VALERIAN
It’s seven p.m. when I make it to my office block in the city.
I park up outside. I’ll probably be knee deep in parking fines by the time I’m done here. Screw them all. They can take their fines and shove them up their ass, if their own head isn’t already up there.
Siguard says he’s been watching me for a while. I hate that I never saw the signs. But that’s the problem with this city. Behind the blinding lights and showbiz, everyone has something to hide. Or someone they’re trying to protect.
I’m glad I finally got through to Joy about all of that. Now it’s time to get her the fuck out.
The glass-tipped edges of my building glow orange in the sunset. The sky looks like it’s on fire. It’s a nice sunset. I’d love to watch it come down over Siguard’s dead body. That will be a great end to this day.
Niko and I walk in through reception. There’s nobody there. It’s the weekend. The place is empty.
We call for an elevator and take it right up to the roof. I adjust my cufflinks as we ride up to the top, pulling my shirt sleeves up above to where my biceps are.
Niko looks in the mirror, unbuttoning the top few buttons of his shirt.
I see him watching me in the mirror. He can probably hear my pulse. It’s beating loud enough.
“We’ll get her out of here.”
“Yeah,” I sigh, wiping my brow. I’m already dripping with sweat. “But it won’t be easy. Siguard is working with my son.”
Niko has a grave expression written across his face.
My thoughts exactly.
The elevator slows down as we get to the top. It dings, the metal doors sliding open.
I step out into the room. The fire door onto the rooftop is only a few meters away. Four steps, and then I’m there, facing a man I haven’t seen since I was a kid.
Nothing scares me.
But with Siguard, things are different. If it wasn't for him, I’d be a completely different man.
I’ll turn into something far worse than a monster if he strikes again.
I’ll become him.
I pat the weapons under my belt and open the door.
The wind takes my shirt and tries yanking it from my body. That’s how strong it is up here. Siguard wasn’t lying about that.
I yank open the door fully and walk right out onto the roof. And the first fucking thing I see is a tress of brown hair whipping in the wind.
I take out my knife and barrel right over to the edge of the roof. I see the back of Joy’s head, her hair lifting in the wind.
The harsh wind slaps me across the face, howling across the rooftop. I’m working against it, getting closer.
This is the first time I’m standing on the top of my own building. I’m normally on the floor below admiring the city and feeling smug about how high up into the sky I am.
There’s nothing rewarding about being in the sky now as I power across the roof over to Joy.
I cut straight through the wind over there, parkouring over one of the giant air-conditioning systems. I jump down onto another level that I didn’t even know existed.
And there she is, sitting on the edge of the roof, legs dangling off the edge. She’s being held down by two men. They’re wearing masks made out of metal. The sun catches part of the mask, which blinds me for a few seconds.
I shield my eyes from the sun with one hand. Take out my knife with the other. I’d prefer to kill every last fucking one of them with my bare hands. But with Joy’s life on the line, I’m not prepared to take risks.
I step forward, creeping up behind the two men who are pinning her down.
That’s when two more masked men appear. These must be the high-demand assassins Igor was telling me about in the courtyard.
He must have spent a fortune on them to be here this evening.
Fuck knows where he’s getting the money…
I pinch myself. Gaps are starting to form in my brain from how angry I am about everything. Siguard has been helping him financially.
And with those millions of dollars he stole from my Bratva’s accounts, he’ll be able to help my son out even more.
If only Igor knew what this man did to his grandfather…
“Stand aside, gents. I’d hate for more people to lose their lives on account of my son’s foolishness.”
“We’re not working for Igor,” says one of the masked men. Him and his friend are still in my way. “It’s Siguard we work for.”
I keep the knife in my hand. Niko is standing a few meters behind me. He won’t strike until I do.
“I don’t give a fuck who you work for. Stand aside or this knife goes in your chest.”
Joy screams. My attention immediately goes over to her. The two masked man have lifted her into the air. They tilt her ninety degrees over the edge. If they let go, she plummets to the ground.
The wind whistles through the rooftop, merging with the sounds of Joy screaming to form one very frightening sound that completely shatters my eardrums.
My pulse is now humming in my chest as they hold her there.
They’re pointing her straight at the ground, a terrifying one-hundred-and-fifty meters away.
She wouldn’t survive. You wouldn’t even be able to identify her body.
My chest goes cold.
I look the two men dead in the eye. “Tell them to stop.”
“Put down the knife. You kill us? They kill her.”
