Chapter 24 Nadir
NADIR
“What the fuck happened to you?” Sergey looks at me in disgust as I shed my suit jacket.
“Take a wild guess.” I sigh, tossing it onto my desk. “I need you to bring me a new shirt.”
“Who did you kill?”
“Just one of Taro’s spineless assassins.” I sit at my desk, waiting for Sergey to get a move on. “What are you still doing here? I’m still without a shirt.”
He scurries away.
I check my phone when the door shuts behind him and consider giving Jess another call. She missed my last five. The two messages I sent over an hour ago still haven’t been read. I check the message thread. See if she’s choosing to ignore me.
Nope. She hasn’t even looked at them.
I slam the phone onto my desk, rubbing my temple. This headache isn’t seeing much improvement. It’s been pressing further into my skull ever since I returned to my office.
Jess is usually very good at instructions. She rings me back, responds in a timely manner, even if it’s a blunt, one-word answer.
I pick up my phone again and stare at my blank lock screen.
Should I be worried?
No.
I know Jess. She’s pissed at me, perhaps even more than before when she was eavesdropping on me in the corridor. I highlighted a flaw this time. And that has to sting.
I must say—Taro knows how to manipulate. He knows what strings to pull and when.
I sigh, wiping my brow. Jess isn’t weak.
She’s actually very normal. Everyone falls for manipulation at some point in their life.
I’m no exception. And I was fooled by my very own family.
My brother and father were meant to be the only two people I could trust. Instead, they killed Anastasia with no remorse.
But I’m not enjoying the silent treatment from Jess. Ignoring my calls and texts isn’t something she usually does.
I don’t want her to hate me, but she has many reasons to. She stepped out of the car earlier, eyes full of venom, like she wanted to poison me.
There are many easier ways she could murder me.
No need to bother with poison. All she has to do is look me in the eye and lick her lips, and I’ll be all hers.
The clothes don’t even have to come off.
I see Jess fully clothed, and still have to excuse myself to the bathroom to make some adjustments in my pants.
I go back to staring at my phone. Something tightens in my chest as I see the blank lock screen. A notification from her is bound to pop up any second.
But the seconds turn into minutes, and I’m still not receiving anything.
I scroll through the message thread. Should I message her again? Make amends? Tell her I don’t think she’s weak?
Jess has her shit together more than most people. Her KPIs are impressive. I can’t lose her. She’s a valuable asset to the company, and she takes up space in my apartment. With her and the kids gone, my life will feel empty.
And I’ve never worried about that before. I’ve been living alone since I was eighteen, and I’ve always enjoyed it.
“When you’re weak, son, you become a target. Is that what you want?” My father’s voice echoes in the back of my head as I debate shooting another text her way.
I stare at the message thread, wishing for normal conversations with her again.
Mundane stuff about work. Telling me about the kids, what time she’s picking them up.
She’ll moan about how greasy her hair is, but all I see is perfect.
It could be up, down, wrapped around my fingers as I fuck her from behind. I have no complaints. Ever.
The cursor on my computer screen blinks, waiting for me to type out my password.
I have hundreds of outstanding tasks waiting to be completed.
Emails to check. Things to cross off my to-do list. I run a billion-dollar business as well as a Bratva, which means I still have to make sure the front is performing well.
Staff need to be monitored. I need to ensure they’re bringing in enough money, hitting their quotas, etcetera.
But I can’t even bring myself to type out an eight-letter password.
I feel a twang in my gut, like something’s wrong. Nothing should be. The Kozhikovs aren’t anything to worry about. None of those guys know their asses from their fists.
I have no reason to be concerned. But the pit in my stomach isn’t going anywhere.
I’m running my finger over my lip, deep in thought, when the phone rings. I pick it up on the first ring, hoping it’s Jess.
When I see the name on the screen, I shut my eyes and click my teeth. Biggest fucking disappointment of the century.
Sighing, I raise the phone and say hello to the mudak on the other side.
“Nadir,” Taro says. “I was hoping you’d pick up.”
“How’s the finger holding up?”
“The finger is the least of my worries.”
I sit back into my chair, the leathers creaking. “You have two minutes before I hang up. Your time starts now.”
“Don’t worry,” he says, “I only intend to take up twenty seconds of your time. Let me start by saying that you have a very big decision to make.”
Blyat. I refuse to let this mudak get under my skin.
But unfortunately, he already has.
My pulse jumps. Jess not responding. Taro calling…
This better be a coincidence.
