Chapter 16 Nadir
NADIR
Taro’s got another thing coming if he thinks he can show up at my place, take my loyal household staff and threaten me with messages on the door.
I jump in the car waiting for me out front, and sit in the back seat as we glide through the city.
My pulse is rocking my chest, my heart pumping abnormally quick.
I have everything under control, and when I get to the office, we’ll put the right measures in place so this doesn’t happen again.
But I can’t stop thinking about those damn kids and what would’ve happened if the Kozhikovs had taken them too.
Jess would’ve been distraught.
I clench my hands into fists, my knuckles cracking. Blyat. He could’ve taken Jess.
Avoiding her these past few days was strategic. The woman has been plaguing my mind ever since I had my way with her in my office. Some distance was needed. Out of sight, out of mind.
Except, these past few days, I’ve been lying awake at night.
The only way to get sleep is to shut my eyes and massage my cock.
I’ll never forget the roundness of her breasts, how symmetrical her areolas were.
I felt like I was home when I sank myself into her pussy again, and that is very dangerous.
I’ve been working harder, but no matter how early I get to the office, I’m thinking about Jess and slacking as a result.
And now this has happened.
Taro has found out where I’m living, and Jess has been sighted.
I wonder what caused her to leave first thing this morning? It definitely wasn’t Pilates. I see how the girl gets when she’s walking up a flight of stairs. She wouldn’t spend her well-earned money on exercise for the fun of it.
She’s affected by the sex too in her own way.
I jump out of the car and head into my building, smiling in passing at a few people who I don’t recognize.
But they’re here on the weekend, dedicated enough, so they’re worth acknowledging.
All the real ones are upstairs waiting for me to begin the conference, so I don’t linger. We don’t have time to waste.
Everyone sits up straight as I fly into the conference room. I take my seat at the head of the table, thankful I don’t have a Kozhikov spokesperson sitting opposite me this time. He had a terrible face. Couldn’t even string a sentence together.
“You look distressed this morning, Nadir,” Leon points out.
I level him a look. “The traffic was busy.”
He narrows his eyes, like he sees straight through me. I feel a sharp pain in my ribs that I haven’t felt since Anastatia’s death as I watch him. He’s the only one here who knows about Jess and her children living with me.
“Gentlemen,” I begin, clasping my hands together.
“I’ll make this quick. We all have places to be, people to see.
” I glance at Sergey in particular, who has his knife at the ready.
“For those who haven’t checked their phone this morning, we have a situation on our hands.
A resolvable one that shouldn’t take more than a day to get under control. ”
The men keep watching me in anticipation.
“Taro has stolen my housemaid, which means he knows where I live. He was also sighted earlier by Jess on Newbury Street.”
Leon slides his notebook closer, pen at the ready. “What’s the license plate?”
Blyat. That should’ve been my first thought when I caught Jess in the corridor. Why wasn’t it?
Because my mind was too busy wandering to other avenues.
I rake a hand through my hair.
“Women either get themselves killed, or kill somebody else by getting in the way.”
My father’s voice echoes in the back of my mind as I sit in the meeting I’m supposed to be hosting, unable to find the words.
For some reason, I’m concerned about both of those above things happening. Jess getting herself killed and ruining everything I’ve built are two very real possibilities. And strangely, I’m more worried about her death.
The scratching under my ribs surfaces again when I catch Leon glaring straight at me. “Nadir? The license plate and car model please,” he says, preparing to write.
“I’ll message Jess and get those details now.” I slip out my phone and shoot her a quick message, but Leon is still glaring at me.
He’s sensing I’m not on full alert.
“I need guards stationed outside of my apartment block at all times, circulating the perimeter. Sergey, please organize that now with your team. I’d like to use senior enforcers.”
“They cost a fortune,” Sergey says. “Shouldn’t we consider using extortionists? Boys that cost less? You’re the one living in the penthouse. It would be a different story if we were dealing with somebody vulnerable that needed protecting—”
“I am somebody vulnerable. There is one leader of this syndicate, and that person is me.” I stick my elbows on the oak table.
“Sergey, you are head of enforcement, not treasurer. Leave the finances up to me and do as you are asked. As we all know, nobody else in this syndicate shares my blood, so we are currently without an heir. And we all know it’s bad luck for the Bratva to change bloodlines.
