Chapter 19 #3
I frowned when the camera feed from Drea’s room came up on the screen. The date and time read yesterday, late afternoon.
Why was he showing me this?
When Mila’s thin frame stepped through the door, it clicked into place.
“What the fuck?” I hissed, leaning closer to the screen, my hands squeezing the edges of the computer table so hard the wood groaned under the pressure.
Nik’s eyes darted nervously to me but I ignored him, watching the events unfold. Listening to Mila say she was my fiancé .
A strong urge to eviscerate her, to cut open her stomach and rip out all her internal organs pounded through me when she tried to attack Drea.
How fucking dare she?
Mila was wild. Chaotic. But I never would have imagined she’d do something this colossally stupid. Especially after our last conversation.
How did she even get into the pit?
This explained Drea’s sudden personality change.
She thought I was engaged when we fooled around.
Any woman worth a damn would hate going after someone who was taken, and clearly Drea agreed because she was no longer fun and flirtatious.
She was cold and angry. Even when I tried to engage her in a little light banter, she wasn’t interested.
She was disengaged. Like she’d rather be anywhere else than stuck in a room with me.
When Erik punched Drea so hard in the face she flew back, anger exploded in my chest. A white-hot, burning rage that completely consumed me and made me want to carve his fucking eyes out. The table cracked underneath my hands, splintering from the unrelenting pressure.
Nik visibly winced. It looked like he wanted to push me away from the computer but thought better of it.
Considering my increasingly foul mood, it was a smart choice.
“So what are you going to do about Mila?” Nik asked once he clicked off the recording.
As much as I hated it, “Nothing,” I grunted, straightening my spine.
“Nothing?” Nik frowned. “You’re just going to let her make a huge claim like that? She’s going around telling people she’s your fiancé , the future Queen of the Bratva. How can you be so okay with that? Unless—oh God. Zander, please don’t tell me you’re actually planning on marrying her?”
I reared back in disgust. “Don’t be an idiot. Of course I’m not going to bloody marry her. I’m also not going to give her what she wants, which is so clearly a reaction. The worst thing I can do to a woman like her isn’t to hurt her. It’s to ignore her.”
And it would drive her crazy.
Nik chuckled. “Oh, she’ll hate that. Especially when she hears someone else has been getting all your attention.”
“Exactly,” I nodded. “She’ll step further out of line because she just can’t help herself, and then I’ll be within my rights to give her a lashing.”
Nik snorted. “You’re well within those rights now.”
True. Lashings were a severe form of punishment we gave to our people when they stepped out of line. It was exactly like it sounded. A brutal whipping that left their back bleeding and scarred.
Erik had been the last one to receive a lashing for telling Ethan at the main gate that Mila had permission to come through.
“Alright, I gotta run. I’ll talk to you later,” Nik finished, heading towards the door.
“Is Erik still on duty?” I asked, making him pause in the doorway.
He threw a frown my way. “Yeah. I saw him doing a perimeter check not too long ago. Why?”
“Send him to me.”
Nik’s frown grew. “Zander-”
“Send him to me, Nikolai,” I repeated, my voice laced with authority.
He cursed under his breath before turning on his heel and walking away. A few minutes later he returned, Erik in tow.
Dark brown eyes locked onto me, the same shade as Mila’s. He bowed his head and then stood tall. “Boss,” he greeted.
I ran my eyes over him, my anger climbing. “Erik. Do you have anything to report?”
His brows snapped together in confusion. “About the perimeter check? No. Everything was in order.”
I nodded, walking towards him. He stiffened when I began to slowly circle him, nervous energy flowing off him. “Nothing else to report then?” My hands were clasped behind my back, footsteps echoing around with a loud thud, thud, thud.
“Uh, no?” he said with a questioning tone.
“Are you asking me or telling me?”
He squirmed uncomfortably. “Telling, Boss.”
“You don’t sound so sure about that.” I came to a stop in front of him, staring him dead in the eyes. “How did Mila get down into the pit last night?”
His eyes shifted away from me for a moment before returning. He sighed, lowering his head. “I let her in.”
“Any particular reason?” I was sure I knew the ‘why’ already, but I wanted to hear it from him.
“She wanted to talk to the prisoner. I know she’s not permitted down there, but she said she might be able to get her to talk, so I-”
“Thought you’d just ignore the rules, again , and do whatever you like?” I cut in, taking a menacing step forward. “Did you not learn your lesson last night?”
He winced, as if the mere mention of his last punishment caused him pain. The lashes on his back would still be fresh. Sore and tender.
“Not only did you let her back through the gates, you also decided to let her down into the pit when you knew damn well she’s not allowed down there. Tell me Erik, do you want to die?”
“No, Boss,” he answered immediately, body shaking. Eric was a big man. Hard to intimidate. But in this moment he was terrified because he knew if I wanted too, I could put a bullet in his head without a second thought.
“You knew it was against the rules. You knew we’d find out. Yet, you did it anyway. Funny this is Erik, that’s not what I’m most angry about.”
He glanced at me, frowning again. “It’s not?”
I grabbed his hand, the same hand he’d used to strike Drea with and twisted sharply. He cried out in pain, dropping to his knees. “If you ever lay another finger on Drea again, I’ll cut your fucking hand off. Do I make myself clear?”
He sucked in painful breaths as he nodded vigorously. “Yes, Boss,” he groaned.
His agreement should have been enough. But it wasn’t. The video of him hitting Drea played out in front of my eyes over and over again, making it impossible for me to release him unscathed. I wanted retribution.
I pulled a knife free and rammed it straight through his wrist, all the way to the hilt.
An ear-piercing scream exploded out of his mouth, loud and full of agony.
I let him go and he dropped to the ground.
He cradled his arm close to his body, being careful not to cut himself on the blade sticking out of his wrist.
“This is your last chance, Erik. Fuck up again, and you’ll wish I’d killed you here today.” I walked out of the room, not looking back.