Unholy Tsar: A Dark Mafia Romance (Ruthless Dynasty Book 4)

Chapter 31

I gasp awake, my body aching all over.

Before I can even gather my bearings, the sack is yanked off my head, exposing me to blinding light. I squint against the sudden brightness that feels awfully like someone’s shining a flashlight directly into my eyes.

“You are awake, good,” a man says.

As my eyes slowly adjust, I see a hulking figure dragging a chair toward me. He sinks into it, his posture exuding a deliberate, predatory intent, as though he’s relishing every moment of my discomfort.

I try to move away, but my hands are tied behind my back. All I can do is push myself off the cold, hardwood floor and twist into an awkward sitting position.

My vision clears just in time to catch his evil grin. “What? You don’t see the family resemblance?” He turns a flashlight to his face, and I gulp.

It’s uncanny just how much he looks like Maksim.

“What is this? You aren’t Maksim, so who—”

Just then, Maksim’s words about his siblings flood back into my mind. Could this man be one of them? No. He said they were dead.

“Ah, I can see it in your eyes, tsarina. You’ve almost figured it out. But you don’t want to believe it. Yes. I am Viktor Smolov. Twin brother of your precious Maksim. Though, I like to think I’m the older sibling, as I entered this cruel world five minutes before him, you see.”

He counts to five on his thick, scarred fingers.

I inhale sharply. Maksim never mentioned that he had a twin, only that he had siblings. Why wouldn’t he tell me that?

Then I remember. Why bother?

“B–but you–you—”

“Died?” he chuckles. “A brilliant plot by my sister.”

His sister is alive too?Shit, Maksim.

“She’s a smart one, our Vera. And not just then, but now too. From the moment we found out about our brother’s little plaything, she knew we could use you. But poor lovesick Maksim never seemed to stray too far from you and never for too long. So Vera decided to draw him out. Then who would stop me from waltzing right into your castle?” He lets out a deep bellowing laugh. “Or from waltzing out. You should have seen the looks the staff gave me as I carried you over my shoulder. Sack over your head. Completely unconscious. It didn’t matter. As far as they were concerned, I was the fearsome Maksim Smolov. Their boss. God, it was intoxicating, feeling like I had that kind of power. Our brother did well for himself in America. Now, we will have his power, too.”

My mind swims, still hazy from the drugs that knocked me out.

“I-I don’t understand. What about your parents? Are they still alive, too?”

His laugh morphs into a menacing scowl. “No. They’re long dead. The cowards. Only Vera and I saw the future. We saw what could be, how we could make something of ourselves. But our parents didn’t want that. They were satisfied, rotting in their squalor.” His lips curl in disgust. “They died for it. Maksim should have died, too.”

He suddenly gets up from the chair and walks toward a thick duffel bag, pulling out a wicked-looking knife. My heart lurches in my chest. Keep him talking, Cece. Keep him distracted.This isn’t how your story ends. It ends with Maksim. He will save you.

Please, Maksim. Save me.

“But you didn’t kill your parents,” I say, squinting, trying to remember all that Maksim told me. “It was the Pakhan you betrayed who burned down your house, who killed your parents, who was supposed to kill you.”

“That’s what we wanted Maksim to think. Back then, we still thought he could be saved. Vera wanted all three of us to work together. But Maksim was never on the same page as us. What did that bastard do when he woke up in our burning house? He tried to save our damned parents. The fool dragged our mother’s corpse through fire and brimstone while his clothes burned on his back. He almost got himself killed for a dead woman. But I wasn’t dead. He could have tried to save me first. He should have. I’m his twin!”

He swings his knife in the air, a wild fury taking over.

Shit, shit, shit.

“So, the old Pakhan didn’t really want you dead?” I try to stall. “You plotted with him? That was so smart of you, Viktor—uhnn–uhnn—” I trail off, not knowing what else to say, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem.

“I am very smart—smarter than Maksim and Vera combined. But none of them ever saw that; they only ever saw me as the muscle. Even now, I know Vera is plotting behind my back so she can rule alone, but I have a plan, you see…”

That seems to have calmed him down a bit. I breathe a short sigh of relief as he marches back to the chair and takes a seat.

“I know. I can tell you’re really smart,” I say, playing along. “You outsmarted Maksim and got me here with you. But how did you survive that fire?”

He clicks his tongue.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“I would.”

He considers it for a moment before breaking.

“You see, in the Bratva, we operate with an eye for an eye rule. Vera went behind my back to cut a deal with our Bratva’s rival. Our Pakhan found out and wanted to punish us, so we offered our parents’ lives… and Maksim’s brain. We let him kill our mother and father, but we made sure he knew Maksim could never find out the truth, otherwise, he wouldn’t join us.”

He’s rambling, but slowly I’m getting the bigger picture. “You made it seem like the Pakhan wanted everyone in the family dead.”

“It was my idea! Vera has always been jealous that it worked so well—even if it meant we still had to get shot. But a bullet in the arm never killed anyone. Clever, right?”

“Very clever.”

