Chapter Twenty Six
DIMITRI VOLKOV
“Ineed to see my father.”
The soldier standing guard in front of Sergei’s office shook his head. “He’s not taking any visitors right now.” He was dressed in the attire all the soldiers wore—military clothing, vest, machine gun strapped across his body, like he was ready to go off to war at any moment.
Neither the gun nor his large stature intimidated me.
I punched him in the throat.
He choked, eyes widening as he curled over.
I rammed my knee up quickly, smashing it into his face.
He stumbled back hard into the door behind him, causing it to rip open and tumble into my father’s office.
He landed harshly on his back with a painful groan.
I strolled right on in, skirting around his body.
Sergei sat behind his big, imposing desk, elbows planted firmly on the surface, a piece of paper in his hands. Thick glasses sat on his face. He didn’t wear them often. My father considered it a weakness to need them, so he only wore them when he was in the safety of his office.
Vernon stood at his side, holding a stack of more papers.
“Did you forget how to knock?” Sergei asked, taking off his glasses and tucking them away. He handed the document in his hands over to Vernon, who placed it on top of the others.
“It’s time we have a talk.”
“Is it?”
“Yes.”
Sergei leaned back in his chair. “Where’s your pretty new girlfriend? Are you sure it’s a smart idea to leave her all alone?”
“Autumn can handle herself. If anything, I’m concerned for anyone who gets in her way.”
“She is a formidable woman. Far better than your previous love.”
I wasn’t going to rise to the bait. A comment like that six months before would have sent me into a frenzy, but I’d dealt with all my demons from the past. They could no longer hurt me anymore.
“Why don’t we cut the bullshit, Sergei?” I took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk, my body relaxed and composed despite the tension coursing through me.
I wasn’t scared of my father. Not anymore.
Hadn’t been for a long time. But I’d be a fool not to be weary of him and what he was capable of. “You tried to have me killed.”
His eyebrow hiked up ever so slightly. Since arriving at his estate, neither one of us had acknowledged the giant elephant in the room.
Sergei clearly didn’t want to talk about the subject, or he would have brought it up himself.
If I was going to have any chance of killing him, I needed to rattle him.
“That will be all, Vernon,” he commanded.
The man who had been glued to my father’s side since the moment I got there frowned. “But—”
“That will be all, Vernon,” he repeated sternly.
Vernon hesitated for only a second longer before nodding, however reluctantly, and left the room, dragging the unconscious soldier on the floor behind him.
Sergei got to his feet and approached the drink cart in the corner of the room. “Drink?”
“Vodka on the rocks.”
He set two glasses down side by side and used the ice tongs to deposit four perfectly shaped ice cubes into them.
He picked up a tall crystal tumbler next, pouring its contents into each glass.
“I wondered if you’d ever grow the balls to confront me,” he said casually, making his way back over to me.
He was trying to shift it. Take control of the conversation. Wasn’t going to happen.
“Funny. I thought the same thing.” I leaned my elbow against the armrest and held my hand out. Sergei placed the glass in my open palm. “I wondered if you’d ever grow the balls to stop hiding behind others and come for me yourself.”
He chuckled. I waited for him to take a sip before taking one myself. I wouldn’t put it past the bastard to try and poison me. “What can I say? In my old age, I’ve been reluctant to get my hands dirty.”
“Can’t handle it anymore?”
“Oh, don’t worry, Dimitri. As my grandson would say, I can still throw down if I need to.”
Of that, I had no doubt. Sergei might have been old, but he was anything but frail and vulnerable. I knew he would never go down easily. That he would do everything he could to ensure that if he was going down, he would drag everyone else down with him.
“Speaking of my grandson, any luck in pinpointing his location?”
I scoffed. “Don’t pretend to care. It just wastes your time and mine, and my time is very valuable.”
“Are you saying mine is not?”
“Yes.”
He shook his head. “You know, I have to say, I do not appreciate this newfound level of disrespect you’ve been exhibiting toward me.”
“And I do not appreciate the fact that you had half a dozen of my own soldiers try to kill me in my own home, but, you know, shit happens.”
“You mean my soldiers. Do not forget, son, everything you have is because of me. I gave it to you, and I can take it back any time I want.”
I leveled a hard stare at him. That was only partly true. Yes, everything I had started with him, but he didn’t have the power to take it from me. Not anymore.
Sergei smiled broadly and sat back down behind his desk. He took another sip from his glass before putting it down. “I don’t know what you’re so upset about. You’re fine. They clearly failed, so no harm, no foul.”
“So, you admit it then? That you’re trying to kill me?”
“Aren’t you trying to kill me?”
There was no point denying it. He would see right through it. “Before Lukyan was kidnapped, yes. Now, my only focus is on finding my son.”
I didn’t even need him to say anything to know he was beyond dissatisfied by that. I’d grown up all my life seeing that look in his eyes. That slightly irritated expression on his face.