” I stare at Sergey in particular, who is on the edge of his seat about to volunteer for that position.
Sergey nods, as do the others, but Leon is still clutching that pen, looking at me like I’m not telling him the full story.
“Leon, please stop looking at me like I have two heads and do something more productive with your time. I need you to keep a close eye on Taro.”
“I can’t do that without the registration number.”
I check my phone and open a message from Jess, clicking my teeth. It’s not exactly what I want to hear.
“Jess doesn’t know.”
“Is she completely useless or what?” mutters another member of my council.
“Jess is a valued member of the team here at Sterling. I won’t hear you talk about her like that again, understood?”
The man nods stiffly.
And Leon is now glaring at me like I’m sprouting a third head.
Fuck. Not ideal.
“Women are whores who fuck around.”
“They bring no substance to the family.”
“They’ll kill somebody else by getting in the way.”
I grab the bottle of water in arm’s reach and unscrew the cap, guzzling. I need to stop thinking about Jess and her kids’ safety when business is on the line. But that scratching under my ribs is back.
“Don’t you have family back in Russia who can step up as heir and lead the syndicate, should it ever come to that?” Leon asks.
BANG!
Anastasia collapsing to the ground.
Blood everywhere, spilling all over the concrete.
“You’re out of control, brother, attacking your own. Who have you become?”
“I’ll show you control if that’s what you want.”
I steal the gun from my older brother’s hand when he’s least expecting it, and shoot him straight in the face. Skin rips, blood squirts, and then his dead body is thumping to the ground a few meters away from my love.
“The leech has clung onto you for so long, and now you’re full of disease,” my father says. He marches toward me, gun in hand, and shoots.
I duck to the ground as the bullet rips past. I missed the bullet by the skin of my teeth. But now another one is coming.
I grab my father’s ankle and yank him to the ground.
He reaches for his gun, but I still have Dimitri’s in my hand.
BANG!
The shell clinks to the floor, and then everything is still. The only thing moving is the blood gushing out of my brother and father as I stand back to admire my work. Turns out I don’t need lessons in combat. Just my family to kill the woman I love.
I collapse over Anastasia’s dead body in the middle of the night as a cold wind passes through the street.
Various lights snap on from the residential building that looks down onto the park. They heard the gunshots, and now they’re watching me hold Anastasia’s dead body in my arms. Everyone will be talking about this tomorrow, but I won’t be around to hear it.
I have to leave this place before people find out I shot my own family.
I scoop Anastasia’s body from the ground and press her into my chest—a place where she used to rest her head.
Cries rip from my chest, tearing apart my throat.
My heart will never beat the same after Anastasia.
I finish the water, crushing the plastic bottle in my palm.
“I don’t have any family back in Russia, no,” I say to Leon.
“Let’s not deviate from the main point of this meeting.
I’m sure everyone would like to get back to their weekend.
” I set the crushed bottle aside. “I will need men keeping watch of my penthouse twenty-four seven.”
“Because of a housemaid?”
“Because if I’m dead, none of you will have a job.
” I recline in my seat, glad to finally have everyone’s full attention.
“I will have two cars parked on my street, and the officers inside of them will be watching for any suspicious behavior. Tell your team, Sergey, to report anything unusual straight to me.”
Sergey nods in the silent room.
“Any other questions before we break?”
Leon looks like he has a few, but he knows to save them for when we’re in private.
“Good.” I stand, slapping my palm on the conference table to dismiss them, since they’re all still watching me, stiff as doorposts. “Get out of here.”
Leon makes his way through the crowd, approaching me.
I roll my eyes, feeling that scratching under my ribs again.
“Somebody vulnerable, huh?” he says knowingly.
I rest my hand on the back of the chair. I don’t have time for this.
“Yes.”
“I believe Jess and her triplets are still staying with you?”
“Correct.”
“You should send them home before this escalates further. We don’t need to hire guards if it’s just you staying in the penthouse,” he says. “We’d be throwing away money for the sake of it. Not to mention, innocent lives are at risk.”
I snort. Can’t say Leon strikes me as the kind of person who’s concerned about innocents.
“Sending Jess and her children home is not an option unfortunately.”