14. Konstantin
KONSTANTIN
H e held a gun to my wife’s head.
It was all I could think about as the doctor patched up the intruder that wasn’t killed. They didn’t work for me. I knew every single one of my men, and these two were not my men. Which brought me to the only conclusion I could come to.
I had a traitor among my men.
My knuckles were bruised and bleeding. I didn’t feel the pain. Maybe it was the adrenaline running through my veins. Or maybe I was so fucking numb from the realization that I could have lost her.
One fucking day after wedding her.
I rolled up my sleeves, hiding the bloodstains on my shirt.
“You’re a mess and getting blood all over me,” I said coldly while my insides boiled. “Now, I want to know who let you in and what your plan was.”
One guy was already dead, but the guy that held the gun to Tatiana’s temple had the honor of having his life extended. I’d make him regret ever stepping foot anywhere near a Konstantin.
Each time I pictured his gun against her head and Tatiana’s hands covering her lower belly, protecting our baby, rage overwhelmed me. I had to punish him more. So I hit him again. And again. And again.
Boris and Nikita stood behind me, leaning against the wall. They knew this was my punishment to extract.
“Who let you in?”
He glared at me, his expression furious beneath all the blood and bruises. He was tied to a chair, his arms and legs bound with rope. Underneath my garage, I had a special place for those who attempted to hurt my family. It hadn’t been used for a long time since nobody dared.
“For the last time, who let you in?” I gritted.
Blood hit the concrete floor in a steady drip, drip, drip . There was a lot of it, ruining my suit and my shoes. Isla would be terrified to see me in this state, but Tatiana probably wouldn’t bat an eye.
I was so fucking proud of her. The way she protected Isla.
The way she fought this asshole to give me a chance to shoot him.
As this fucker held a gun to her head, I couldn’t pull the trigger.
I was an excellent shot, but knowing that one move and it could even scratch her skin sent cold terror through my blood.
“I will never tell.” The guy spat out a mouthful of dark red fluid. I ran a check on him. No identity. But his tattoos told me plenty. He was part of the Yakuza. Soon, he’d be a dead Yakuza.
I was so sick and tired of these fuckers coming after Tatiana.
“You know, I believe you,” I said, smiled, then hit him again. “Nobody, my guards or not, are allowed to touch my family. Fucking ever!”
Nikita and Boris nodded. They’d ensure everyone got the message, loud and clear.
His head snapped back, and a pained yelp filled the air. The scent of copper and sweat drifted through the air. It had been hours of this and the fucker refused to crack. I itched to go and check on Tatiana and my sister. The doctor was here to check her out and ensure the baby was okay.
Of course, the stubborn woman refused to see him and slammed the door in his face.
“You know what happens to people who hurt my family?” I drawled, while a tsunami of rage rolled through me. The rage was fresh and burned like a fucking inferno. “I deliver their heads back to their masters.”
His eyes widened and a second later, a howl of agony ripped through the air.
Medieval torture had nothing on my wrath.
* * *
“I told you already, I don’t need a doctor. Tell Konstantin he can have a doctor check his fucking ass over.”
Tatiana’s voice came clear through the door after I knocked on our bedroom door. She locked herself in it. I had showered in a spare room and changed into clean clothes to ensure I didn’t alarm either one of the women with the amount of blood that soaked my clothes.
Although from the sound of Tatiana’s voice, she was out for my blood.
I cleared my throat. “Do it for me then, moya luna .”
Silence followed. Click. The door unlocked, I pushed on the door handle. I almost expected an outburst to greet me. Yet, there was nothing. Just silence. I glanced over my shoulder at my doctor who was watching me warily.
“Give me a minute,” I told him. He nodded, almost looking relieved.
I entered to find Isla in the sitting room, both her and Tatiana on the couch, cuddled together. My wife held Isla, murmuring something I couldn’t hear, but neither one of them bothered to acknowledge me.
The coffee table in front of them had platters of fruits, veggies and pastries, half eaten, which was a good sign that Tatiana was eating. Silence stretched, heavy and thick, until both of them finally gave me their attention.
Unsure who’d be easier to handle right now, I started with Tatiana. Bad mistake.
“I assume you told Isla.”
Her eyes met mine, anger and something else in them I couldn’t quite read.
“Why would I do that and make it easier for you?” she snapped.
