Chapter 14
Ivan
I howl, the sound bouncing off the walls and seeming louder than it actually is in the small, empty room. Another empty room. Just like all the others.
This one is hidden behind the old manager’s office at the 18th Street Station in Manhattan, a station that’s been closed since 1948. This safe house was a last resort, a place to go when all others failed.
And it’s empty.
Just a few cots, the emergency generator, canisters of gasoline, an old fridge, and boxes of blankets and MREs populate the barren space. Only my father and I have ever known about this one. Coming here was a desperate move, but I needed to make sure this place’s location never slipped to Nikolai.
I had to be sure.
I lift a cot and hurl it against the far wall. The clang of metal against concrete feels satisfying but does nothing to quell the anger bubbling inside me.
“Now, are you going to listen to me?” Angel’s voice cuts through the silence. He’s leaning against the doorframe, holding the flashlight that provides the only source of light in the room.
“Your decisions are the reason we’re in this mess,” I snap, striding over to him. My hand shoots out to grab him by the collar. His eyes meet mine with that same arrogant, defiant gaze he levied on me daily from his cage. I want to extinguish the light from his eyes. My hands curl into fists, the fabric of his shirt bunching up. Using every ounce of all that hate and anger coursing through me, I lift him and slam him against the wall.
Once, twice, three times.
He doesn’t fight back. When his feet touch the ground, he doesn’t look at me in pain or anger. No, it’s so much fucking worse. His gaze is lit with pity.
I am not a man to be pitied. I lock eyes with Angel, my hold tightening on his collar, and feel my anger coil tighter. “I could crush your skull right now. Leave you here to rot, and no one will ever find you. Vivi is gone because of you. You brought Azrael down upon us. You destroyed the Five Families.”
Angel's expression changes, anger replacing the pity in his eyes, a satisfying shift, and he pokes a finger at my chest. “Azrael doesn’t have Vivi. Nikolai does. He was your doing.”
The rage inside me erupts. My fist connects with Angel’s face, sending his head snapping back. I release him, and he bends over for a moment but straightens, wiping the blood from his mouth.
“Is this your plan then, Romanov?” he spits a blob of blood and saliva, watching as it hits the ground. “Kill me and still be in just as hopeless a position as you are now?”
The walls start to vibrate—a train passing over the old station. Dust falls from the ceiling as the rumble grows louder, then fades. The sound is a stark reminder of how close the world outside is, yet how isolated we are in this forgotten place.
“Let me arrange something,” Angel says, his voice calmer now, though his eyes still blaze with defiance. He wipes more blood from his mouth.
“Why would any of them listen to you?” I ask, skepticism heavy in my tone.
“Because they want Vivi back as much as I do.” His voice carries a weight, a sincerity that gives me pause.
"Let’s make one thing clear. If I allow you to set something up, Valachi, she is coming back to me, not you," I growl, my eyes locked on Angel's. The tension between us could snap steel.
He nods.
***
The diner is usually bustling this early in the morning. It’s not a tourist spot but a place where people stop on their way to work or school. Springtime means high school seniors and college students are preparing for finals and final plans. This place attracts anyone who is on their way to do anything with their life.
The outdoor seating area features black metal chairs and small bistro tables…a clear effort to try and emulate the magic of Paris. Blue metal awnings hang above the tables and chairs closest to the restaurant. There’s a host stand outside and another inside.
Angel gets many looks as he sits there with his bandaged arm, his swollen face, and his split lip. I feel no guilt for any of this. Maybe when I see Vivi’s reaction... maybe.
Her pain isn’t a source of entertainment for me anymore. The thought of what kind of pain she might have experienced while I couldn’t protect her has put a damper on that.
It confuses the monster within me. I’m not supposed to allow myself to be this vulnerable, but with her… I push the strange emotion clawing beneath my skin away. The flesh around my bones tightens like it doesn’t belong to me.
"Eat," Angel tells me. "It’s been a long two days."
I can’t eat. Sleep and food will do nothing for me. Even though I should be worn down, I feel like an angry tiger pacing in its cage.
I hadn’t realized how swiftly and utterly I had grown to depend on Vivi’s presence in my life. Not just her body in my bed, pressed up against me, but Vivi herself…the woman. I miss her seated across from me each morning as I have my coffee and read my papers; I miss her opening the curtains to let the light in; I miss her glaring at me from behind golden bars…
She has bewitched me.