“You’re going to sign your Bratva over to me, Nadir, including all of your employees and assets. I will become the new CEO of Sterling, and you will return to the very bottom of society—the place where you’ve always belonged.”
My pulse jumps.
Blyat.
He wouldn’t be saying this unless he had leverage over me.
“That’s a very big statement to make for a small man.”
“Yes.”
“My answer is no.”
“Let me finish speaking first. You might want to rethink your answer.”
“You have ten seconds remaining.”
“Give me your empire if you want to see Jess again. If you refuse, she dies.”
Panic stabs me in the chest. I contain some of it by pacing around my office, but each time Taro breathes, I feel it again.
It’s like a thousand knives have been thrust into my chest all at once.
Like my circulation’s been cut off. I’m spinning around the room, but I can’t feel my legs.
Everything’s numb except my brain, which is working overtime.
The floor recedes as my breath hitches, and I almost trip over myself.
Fuck.
I could decapitate the mudak. Burn him at the stake and chop off his cock, make him eat it. There are endless possibilities, and I want to inflict them all.
But he has the upper hand.
Somehow.
He can’t have Jess. He has to be lying. I have guards watching my place twenty-four seven. They would’ve seen something.
He’s playing a big fucking game, and he’s gonna get burned.
I clutch my phone, inches away from shattering it to pieces. But I’m still relying on the thing. I need to find out where he’s keeping Jess. Until then, I’ll have to take my anger out on something else. And the first thing in my eyesight is the keyboard.
I sling it across the desk, and it clatters to the floor.
“Your possessions didn’t do anything wrong.”
“That’s right,” I say. “It’ll be you I’m launching across the room when we meet.”
“Me?” Taro laughs. “Bratan, don’t take this out on me or your office supplies. You’re the one to blame here.”
“We’re not bratans.”
“Maybe not, but we do have something in common. Our taste in women is the same.”
Sergey couldn’t have entered my office at a more convenient time. And look at that. He’s brought a companion.
Leon.
I snatch the shirt from his grasp, killing his smile, and continue pacing as I finish my conversation with Taro. “You’re going to tell me where Jess is this instant.”
“I’m afraid I can’t.” Taro yawns. “We already hit twenty seconds.”
“Do you want this to be your last day on earth?”
“Believe me, Nadir, with Jess in arm’s reach, I would die a happy man.”
I’m not getting anywhere with this conversation. I end the call, tossing my phone onto my desk. It hits both computer monitors with a clatter.
“Fuck,” I grit out, raking both hands through my hair.
I turn around and realize Sergey and Leon are still here.
Leon looks at me pointedly.
“This is not the fucking time to say I told you so,” I growl.
“He has Jess?”
“Yes,” I confirm.
Sergey steps into the room, peering out the window as evening turns to night. “I don’t understand. Why Jess?”
“Nadir has a soft spot for the girl,” Lean drawls.
“Ah,” Sergey says, understanding. “Suddenly everything makes sense.”
I throw on my suit jacket, grab some essential items, and march out of my office.
“Nadir!” Leon calls.
“Lecture me later, Leon.”
“Where are the children?” he asks.
“The children will be safe, don’t worry about that. No heirs will be dying today.”
“You’ll need some help,” Leon says, causing me to stop in my tracks. Since when did he give a fuck about Jess?
“What?” I fold my arms over my chest, the dried blood on my shirt starting to smell.
“Where are you going? You’re not planning on rescuing the girl alone, are you?”
I clench my jaw and stare at Leon. He looks confused. I’m sure it’s just a facade. Jess—in the eyes of my team, is more trouble than she’s worth. How can I be sure Leon’s intentions are pure? He might have an ulterior motive up his sleeve.
Sometimes, the real enemies are the ones closest to you.
“I’m going alone. End of discussion.” I head over to the elevators, ride all the way down into the lobby, and rush outside.
The car I requested thirty seconds ago is rolling to a stop. I jump in and hand over an extra five hundred bucks. “Break the speed limit. Run red lights. Whatever you need to do. I need to be back at mine as soon as possible.”
The driver activates lights and sirens, and then we’re rushing through sets of reds. Cars move aside, letting us pass. We have to be doing double the speed limit.
I glance through the window as buildings roll by, all becoming a blur. While bobbing along in the back seat, I slip the knife from my dress shirt and clean as much blood from it as I can, minding the sharp edge. The metal gleams in the streetlights, turning silver.