Yeah, it would have definitely been easier to start with Isla. My sister’s gaze narrowed on me too.
“And you kept the fact that I’m going to be an aunt from me,” she accused.
Fuck, if both of them were ganging up on me, I’d never win.
“You’re going to be an aunt,” I told her.
“I know now!” I had never seen my sister furious before.
“And I know you’re not a normal businessman.
” So Tatiana had told her something. Before I could say anything, Isla continued, “And no, she didn’t tell me.
I suspected it for years. I mean, who has guards with guns surrounding their house.
Or on their tail at all times. The only time I had freedom was in boarding school and college. ”
I sighed, suddenly feeling tired. Maybe I should have left my bloody clothes on so my sister could see exactly who I was. A killer. A criminal.
It didn’t mean I’d stop it.
“I just don’t get it,” Isla murmured. “The clothes you wear. The way you handle yourself. It’s like you are a normal businessman and then… bang. You kill a person without a second thought.”
“That’s right,” I told her. “And I’d do it again. If it comes to them or my family, I’d kill all of them without a second thought.”
Isla shook her head. “I really don’t know what to think of all of this, Brother. Illegal business. Racketeering. You left me in the dark and I’m not sure how to process it all. I need time.”
And with that, Isla kissed Tatiana on the cheek, then stood up. My heart clenched in my chest. Somehow I had a feeling it’d come to this one day. And if she learned I killed her mother, Isla’d hate me even more.
She marched past me but then stopped just as she put her hand on the door handle and glanced over her shoulder.
“I still love you, Brother,” she said, her eyes softening, and it was as if a heavy rock had been lifted off my chest. She might be my sister but I raised her. She was part of me, just as my future child would be. “No matter what.”
“And I love you, Sestra.” She nodded, the green emeralds shining against her pale complexion. Today was stressful. For both of them. “Please send in the doctor.”
Isla’s eyes darted to Tatiana, asking for her permission and the latter gave her a terse nod. I let out a sardonic breath. I could already sense the two would gang up on me a lot. But I was up for it. As long as I had them in my life, I was up to any challenge.
My wife’s eyes finally met my gaze. The stars I vowed all those months ago I’d put back in her eyes were there yet duller somehow.
There was something else there too. Loathing.
I didn’t think it had anything to do with what had happened in the garage.
Tatiana had seen and heard her share of stories where the Nikolaevs spilled blood.
“What is bothering you?” I demanded to know. The flash in her gaze could spark a flame on its own. She was pissed off. “Don’t tell me it’s about the doctor?”
Her lips thinned.
“You’re not known for holding back,” I said, taking a step closer to her. I needed the scent of roses to assure me she was here and safe. That she was mine. “Spill it, moya luna. We might as well discuss it and resolve it because I intend to be inside your tight cunt later.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re an asshole.”
Lowering to my knees, I took her chin between my fingers. There was no more blood on her face and she had changed into another dress. Black this time.
“Careful.” I leaned closer to her, my mouth an inch from her lips. “Your mouth gives me a hard on.” I tilted my head pensively. “Unless you want me to fuck you now.”
I wouldn’t. Not until the doctor examined her and ensured she and the baby were okay.
The door opened behind me and I stood up to my full height. I trusted my doctor, but I never left my back open for anyone to stab me in it.
“Mr. Konstantin. Mrs. Konstantin,” he greeted us with respect.
Tatiana stood up stiffly, her hands behind her and studied the doctor. “I have a doctor back home,” she told him. “I’ll let you check me over once because this guy–” she tilted her chin my way, “ –is a pain in my ass, but it won’t be repeated. Understood?”
The good old doctor’s eyes darted my way in surprise. I was too fucking tired to argue, so I just nodded. We’d only been married for a day, and I felt like we’d been at it for years.
“Very well,” he acknowledged. Truthfully, I’d have preferred a female doctor to check her, but I didn’t have one I trusted on my payroll. So here we were, a man would touch my woman. At least he was old.
The doctor’s eyes roamed the room and when he spotted the bed, he instructed her to go lay on it. She kicked off her flats, then headed over to the bed. I followed right along. Fuck if I’d let even a sixty-year-old doctor see her without me present.
She laid down and glared at the doctor. “Now what?”
“We’re going to listen to the baby’s heart first,” the doctor started explaining, holding Tatiana’s gaze. “Nothing invasive.”
She nodded. “Let’s get this over with.”