On the other side of the outdoor seating area, my gaze is drawn.
I see her. Vivi.
I grip the table, ready to stand, to make sure what I’m seeing is real, but Angel grabs my arm. I turn back, ready to fight him off, but his gaze is serious enough to give me pause.
"We will lose her if we don’t keep our heads," he says, his voice steady.
People are milling around us, eating, chatting. Some students are looking over their last bit of notes. This is not the kind of environment where our world reveals itself. All of this seems off, surreal.
Vivi looks both frightened and strong. Her chin is raised defiantly as Nikolai guides her to a table. I slowly sink back into my seat, even as it goes against every fiber in my being to sit here and do nothing. My hand grips the knife at my place setting, the metal cool and sharp under my fingers.
Nikolai and Vivi sit down where Lulu Papparado is waiting for them. That's the only way Nikolai would meet with anyone, with one of the women present. Not Carina or Evie, though. One of the gentler ones.
They're too far away for me to hear their conversation. I turn to ask Angel about the next part of the plan when I see him staring at Lulu. His eyes are wide with shock and something else—pain.
Understanding hits me. She’s the sister Angel thought had gotten away, back again, in the center of everything that’s wrong with our world.
This man has fucked up so many lives.
I kick him under the table. Angel doesn’t start, but his eyes flick to mine, his expression hardening.
“Where is your man?” I ask, my voice low and tense.
“Give him a moment,” Angel replies, his gaze shifting back to the scene unfolding in front of us.
A tanned-skinned man emerges from the restaurant carrying a briefcase. He walks up to the table, smiles, and sits down. The pieces start to fall into place.
Eduardo, Valachi’s man, always plays the middleman. He opens the briefcase slightly, but I see the flash of notes stacked high. It looks like a huge sum.
“He’ll also offer him a fake passport in return for Vivi.”
I lean even closer, like I might catch a whisper of the conversation. “That seems like a long shot.”
Nikolai isn’t stupid.
“Lulu needs to convince Nikolai that there is no better option for him,” Angel states.
Nikolai shifts in his seat, and I watch him come to the same conclusion I would. It’s a no deal. He dips his head and grabs Vivi’s arm, intending to take her away.
I get up, hearing Angel rise behind me. My hand reaches for my gun, I withdraw it, and people around me gasp and shuffle away. Nikolai hears the commotion, and with the fear of God in his eyes, he releases Vivi’s arm and starts to flee before I can even reach his table.
I race past the table, but a small hand reaches out and touches my arm. I don’t need to look to know it’s Vivi; I’d know her touch anywhere.
“Please, just let him go.” Her eyes beg me more than her words. For her, I would do anything, I realize.
Just not this.
Everyone is watching and staring, and I put my gun away. This is why Nikolai wanted to meet in public. He wanted to make us powerless.
Lulu and Angel are arguing. I look into Vivi’s eyes as they well up.
“Please, Ivan,” she begs.
My heart wants to listen to her, but my head….
Angel puts his hands on Lulu’s arms, trying to calm her down. I don’t understand why she’s so worked up. She has her sister and the money. Lulu tears away and shouts at me.
"Ivan, he touched her."
The world holds its breath. I can’t feel the ground under my feet. There is this rhythm growing louder and steadier, like the beating of war drums in my ears.
I turn to Vivi and meet her eyes. I don’t have to ask. It’s true.
Oh, my pet. You want forgiveness for him, but this monster can never forgive.
My feet slam into the ground as I race after Nikolai, the world blurring around me, the screams behind me getting swallowed up as the drums beat louder. I peel around the corner and find him in a car, frantically trying to hotwire it. He sees me in the rearview mirror and realizes he doesn’t have enough time.
I roll my shoulders, igniting the knife wound. It burns, but the adrenaline coursing through me dulls the pain.
Nikolai scrambles out of the car and flashes me one terrified look. I grin like an animal ready to make its kill. This kill will be a masterpiece.
I tear after him down a side street. He grabs things from garbage cans, throwing them behind him to slow me down. I dive and jump at each one; all he is doing is slowing himself down. A bottle crashes at my feet, shards scattering, but I don’t break stride.
He’s nearing the end of the alley, desperate to disappear onto the main street. I can’t allow that. My heart pounds in my chest as I grab the lid of a metal garbage can and throw it like a disc. It catches Nikolai in the back, knocking him down. His chin meets the concrete with a sickening crunch that causes me glee.
