Chapter 4
KONSTANTIN
Ivy runs into the club.
Good, hopefully she can find a decent place to hide while I take care of Vadim.
My gaze snaps back to Vadim, my eyes narrowing as he heads straight for the club.
“Oh, no you don’t, you worthless bastard,” I say through gritted teeth.
I may be tall and muscular, but I’m lean and extremely light on my feet when I want to be. Like now. I reach him just as he extends a hand for the doorknob. My hand lands on his shoulder and spins him around and off to the side.
His dark brown eyes widen in surprise for just an instant before narrowing, a scowl tightening his lips.
“Konstantin,” he growls. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
I slowly move toward the side, making Vadim turn to keep me in his sights, which puts his back to the door.
“I think the Volkovs would be interested in knowing what you’re up to,” I retort, a small smile playing at my mouth as a brief flash of fear sparks in his eyes. “I’m sure they’d like to know that you took out their sovietnik.”
“So now you’re a stukach, a snitch,” he snarls.
“That depends.” My voice is low, hard. “On you.”
Vadim has never been any good at keeping his control and anger gets the best of him now.
He takes a swing at my face, but I step back, avoiding it.
With a curse, he reaches for his gun, but I’m quicker and kick it out of his hand then follow up with a punch to his jaw that sends him reeling backward.
Vadim stumbles into the club’s door and shakes his head.
“What’s this got to do with you, Mikhailov?” Vadim sneers. He takes a step forward, his hands balled into fists as his side. “You’ve no love for the Volkovs.”
“I don’t have a feud with them, either,” I counter.
“You need to learn to keep your nose out of other families’ business.”
I give a jab to his nose and blood instantly spurts forth. “Maybe you shouldn’t conduct business at the club, a neutral zone for the families.”
Vadim growls and lunges at me, managing to get me in a bear hug hold, one arm wrapped around my throat and the other around my arms. This is one of his favorite moves, and I admit it can be effective.
On other guys. But I know this move well.
Flexing my arms, I break free of his hold, then grab the arm around my neck and yank it down, then twist it behind his back.
Vadim curses, bent at the waist. He mule kicks me, something I wasn’t expecting, his foot hitting my kneecap.
Pain explodes there and I instinctively let go of his arm.
He spins, and before I realize what he’s doing, he punches me in the jaw.
My head jerks to the side and I fly backward into the door, crashing through it.
Son of a bitch!
He rushes in after me and we crash into a table, knocking it to the ground and scattering chairs. The last thing I wanted was to allow Vadim to get inside the club, get close to Ivy.
I heave him off me and jump to my feet, ignoring the pain throbbing in my knee. As he gets to his hands and knees, I plant a well-placed kick to the side of his head. Vadim grunts and falls to his side. He shakes his head then rolls away from me before quickly getting to his feet.
At least that put him in the doorway. But I don’t want him inside the club at all, so I rush him.
Ducking my head, I ram it into his chest, wrap my arms around his waist, and force him out of the building.
He’s thrown off balance when I suddenly let go, and I take full advantage.
Two punches to the face send him stumbling backward.
A roundhouse kick finishes the job, sending him several feet backward where he falls to the ground with a loud thud, his eyes rolled back in his head as he loses consciousness.
I walk to him and stand over him, looking down at the man who has been a thorn in my side for too many years to count.
This piece of shit is very likely responsible for my parents’ death.
I don’t have proof that Vadim put the hit on them, which is the only reason the asshole still breathes.
Now, he’s after Ivy Andreev, the very woman I swore a blood oath to protect.
My body stiffens, my muscles tightening with the urge to end his life here and now. Very slowly, as if having a mind of its own, my hand reaches for my gun and I pull it out, aiming it at Vadim’s forehead. It would be so easy to kill him, pull the trigger and blow his brains out.
My finger wraps around the trigger, slowly pressing it. I can end it all with just a flick of my finger. Justice for my parents, and Ivy would be safe. My finger squeezes a little more.
“Konstantin.”
Viktor’s soft but urgent voice barely reaches my ears. I squeeze the trigger a little bit more. Almost there. Just a little bit more pressure and it will be done.
“Konstantin.”
This time, Viktor’s voice is more urgent, though barely above a harsh whisper. But it filters through me and I stiffen. I could put so many people out of their misery by ending this bastard’s life.
“Cops are coming.”
I hear the sirens now. And they’re close. My bloodlust to end Vadim’s miserable life drowned out the sound of approaching police.
“It’s not worth it,” Viktor says now. “Think of the trouble you’ll bring to the family.”
I don’t want to listen to my sovietnik, but I know he’s right. Despite the bastard’s crimes, he holds a lot of power which wouldn’t bode well for me and the family to kill him in cold blood.
I lower my gun reluctantly. Besides, I’ve never been one to shoot a helpless man, and right now with Vadim unconscious, it’d be like shooting a fish in a barrel.
Turning, I finally look at Viktor.
“Ivy?” I ask as the police sirens get louder.
He nods. “Safe but scared. Hiding behind a counter in the kitchen.”
That, at least, is a relief. But we can’t just stand here over Vadim, especially when there’s a dead man just around back in the alley.
I don’t have to say anything to Viktor. We both start off toward our cars, parked a block away but still within eyesight of the club. Standing in the shadows, we watch as three police cars screech into the parking lot.
Viktor stands just as tensely as I am. As my most trusted friend and confidant, he is the only one who knows about the blood oath I took to protect Ivy. For years, he has been my second pair of eyes, watching out for her when I’m not able to.
Reaching into his jacket pocket, Viktor pulls out a chunk of wood and his knife and patiently starts carving. I’m not sure when the big guy decided to get into carving wood figurines, but it seems to help calm his nerves. He’s damn good at it too.
“All clear!”
Although we’re a block away, we still hear a cop shout. Viktor and I exchange glances. All clear? Did they find David’s body? Or Vadim lying unconscious? It’s hard to know for sure since we’re not close enough to hear regular conversation.
Right now, Ivy is in there, scared to death and all alone. She’s lived a pretty sheltered life as far as being exposed to violence and Mafia ways. This has got to be hard for her. I have the almost uncontrollable urge to go to her, take her in my arms, and tell her everything will be alright.
But she doesn’t know me. Not like I know her.
Viktor and I have gone to great lengths to make sure she doesn’t know she’s being watched.
Except at the club. I’m there every Friday night.
But not the rest of her life. She’s not aware when Viktor or I watch over her when she’s grocery shopping, at the gym, at work, or any other activity that puts her around people and potential danger.
The coroner pulls into the parking lot, reclaiming my attention. A few minutes later, a police officer walks out, his arm around Ivy’s shoulders. She has a blanket wrapped around her and she looks so small and scared it cuts at my heart.
I glance around at the activity, my mouth tightening into a grim line. “No sign of Vadim,” I say.
Viktor shakes his head. “He must have woken up and snuck away before the cops saw him.”
My heart chills with foreboding. I’d hoped they’d see his body and arrest him. “Follow Ivy. See where they take her.”
Viktor nods as he puts away his carving and knife.
Vadim’s main mission will be finding Ivy and permanently shutting her up. Since he escaped arrest, she’s in even more danger now.