Chapter 33 Nikolai
NIKOLAI
Groaning, Niko slowly lifted his head and winced.
It felt like he had been hit over the head with a sledgehammer, and it was fucking killing him.
What the fuck had happened?
He attempted to move once more as another shot of pain rang through his body. This time, it was his arms that hurt.
His eyes flew open when he suddenly realized why he was having difficulty moving. He was tied to a fucking tree!
“What the fuck?” Niko growled, confused and furious. He began to thrash violently, curses and profanity spilling from his lips. If there was one thing that Nikolai hated, it was being at someone else’s mercy.
“Do you know how long I’ve been searching for you?” a voice from his past slithered.
Even through all the fog in his brain, Niko recognized that thick Russian accent instantly.
“And all this time, you were hiding in the desert.”
Niko lifted his head and glared at the man who had caused him so much pain. The man who had taken his and Reid’s freedom. The man who had sold his best friend to a degenerate motherfucker.
Mikhail.
“You bastard!” Nikolai snarled, lunging forward but only managing to get rope burn in the process. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”
The man started laughing, holding his stomach as he laughed up at the moon.
They were standing in a clearing somewhere in the middle of the cornfield. It was a large space, with a thick tree growing where Niko was currently tied.
Niko wasn’t sure what the space was used for, or why it even existed in the middle of a field, but whatever its purpose, he doubted it was for anything good.
A muffled sound caught Niko’s attention across the clearing.
Reid sat on his knees, hands tied behind his back, with a piece of torn cloth wrapped around his mouth.
Niko lunged forward, anger and fury blazing within.
More pain ripped through Niko as the ropes that bound his wrists cut deep into his flesh.
“Still stupid as ever,” Mikhail said, stalking toward Nikolai.
“I’ve spent years sitting in that cell, thinking about all the ways I was going to kill you once I found you.
” He knelt in front of Niko, grabbed his hair, and yanked his head back.
“Decapitation, burying you in concrete, skinning you alive. It all sounded too good for you.”
The rage that Mikhail had been harboring for Niko all these years was quickly spilling over.
“That’s sweet, you thinking about me so much. But I’m sorry, I never had time to think about you. I was too busy living my awesome life. Eating, drinking, and fucking my way across the country.”
Mikhail growled.
Niko was getting under his captor’s skin.
And what happens when people get flustered? People make mistakes.
As if sensing what Niko was trying to do, Mikhail released his hair, then straightened up. He smirked, then began walking back toward Reid.
“I almost didn’t believe my eyes when one of my men showed me the picture he took of you two stalking around my farm.
It took a bit of searching, but we eventually tracked you down to that piece-of-shit town you call home.
I’m guessing that since Benson never reported back, that means he’s dead?
” Mikhail asked, shooting him an angry glare.
Nikolai shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t want to give away any information. When dealing with criminals, it was always best to provide as little information as possible. Always keep them guessing and wondering. That way, the ball was always in your court.
“No matter. When I didn’t hear back from him, I figured the idiot probably got himself captured, so I had my men prepare. I knew it was only a matter of time before you came.”
“Bet your men loved our little surprise,” Niko taunted as he pulled as hard as he could against his restraints.
Nothing happened.
“Yes, those clowns were especially… unnerving, Mikhail said in his thick Russian accent. “It appears that I have to hire men with bigger balls.”
Niko couldn’t help but smirk.
Eyes narrowing, Mikhail reached into his back pocket and pulled out a switchblade. He popped out the blade and gave Niko a wicked grin.
Niko swallowed hard. He wasn’t sure what Mikhail had planned, but he needed to distract him until he could figure out a way to free himself.
He struggled hard, using all his strength to pull against the ropes. He felt the rope loosen… just a tad. He needed more time.
Around the clearing, Mikhail’s men stood, holding their rifles toward the ground. All of them grinned when they saw their boss pull out his knife.
Mikhail had a reputation for being brutal to those who betrayed him. Over the years, Niko had seen the results on several of his… workers.
Reid and Nikolai had been the moneymakers.
Their punishment was less… physical and more psychological.
Mikhail would withhold their weekly allowance for weeks on end, or turn off their power, forcing them to live without heat and go without warm meals.
He didn’t want to damage his prized stallions.
People paid good money for their flawless skin and perfectly straight teeth.
But there were other ways that Mikhail could punish them.
“You know, I’m really tired of you two always getting in the way of my businesses.” Mikhail crouched in front of Reid and brought the blade to his cheek. “Let’s see how cleanly I can remove his eye.”
“Don’t you fucking touch him!” Nikolai snarled, using all his strength to pull at his binds.
The rope finally snapped, and Niko fell forward into the dirt.
Two of Mikhail’s men jumped on Niko, wrestling with him as they attempted to subdue him. Both men failed.
Niko sprang to his feet, then clocked the first guy in his face. The man flew back, gripping his busted nose as he squirmed on the ground.
The second man lunged at him, using the opportunity to knock Niko off-balance. The two rolled around on the ground, punching and growling, and kneeing each other in the gut.
Niko grabbed a rock that lay next to him and brought it hard against the side of the man’s head. There was a disturbing crunching sound as the man’s eyes rolled back and his body went limp.
With adrenaline pumping through every muscle in his body, Niko leaped to his feet. He didn’t feel any pain. All he felt was anger and rage.