Between the gusts of wind, I hear Nikolai step forward, his foot scraping against the concrete.
I sigh, feeling defeated for the first time in fucking decades.
“Fine.” I lodge the knife back under my belt and show them my two free hands. “Tell them to put her back down.”
One of the men snaps his fingers, and the two men holding Joy over the edge stop what they’re doing. They sit her back down.
I sigh with relief. For now.
She’s sitting on the edge again, legs dangling off. But I still feel the panic in her voice as she sobs.
She looks over her shoulder. The sheer fright in her eyes makes me want to kill all four of these men for allowing this to happen. But it’ll come at a cost to her life. And I’m not trading that for anything. Not even my own anger.
Generators buzz through the breeze. There are more air conditioning systems up ahead, the fans turning.
I take a step back, squishing some kind of wiring under my boot. There are all kinds of hazards up here. Siguard could have taken her anywhere. And of all places, he chooses to bring her to the top of my own fucking building.
I hear footsteps pounding on the concrete, getting closer. I turn around. Low and behold—there they both are, striding toward me like a double-act. Igor and Siguard.
“Now there’s a friendship I never thought I’d see coming,” I say as they approach.
Igor’s hair flies in the wind, shielding his eyes. I stare at him. He should know better than this. Of course, he doesn’t.
As his father, it’s my place to tell him, even though he hates me.
“Save your breath,” I say, keeping my hands at my sides. “I know how this will go.”
“Do you?” Siguard arches one of his eyebrows. They’re gray now.
He had brown hair before. Time erases everything, but that smug smile written across Siguard’s face looks like it stood the test of time.
The past flashes before my eyes as he stands in front of me.
I’m leaving the lawyer’s office.
Just when I think I’m about to win, he flips the narrative.
I feel a sharp scratching under my ribs.
“Igor,” I begin.
He screws up his lips. The wind blows around him, but he doesn’t budge. He’s wearing a suit, a pair of silver cufflinks sparking in the sun. He apparently wears those now.
I see the determination shining in his eyes. I haven’t seen this look before.
He sees me and the determination turns sour, transitioning into something that looks like resentment.
I clench my jaw. “I don’t think you know who you’re working with, son.”
“Oh, I think he does,” Siguard says.
Igor, still watching me, takes a step forward, sticking his face right in mine.
“You can’t help but take everything away from me, can you?
” His eyes are full of poison. “Mom. Joy. You take the two most important people from me and continue walking through life with your head held high. You have no shame.”
I turn around, noting Joy on the edge of the building, pinned down by two of his men. “Don’t start with the crocodile tears,” I say. “You’re better than that. You don’t care about Joy. If you did, she wouldn’t be here.”
“Not the point I’m trying to make.” He tenses his jaw. “All you’ve ever cared about is yourself, which works out highly in your favor. Until now.” My own son is looking at me like a hawk. Like he’s the bird and I’m the prey.
If he knew the truth, he wouldn’t be looking at me like he wants me chopped up.
But this isn’t a joke anymore. Joy’s life is on the line because I’m protecting him.
“You finally found someone you care about,” he spits. He looks at me maliciously. “And it’s not even your own fucking son.”
Again, not entirely true.
He can believe that.
But if he’s messing with Joy’s life at the same time, we have a problem.
I fold my arms over my chest. Niko loiters behind me, hand on his belt where the butcher knife and gun are being kept.
“Siguard framed your grandfather.” I stare at Igor, waiting for his face to drop.
“It was back in Russia. He murdered a boy and blamed it on him. Siguard sent your grandfather to prison. And he died in that prison.” I step closer.
“Wake up, Igor. You really think this man wants to help you? Think again. He wants to destroy our family. And you’ll be next once I’m out of the way. ”
Not like I’m going to let that happen.
“Well,” Siguard scoffs, “that’s not entirely true.” Wind blows between us, flapping the lapels of his jacket.
He doesn’t have any hair for it to blow. He’s almost bald. I can see straight into his eyes, and they’re even grayer than his skin.
I was wrong about the bastard being a few years away from his grave. He should be in it. He’s nothing but skin and bones. The wind should have knocked him off this roof by now.
Maybe mother nature is waiting for me to take care of that.
“Less of the dramatics,” I sigh. “I’ve heard enough from you already over the phone.” I unsheathe my knife. “Release Joy.”
Siguard flashes me a look, then looks past me, whistling at the two masked men taking care of her.