“Of course, we made sure Maksim got it a little worse, just so he’d believe it all. It was enough to knock him out, which gave us time to set up everything else. But after we set the house on fire, things got out of control. I passed out from the smoke. When Maksim woke up, he was supposed to save me and Vera. We were closest to him, after all. But he went straight to our parents, and before he could save them and get to us, the house started to fall apart. He ran away like a coward, leaving us to burn to death.”

“He tried to save you, he—”

“Silence!” he yells, and I quickly clamp my mouth shut. “We managed to escape, but the Pakhan was furious that we had let Maksim get away. After that, the little bastard was impossible to find… until we started hearing tales about a Russian mob boss building an empire in America. The man was a legend in Russia, but no one knew who he was. And then, word came back. It was Maksim Smolov. Our brother. While we slaved away under our Pakhan’s grip for nothing in return, he was becoming a king. A tsar. How dare he?”

He’s jealous of Maksim, I realize.

Words push at my tongue, but he seems to be at the end of his wits, and I don’t want to push him.

I can’t keep this up much longer. Maksim, where are you?

“He fled Russia like a coward and somehow got lucky enough to live the life he didn’t deserve. So, Vera and I have been hollowing out his empire from here. For the past decade. Through human trafficking, through drugs, through whatever means we could manage. We’ve filled the core of his territory with corruption. Piece by piece, so he would never notice… not until we were ready to take him down for good.”

With a chilling laugh, he spreads his arms wide, the sound cutting through the air like shards of ice. And for the first time, I tear my gaze away from him to the room we’re in.

It”s massive… and completely in ruin. Broken beams, shattered glass, and punctured floorboards litter the place. But underneath all the graffiti and peeling wallpaper, I recognize a certain luxury. This place used to be glorious.

My chest flutters. I’ve never been here before, yet somehow, I seem to understand where we are.

Maksim’s palace.

“And now, Vera has him, and I have you. His palace was first, then his empire. And soon we’ll hollow out his heart until he has nothing left. That’s when we win. We will always win—well, I will always win.”

“What-what does that mean?”

“When my sister gives me the call, I’ll end you while Maksim watches.” He grins at me and my heart drops to my stomach. “That should be torture enough before he dies. Then, my sister and I will cross the ocean to his empire. When we’re there, Vera will meet the same fate as you and Maksim. Then, I’ll shed my identity as Viktor Smolov and become Maksim Smolov.” His grin widens and morphs into a diabolical laugh as my jaw drops in horror. “Smart, I know.”

“It’s not going to work,” I blurt out, desperately trying to find some flaw in his plan. “No one will believe you’re Maksim. Your accent, first—”

“What does a woman know?” he barks, cutting me off sharply. “Enough of this. You and my brother will reunite in the afterlife.”

“Don’t hurt him,” I hiss, and for the first time, it occurs to me that maybe nobody is coming to save the day.

Hell, it sounds like Maksim is probably in the same situation as me. Captive.

If either of us are going to make it out alive, I need to do something. But what the hell can I do?

“It’s too late for that, tsarina. Vera probably has her heel on his throat already. She doesn’t play around, that one.”

“No.”

“Oh, yes. He walked right into our trap. If we didn’t want him to suffer first, he’d be dead already. But that’s coming.” He smiles at me. “Any time now.”

I don’t let his words get to me. I can’t. If what he’s saying is true, then as long as I’m alive, Maksim will be too. I need to get out of here. Now. I frantically scan the room, wildly searching for something, anything I can use to free my hands, and—there!

But is Viktor really as dumb as he lets on?

“Well, I guess that’s it,” I sigh dramatically. “Oh, but… I mean…”

“What?”

“Don’t worry about it. I mean, what’s the point? I’m going to die anyway…”

I let my eyes wander over his shoulder.

“Spit it out, girl.”

“Can-can I use the toilet? My stomach is upset.”

He considers it for a moment. “Have you ever seen someone die?’

“No.”

“Well, then let me tell you what happens. The second it’s over, they shit themselves. Always—well, almost always. If they’re empty, it’s cleaner. And let me tell you, I have no plans to clean up after you. So, get it over with.”

To my absolute shock, he walks over and picks me up by the wrists. Then, leaning into my ear, he grunts. “If you even think of making a run for it, I will cut off your limbs and make you watch as I feed them to my dogs.”

I nod in understanding, terrified, but knowing I have no other options.

“Good. This way.” Viktor yanks me by the wrist and leads me toward the only visible doorway. On the floor by the entrance, I spot the item that caught my eye earlier. When we’re near, I fake a stumble and, somehow, manage to snatch it up and slip it into my back pocket without him noticing.

“Hey!” he snaps, tugging me back to my feet. My heart stops. Did he see? “Watch it.”

No. He didn’t. Idiot. How did he and Maksim come from the same bloodline?

“I can’t help it,” I nervously shoot back. “Do you know how tight these ropes are? Maybe if you loosened them a little…”

He only grunts in reply and keeps moving.

Shit. This better work.