Chapter 20 – Adrian
Zalar found Alexei about an hour ago.
Captured him sneaking across the border into Sokhumi, trying to disappear like a coward. Now, he’s being held in one of our remote facilities on the outskirts of the city—locked up, alone, and probably pissing himself by now.
I sit in the back of the armored car, fingers curled tightly around the leather seat as the city speeds past in a blur.
Kaz is beside me, quiet for once. He knows better than to speak when I’m like this—on edge, seething.
It’s been almost a full fucking day since Jennie was taken, and there’s still no damn lead.
Not one solid thread to pull. No update. No message. Nothing but silence.
It’s eating me alive.
The only message we’ve gotten was the video. Just that. Just the sight of her bruised and unconscious, tied to a chair like she was some sort of disposable bargaining chip. The memory of it claws at my chest like a beast that won’t settle.
Lukin’s been tearing the network apart on his end, squeezing every contact we have.
Every single lead we uncover? It loops right back to us.
It’s like chasing shadows through a hall of mirrors—every angle pointing inward.
That’s because the bastard who did this was close enough to use all our resources, so he has nothing that could lead directly to him.
No one outside the family circle could’ve pulled this off.
I clench my jaw so hard I hear something pop.
“She’s okay,” Kaz says finally. His voice is low. He says it like he wants to believe it himself. “They didn’t take her to kill her. They took her to draw you out.”
I don’t respond. Because I know he’s right.
They want me desperate. They want me reckless. They want me weak.
And I’ll give them none of it.
But I will find them—and I will end them.
As we pull up to the facility, Zalar is already waiting by the reinforced doors, flanked by two men. His face is tight, unreadable. The kind of look he only wears when things are serious.
I don’t ask any questions. I just follow him inside. Because today, someone is going to bleed.
The moment I step into the holding cell, the air changes. Damp. Sterile. Heavy with sweat and fear.
Alexei is slouched in the metal chair, wrists chained behind him, blood dried at the corner of his mouth. He looks up as I enter. The second our eyes meet, he straightens like he remembers who the fuck I am.
He should.
I trained him.
I protected him.
I handpicked him for my inner guard.
And he gave her up.
Kaz lingers behind me, arms folded, jaw ticking. Zalar’s in the far corner, silent, unreadable. I don’t say a word as I walk to the table and sit down directly across from Alexei. The guards shut the door behind us with a clang.
He tries to speak first.
“Boss, I didn’t—”
I slam my fist onto the table, and the sound is thunderous. His voice cuts off.
“No,” I say, quiet. That dangerous, calm sort of quiet I know scares the shit out of men like him. “You don’t talk. Not unless I tell you to.”
He nods quickly, swallowing hard.
I lean forward, resting my arms on the table. My voice lowers, but my tone stays sharp.
“You were supposed to die before they touched her. You swore your loyalty to me, Alexei. You took an oath. And you let her—” My jaw clenches. “You let Jennie get taken.”
His eyes flinch at her name. I watch that guilt flicker behind his panic.
“I didn’t know. They paid me off just to move a camera for a few minutes. I didn’t know it was her they were after. I swear, Boss. I swear on my life—”
“You already gave that up the second you said yes.” My voice is ice.
I stand slowly and walk around the table. He’s trembling now. He’s still chained to the chair. Breathing heavy. Face pale. Sweat sliding down his temple. His eyes flick to my hands when I pull on a pair of leather gloves.
“Boss, please—” he starts.
I pick up the small metal bar on the table and twirl it once between my fingers and approach him. “Last chance. Where is she?”
“I don’t know.” His voice cracks. “They didn’t tell me anything else. I only got a message to move the camera. They said it was just—”
Crack.
His scream bounces off the walls as I snap the first finger back. The index. Clean break.
“Try again.”
“Please—Adrian, please—I swear I don’t know!”
Crack. The middle finger.
Another cry. He thrashes, but the cuffs hold him in place. His knuckles are already swelling, skin torn and purple.
I crouch down beside him, eye level now. “You were in my house. Guarding my wife. And you let her get taken. That makes you two things—either a traitor or an idiot. Which one are you?”
“I—I didn’t know it was her. I didn’t—I swear to God, I didn’t know!”
Crack.
The ring finger now. His breath hitches—sharp and wet, like he’s going to pass out. I grab his chin and force him to look at me.
“You will not faint. You will stay awake, and you will remember this. Every second of it.”
He sobs. “It wasn’t supposed to go this far.”
“Oh, it hasn’t even begun, Alexei.”