“Turn around and face me!” Niko shouted at his old captor.
A sly smirk spread across Mikhail’s face as he slowly turned toward Nikolai.
“This ends here. You and me. Alpha against alpha.” Niko stood strong, fists clenched at his side.
Mikhail’s men took a step forward, pointing their rifles, ready to shoot. Mikhail lifted a hand, signaling for his men to lower their guns.
“You think you have a chance against me?” Mikhail asked, grinding his teeth as he stared down Niko.
“It won’t be hard. You’re a frail old man,” Nikolai taunted.
To Mikhail’s credit, he was probably in his late fifties, but still in pretty decent physical shape. And given the gruesome nature of how Mikhail dispensed his justice, Nikolai wouldn’t put cheating past him.
The thing about men like Mikhail was that their pride was all they had. Being challenged by a man half his age, who was in much better physical shape, was not something Mikhail could let slide.
“We’ll see,” Mikhail snarled, pulling off his shirt and tossing it to the ground.
His body was covered in scars and tattoos—a road map of years of brutality and pain.
Niko didn’t give a shit. There was no way he was going to let this monster anywhere near the man he loved. He was going to end this man’s life in the most brutal way possible. He yanked his shirt off and tossed it onto the ground behind him.
The two men stalked toward each other, each prepared to attack and end the other’s life.
Once in the center of the clearing, they began circling each other, eyes locked as they sized up one another.
“You’re move, old man,” Niko taunted. “Unless you're afraid of getting your teeth knocked out by a younger man?”
That did it.
Mikhail lunged forward, growling as he brought his fist down hard on Niko’s cheek.
Pain shot through his face, momentarily causing Niko to stumble.
He smirked back at the pissed-off Russian and lunged forward, nailing a punch to Mikhail’s gut in return.
Angry, Mihkail let out a shout as he grabbed Niko by the neck and began punching him in the stomach while Niko returned blows of his own.
Blood burst from both of their faces. Each man growled as the other landed a blow. Their fighting was brutal and stubborn, each man refusing to give an inch. Blood and sweat flew from their bodies as both Russians waged war against each other.
They fell to the ground, rolling around as dust kicked up into the air around them.
All the pain, anger, and frustration that Niko had pushed down all these years came barreling to the surface.
Every blow he landed, every crunch he heard, was a painful memory Nikolai had suppressed, being released and materializing in an act of violence.
He almost had him.
Niko grabbed hold of Mikhail and rolled over on top of him. Straddling his thighs, Niko grabbed a large rock and held it high above his head.
He stared down at the bloodied and battered face of the man who had caused so much pain and suffering in the lives of so many. This monster. This scourge on humanity didn’t deserve to live. One final blow, and it would all be over.
The sound of Reid crying out in pain caught Nikolai’s attention.
His head snapped up to where one of Mikhail’s men was holding a knife next to Reid’s cheek.
Blood dripped from the knife, matching the blood sliding down Reid’s cheek.
Light flashed across Niko’s eyes as the man beneath him took advantage of the opportunity and punched him hard in the face.
Niko fell off him, temporarily disoriented.
“Any last words?” Mikhail said. He was now straddling Niko, holding the same rock high above his head.
“Go fuck yourself,” Niko growled, seconds before an arrow zipped past his face and landed squarely in Mikhail’s hand.
The man cried out in pain, dropping the rock and falling off Niko.
Behind Mikhail, a man yelled in pain, before being joined by another two men who also cried out.
Niko rolled onto his stomach, lifting his head to check out all the chaos.
On the other side of the field, Reid sat on his knees, hands still tied behind him, as the last of Mikhail’s men lay on the ground, writhing in pain, with arrows sticking out of their legs and chests.
Standing at the edge of the field with the biggest smile plastered to his face was Lucas, crossbow in hand, bouncing and taking aim at the men rolling around before him.
Next to Lucas stood Caden, arms crossed over his chest, standing guard, always protecting his little cub—or in this case, his psychotic little twink.
On the left side of the field stood Marcus, with Blade standing to Niko’s right.
With the boys in control, Niko jumped to his feet and ran to where Reid sat in the dirt, hands still bound, blood sliding down his cheek.
“Are you okay?” Niko rushed, quickly untying his best friend’s hands and pulling him into his chest.
He held Reid close for god knows how long. He never wanted to be apart from Reid ever again.
“Umm, what do you want to do with the Russian kabob?” Blade asked, lazily pointing over at Mikhail, who was still rolling around on the ground in pain.
Niko looked over his shoulder, anger and rage returning to him once again. He had almost forgotten about the piece-of-shit asshole.
Without thinking twice, Niko walked over to Marcus and pulled the gun from his boss’s holster.
With the world falling away from him, Niko walked up to Mikhail and stood over his body once more. Their eyes locked together in one final battle.
Without saying a word, he cocked the gun, then pulled the trigger.
Silence fell around the field as all his brothers watched and waited.
This was Niko’s monster to slay.
This was Niko’s past to close.
Slowly, a hand slipped into his and gave it a squeeze. Niko turned his head slightly to see Reid, his love and his best friend, standing shoulder to shoulder with him as he gazed upon the monster who had tormented them for so long.
They watched in silence as the man’s eyes closed for the very last time.
Their monster was dead.