“That was always one of the things I was so disappointed in you about, Dimitri.” He picked up a thick brown cigar.
“You allowed yourself to have such a pointless and futile weakness. Children are a means to an end. Nothing more. You have two other sons who can carry on the family name. Who cares about what happens to your youngest one? He’s the most expendable out of them all. ”
“I care,” I all but growled out.
“Yes, you’ve made that abundantly clear.
Another thing I’m incredibly disappointed in you about—broadcasting your weakness like that for the entire world to see.
I raised you better than that.” He used a cigar cutter to remove the cap from the end, slicing it straight off.
“Honestly, I have no idea where you inherited such a filthy trait from.” He pointed two fingers at me, the cigar balancing effortlessly between them.
“You know what? I blame your mother. Such weakness certainly didn’t come from me. ”
No. Only my raging paranoia, homicidal tendencies, and the ability to kill without a single shred of remorse came from him.
“We’re not going to talk about my mother. Not now. Not ever.” He wasn’t good enough to even speak her name. “We’re going to talk about me and you.”
“I’m not sure what else there is left to discuss.
The moment I am able to dispose of you in a way that does not track back to me or make me look bad, I will.
I no longer need you, and you have become nothing but a nuisance.
You’ve done your part in furthering the Volkov line, and your contribution will be noted. ”
“My contribution?” Fuck, I wanted to end him.
I wanted to fucking eviserate him. I never wanted anything more in my life than to kill him right there and then, and the only reason I didn’t was because I knew he had someone watching.
Someone ready to burst in at a moment’s notice and either save or avenge him.
That was just the way my father worked. He planned for things sixteen moves ahead.
Catching him off guard or unprepared was almost impossible, and as much as I despised it, I needed to watch myself. At least until we found Lukyan.
Then, all bets were fucking off.
“Yes,” Sergei continued. “Although minor, your contribution toward my legacy will be, as I said, noted.” He said it so casually. So blasé. Like it was a totally normal thing to say to one’s son.
“I think I contributed to it a lot more than you did, Father.”
Anger streaked through his eyes.
“Let’s put all our cards on the table, shall we?” I was done fucking around. Done with the bullshit and hidden meanings behind everything he did and said. “You want to kill me. I want to kill you. The timing isn’t right, but the moment it is, I’ll be coming for you.”
Sergei smiled, and it was filled with nothing but pure evil. He lit the end of his cigar and took a deep inhale before blowing the smoke out. “I guess we’ll see who wins, won’t we?”
“I guess we will.” The conversation was done. There was nothing left to say. I walked out, marching down the halls of the home I’d grown up in, feeling absolutely no sense of attachment to it whatsoever. I would burn it to the ground the first chance I got.
When I got to my bedroom, I found Autumn lounging comfortably on the three-seater couch, her tablet resting on her thighs as some TV show played, one hand buried deep in the bowl of popcorn at her side.
She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “Hi, baby.”
The sound of a man groaning in pain reached my ears.
I walked further into the room, and when I rounded the couch, I saw our security detail—all four of them—lying helplessly on the floor in front of her.
They were stacked up on top of each other, one after the other after the other, and she had her feet resting upon them, her legs crossed at the ankles.
Humor trickled through me.
“How did it go?” she asked, continuing to snack on her popcorn.
My gaze flitted around the room.
“Oh, don’t worry about that.” She picked up a glass of water and showed it to me. Inside it were numerous small devices. “I got sick and tired of having to watch what I say, so I did a thorough sweep of the room and gathered up all the listening devices Sergei had planted.”
I chuckled. “He’ll just replace them.”
“Probably.” Autumn shrugged. “But we’re safe for now until he does.” She placed the glass back down. “So, how did it go?”
“About as expected. Everything is out on the table.” I could tell by the look on her face that she didn’t agree with the plan, but she said nothing, her pursed lips the only sign of her displeasure.
I plopped down next to her and scooped up some popcorn, throwing it into my mouth. “Speak your mind.”
“Was it wise? Telling him you want to kill him? He’ll be even more on alert now.”
“He already knew.” Of that, I was sure. “The moment he threatened Illayana, he would have known he was signing his death warrant with me. No one threatens my children and lives. Everyone knows that. By confronting him, I’ve thrown him off guard.
I know it. He’s not used to such insubordination.
I think it will push him to do something reckless. ”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Something. Something that will leave him vulnerable.
” My phone rang. It was an unknown number, which I usually didn’t answer, but Illayana had told me about a phone call she’d received from an unknown number a few days before.
It had been Lukyan. I’d felt instant relief, knowing he was still alive, but it had been squashed quickly when I was told he had given no information as to his whereabouts.
I was running out of time. If I didn’t find him soon, I might never get him back.
“Yes?” I answered. Please be Lukyan. Please be Lukyan.
“H-hello, sir. You don’t know me. My name is Tristian. I have information you might want.”
“What information?”
He told me. My whole body came to life. “Where?” I growled.