at Dimitri, my eyes locked on Isaak as his lips pull up into a smile.

The fucker is enjoying every second of this, and I’m only making it worse.

“I’m fine.”

“Are you?”

I glare at Dimitri, but he’s not backing down.

“Yes.”

Dimitri narrows his eyes, but then releases his hold on me.

“Keep your shit together,” he hisses in my ear before turning around to face Isaak. “What else is Igor planning?”

“I’ve told you more than enough.”

“You don’t get to decide that. So, unless you want me to slice off your cock and make you eat it, you better keep talking.”

There’s a hint of amusement in Isaak’s eyes. “You can do what you want to me. It’s not going to stop Igor from sending someone else after the little slut. I’m just sad I won’t get to see her in the lingerie I sent her. She’s got a cracking pair of tits?—”

This time, Dimitri doesn’t hold me back.

I lunge for Isaak and send my fist into his cheek. The skin on my knuckles splits, but I barely feel the pain.

This fucking piece of shit was going to rape and torture Emily for no other reason than to satisfy his sick and twisted fantasies.

A bullet between the eyes would be an easy way out. He deserves to suffer for even daring to come anywhere near Emily, and I won’t stop until his blood stains my hands.

My throat burns with bile as I send my fist repeatedly into his head. By the third blow, I hit so hard that I knock Isaak entirely off balance, sending him and the chair crashing to the ground.

Isaak’s head slams into the concrete.

“You don’t get to talk anymore.” I walk around him so that I’m staring down at him.

“This is for Emily.” I send my foot into his head, and Isaak’s answering cry of pain echoes around the empty warehouse.

It doesn’t take long for the blood to pool around his head, but I keep going.

Sweat beads on my forehead and my breathing comes in heavy pants as I send my foot into Isaak’s jaw, then nose, then neck.

Bones crack and teeth go flying, but it’s not enough.

He hasn’t suffered enough .

Even when Isaak is finally silenced, I don’t stop.

“It’s done, Danil.”

Dimitri’s voice sounds far away, as if I’m trapped underwater.

“Danil.” A hand on my shoulder snaps me out of my trance. “He’s dead.”

I stare down at Isaak’s lifeless form.

There’s so much blood, and from the broken bones in his face and the way his skull has caved in, he’s almost completely unrecognizable.

“Are you okay, brat ?”

I wipe my forehead with the sleeve of my shirt as I try to catch my breath.

I thought killing Isaak would make me feel better, but it doesn’t. If anything, I feel worse.

“I’m fine. I just want to get the hell out of here.”

Dimitri and I are both silent as we head back out of the warehouse toward the car. I can feel my brother’s eyes on me the entire time, but I purposefully avoid his gaze.

There was no way Isaak was going to leave that warehouse alive, so I didn’t completely fuck this up, but I know I’ve just lost us an opportunity to gain more information on Igor.

Every time I feel like I’m finally proving myself to be worthy of more responsibility within the bratva, I go pull a stunt like this.

Well done, Danil.

Dimitri opens up the driver's door. “I suggest we keep what we’ve learned to ourselves. I don’t want Igor getting wind of what just happened.”

“Shouldn’t Alexei at least know?”

“No.” He climbs in the car.

I slide into the passenger seat. “If he finds out we’ve kept this from him, he’s going to be pissed.”

Dimitri shrugs as he turns the car on and puts it in drive. “Alexei’s always pissed, so it won’t make much difference.”

“What about Emily and Zara? Do we tell them the truth?”

I know if Emily realizes that she’s gotten herself tangled up with one of Igor’s men, she’ll be terrified. She knows all too well what Igor is capable of, and I don’t want to scare her. But if she knew the severity of the situation, it might make her think twice about leaving her window open…

“They don’t need to know. We’ll just tell them that the guy got away, but that we’re looking into it.”

“Isaak might be dead, but if Igor’s taken an interest in Emily, he won’t be the last man he sends. She should know what she’s facing.”

“And have her living each day terrified for her life? Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

“No, but?—”

“If you can’t keep your mouth shut about this, Danil…”

“I can keep my fucking mouth shut. I just don’t like the position I’m being put in. I hate the idea of lying to Emily.”

“Well, you’re going to have to get used to it. Now we know Igor is involved in all of this; it’s even more important that you don’t take your eyes off Emily. No matter what.”