Every part of me is racing, the blood in my veins on fire; it’s time to make the kill.
I close the distance quickly, but Nikolai surprisingly jumps to his feet; armed, he swings the same lid and catches me across the face. I stagger backward; the world spins for a moment. Pain blooms, but I push through the agony, my focus unwavering now.
Nikolai reveals a gun. He expects me to stop. So, when I dodge left, spin, and level my elbow into his face, he hasn’t a moment to react. I grab his wrist and slam his hand against a dumpster. The gun drops to the ground with a clatter.
“If I wanted this to be a gunfight,” I growl, “I could have shot you in the back ten times by now. No, I want to do this with my hands.”
Nikolai’s eyes widen in fear. He twists, trying to break free, but my grip is too strong. I wrap my arm around his throat, using his failed attempt to twist free to my advantage. I slide down the wall, bringing him with me. He’s large and puts up a fight.
He repeatedly hits my arms, kicking wildly.
I hold his gaze and watch his eyes bug in his head. “You put your hands on my wife.”
I squeeze even harder, sure my fingers will shred through skin and bone with the pressure.
“That’s the last thing you will ever do.”
The force of my thumbs cracks his trachea. I feel the bones snap under my fingers, giving my grip more space until I twist and snap his neck.
My shoulder screams in agony, the knife wound burning, but I don’t let go. Not until my fingers do a bit more damage.
I release him, breathing hard. His lifeless body slumps to the ground. The alley is silent except for the sound of my ragged breaths. The pain in my shoulder is fierce now, no longer masked by adrenaline. But it’s done. He’s gone.
I stagger to my feet and make my way back to the others. The fight Angel and Lulu had must've caused a huge commotion on the main streets. People are gathered, staring, whispering, some calling for help.
“We need to leave, now,” Lulu says the moment she sees me.
I’m surprised they are still here, that they waited for me.
Lulu has Vivi tucked to her side securely while Angel walks on her other side. I didn’t intend on Angel remaining my problem, but I let him tag along. We move quickly, making our way through the city.
I keep looking at Vivi, but Lulu seems to sense my gaze and tightens her hold on her sister. So, I focus on finding the nicest hotel with a vacancy. It’s still early in the day, but after the last day or so, we need rest.
I find one. The manager, familiar with the Romanov name, rushes to get our rooms set up.
No one dares question our appearance.
In all the commotion, I’ve lost my phone and reach across the reception desk and pick up the receiver. The receptionist scoots her chair back like she’s terrified I’ll hurt her.
I call one of the few remaining men I have left to watch Angel.
Lulu and Vivi sit together with Angel, the three of them are having a moment. My focus is on Vivi. I watch how she tucks strands of hair behind her ear. How her hands shake slightly. She’s pale, and her clothes don’t sit right on her.
How I wish I had more time to capture Nikolai and cut off each body part one at a time while keeping him alive.
I don’t know how long I stand there, but my man appears.
“You found her,” he says the moment he sets eyes on Vivi.
Three key cards are sitting on the reception desk for me. I take one and hand it to my man. “Take Angel up to his room. Don’t leave his side.”
Angel isn’t happy to have a babysitter again, but I don’t care. My focus returns to Vivi.
Lulu stops speaking as I approach. I hand her another room card and hold out my other hand for Vivi.
She slips her small hand into mine with no fear. Before we go, she turns to her sister.
“We'll talk later.”
Lulu’s gaze is weary as she lets me take her sister away. We ride the elevator in silence to the penthouse suite. She doesn’t release my hand, and the moment we step into the room, I finally allow myself to breathe. I pull Vivi into my arms, holding her close. Her body trembles against mine, and I feel the weight of everything she’s endured.
“What do you need?” I ask softly, my voice thick with emotion.
Vivi pulls away slightly, tears glistening in her eyes. “I need you to touch me.”
Her words catch me off guard. I didn’t think she would want anything like that after what Nikolai did to her. But the look in her eyes, the desperation, makes my heart ache.
“I only want you to touch me from now on,” she continues, her voice breaking.
I cup her face gently, brushing away her tears with my thumb. “Are you sure?” I ask, searching her eyes for any hesitation.
She nods, her hands gripping my shirt tightly. “Yes, Ivan. Only you.”