I snap the last finger slowly. A clean, intentional break. His entire hand hangs limp now, and he slumps forward, wheezing through the pain.
I stand and wipe the sweat off my brow.
“There’s a name you’re forgetting. A face. A license plate. A drop location. Think hard. You’ve got another hand.”
His lip trembles. “I swear. I only ever dealt with one guy. Masked. Russian accent.
“Russian.” I nod. “Okay. We’re getting there. What’s his name?”
Alexei shakes his head. “Please—”
I slam my fist down on the armrest beside his shattered hand, and he jumps.
“The name,” I growl.
He finally whispers, voice barely audible, “Yegor.”
My entire body freezes.
Yegor.
The air shifts. My breathing slows. It feels like something ancient has been dragged back into the light. A name I haven’t heard in years—because I thought I’d buried everything attached to it.
I straighten, my gloved fists tightening. “Yegor?” I echo.
Alexei nods, terrified. “He said—he said you’d know.”
I do.
Yegor.
Rusnak blood. Distant cousin. Twisted. Dangerous.
His brother, Valentin, was killed during the internal fallout years ago—when I was cleaning house.
He never forgave me.
He disappeared after that. Went underground. No trace. Until now.
And now…he has Jennie.
My Jennie.
Alexei’s lips are still moving, whispering apologies I no longer care to hear.
I pull out my gun.
One clean shot to the head.
His body goes limp instantly, slumping in the chair. Blood spatters the floor.
Zalar doesn’t flinch. He steps forward with a quiet nod and starts cleaning up, like we’ve done this a hundred times before—which we have.
I pace. My boots crunch over shattered bone and blood. Kaz watches me quietly. He’s been very quiet, letting me bleed out my rage. Usually, he doesn’t like missing out on the fun.
I drag a hand through my hair, gripping it at the roots, breathing like a caged animal. “I’m going to kill him,” I say. “Yegor’s dead.”
Kaz leans on the edge of the table, arms crossed. “We figured.”
“No.” I face him. “He dies screaming.”
I walk in a slow circle, jaw tight. “He thinks he can touch her. Hurt her. Use her to get to me.”
I look at Alexei’s corpse. Then at the blood still fresh on my hands.
And I think about Jennie—tied to a chair, bleeding. Terrified. Alone.
He’s going to pay.
Yegor’s going to wish he stayed buried.
My phone buzzes, and I stop pacing. Kaz and Zalar watch me as I slowly take it out of my pocket, unlocking the screen. It’s a message.
No number. No name. Just words.
Come alone. Or she dies.
Location pinned.
It’s Yegor. He doesn’t know he’s been ratted out by Alexei, and that gives me an advantage. I know his weaknesses—and oh, he has a lot of them. He’s strong, but with everything I know about him, I can take him with my eyes closed.
Jennie is the only reason I have to be careful.
I click the pinned location, and my grip tightens around the phone. I stare at the screen until the pin burns into my vision. It’s an abandoned shipping yard on the edge of the city. Of course. Classic setup. No exits, no help. Just a wide-open trap.
Exactly what I’d do if I wanted to kill a man and leave no trace.
I walk to the closet on the other end of the room and start to arm myself. I clench my jaw as I strap the second holster across my chest. My hands are steady, but inside, I am fire. Rage is crawling just beneath my skin, hungry and alive.
“I’m going to skin him alive,” I mutter, more to myself than anyone else. “For what he did to her. For every bruise. Every scratch. Every second she’s been afraid.”
Kaz leans against the doorframe, arms crossed. “Then let me come with you. Back you up.”
I look up. “No.”
He pushes off the wall, frustrated. “Adrian—”
“This is my fight.” My voice is cold, hard. “He took my wife. Hurt my woman. This isn’t a Bratva mission. This is personal.”
Kaz stares at me, unreadable. “You go in alone, and there’s a good chance you don’t come back.”
I shove an extra clip into my coat pocket. “Then you better make sure Jennie doesn’t bury me empty-handed.”
Zalar watches quietly from the corner, not daring to interrupt. He knows me too well.
I pick up the knife and slip it into my boot, then one more pistol at my back. Loaded. Primed. Ready for war.
Kaz sighs, almost a growl. “You’re not thinking straight.”
“I’m thinking perfectly,” I snap. “He thinks he can touch what’s mine and live. He thinks I’ll play by his rules. I’ll burn that fucking yard to the ground before I let her suffer one more minute.”
I head for the door, pausing just long enough to glance back at Kaz.
“If I’m not back in two hours,” I say, voice quiet but sharp, “find me. And when you do, bring hell.”
Then I walk out—furious, focused, and ready to kill.