Renat
The warehouse smells like rust and old concrete. Perfect for what we're about to do.
I check my watch. Yakov and Dariy will be here any minute with Michael Torres.
Adrik is standing by the entrance; his face carved from stone. Rurik leans against a support beam to my left, cleaning his fingernails with a knife like he's bored. I’m waiting near the kill box we've set up in the center, my energy barely contained.
We're ready. We've been ready for weeks.
"She did well," Adrik says, breaking the silence. "Your woman. The phone call was perfect."
"Her name is Ava," I say without looking at him.
"Fine. Ava did well. You trained her good."
"I didn't train her. She's smart. Brave." My hand tightens on my weapon. "She did what needed to be done."
"And you left her at the hotel with Jasmine and Laney," Yakov says, grinning. "Smart move. Keep her away from this mess. Though I'm sure she wanted to be here."
"She doesn't need to see this." I won't let her watch me kill her father. Won't let that image live in her mind forever. It’s bad enough she has to know it happened and I’m the one pulling the trigger.
Jasmine and Laney will keep her distracted, keep her safe. Adrik's wife Jasmine has a gentle way about her, and Yakov's wife Laney is fierce enough to protect Ava if anything goes wrong.
Not that anything will go wrong.
"Movement," Adrik states. "Single vehicle." He waits a moment, watches as the car approaches. “Dariy’s make and model.”
"Positions," he orders, and we all melt into the shadows.
I watch from my vantage point as Dariy pulls up at the entrance. The engine cuts off. For a long moment, nothing happens.
Then both front doors open and my brothers step out, rounding to the trunk, the open it and drag out the man we’ve been looking for for almost a month now.
He looks terrible. Gaunt, unshaven, the kind of worn-down that comes from weeks of running and hiding.
He knows he's here to pay for what he did.
"Clear," Dariy says. "No backup. No tail. There’s no one who actually wants to protect his sorry ass."
Michael is dragged into the warehouse and dropped at my feet.
"Ava?" His voice echoes in the empty space. "Where’s my daughter?"
"She's not here."
He makes to stand, but Yakov pushes down hard on his shoulder, keeping him on his knees. His hands shake. "Where is she? What did you do to her?"
"I took care of her." I keep my weapon lowered, relaxed.
His face goes purple. "You son of a—"
"Careful," Adrik says. "You’re the one who brought the Bratva to your family’s door. You can’t get angry when we come knocking."
Michael's head whips around, and I see the moment he realizes he's surrounded.
Five Korolyov brothers. One dead man walking.
“Your daughter set you up. She kept you on the phone long enough that we could trace you, find you, get to you. She is a better person than you could ever dream to be.” I pull the plastic aside and jerk my head towards the space inside.
His eyes dart between us, calculating odds that don't exist.
"You can't kill me," he says, trying for confident and landing on desperate. "You need me. I have information. Names. Locations. I can—"
"You can die," I interrupt. "That's all you can do now."
"But I can help you! The people who paid me, they're planning something big. An attack on your territory. I can tell you everything!"
That gets Adrik's attention. He tilts his head slightly. "Who paid you?"
"The Albanians. Kreshnik Doku's crew. Something about payback for some girls…" The words tumble out fast. "They want to weaken you. Destabilize your operations. They paid me two hundred thousand to leak the safe house locations."
Rage burns through me, cold and controlled. "And you took it."
"I didn't have a choice! They would have killed me!"
"Seven people. Three children,” Adrik states, incredulity leaking through his voice. “For two hundred thousand dollars."
"I didn't know there would be kids!" Michael’s voice cracks. "They said it would just be soldiers. Assets. I didn't know—"
"You didn't care," I correct. "You took the money and ran. Left your family to face the consequences."
"How did you even access that information?" Adrik asks. "You're nobody. A civilian. How did you get the locations of our safe houses?"
Michaell swallows hard. "I work security. Worked security. For a data center that handles server backups for half the businesses in Vegas. Including some of yours."
Understanding dawns. "You had access to our encrypted files."
"Yeah." He nods rapidly. "I saw an opportunity. The Albanians had been sniffing around, asking questions. They approached me. Offered me money. A lot of money. And I wasn’t going to take it until they threatened my life.
I thought—I thought I could take it and disappear.
Start over somewhere else. Keep my family out of it. "
"You left your family to face the consequences of your actions," Yakov spits.
"I was going to send for them! Once things settled down, once it was safe, I was going to bring them to me. Start fresh."
"Liar," I say quietly. "You abandoned them. Not just to the Bratva, but the feds. Left them terrified and alone. You're a coward and a traitor, and tonight you pay for it."
"Please." Tears stream down his face now. "Please, I'll give you everything. Names, addresses, plans. The Albanians are planning to hit your shipment next week. The one coming through the port. I can tell you exactly when and where."
I shake my head. We'll deal with the Albanians separately. Adrik already has people tracking Kreshnik Doku's movements. We'll dismantle their operation piece by piece.
But this? This is personal.
"Last words?" Adrik asks Michael.
"Wait—wait, please—" Michael’s head swings wildly between us. "I'll do anything. Anything! Just let me see my family one more time. Let me explain to them. Let me talk to Ava—"
"She doesn't want to see you," I tell him. "She chose me over you. She's mine now, and there's nothing you can do about it."
"No." He shakes his head violently. "No, she wouldn't. She's my daughter. She loves me."
"She did love you," I agree. "Past tense. Now she has nightmares about what you did."
Something breaks in his eyes. The last vestige of hope or sanity or whatever kept him going.
Yakov finally loses his patience and drags him into the plastic room we set up before they arrived.
“Michael Torres. You are responsible for the deaths of four women and three children who were under the protection of the Bratva. Do you have anything to say?”
“I just—I just—” he drops his head, shaking it from side to side.
Yakov looks at me, the question clear in his gaze. Shall I take this one?
I nod. Not because I don’t want the pleasure of removing this man from this life, but because Ava shouldn’t have to live with the man who killed her father, even if she understands and accepts the reasons that he has to die.
The shot is quiet and quick. Straight into the top of Michaels head, all captured on Dariy’s phone so it can be shared with the relevant people.
The body slumps to the floor like a puppet with cut strings, and Yakov wastes no time wrapping it in plastic.
“I’ll sort this,” he says.
Adrik sighs. "I want the body found in Albanian territory. Make it look like their handiwork. Let's see how they like being blamed for killing our asset."
"Smart," Rurik murmurs. "Start a war between ourselves and the Albanians. Force them to respond. Then we crush them when they're off-balance."
"Exactly." Adrik looks at me. "You good?"
I stare down at the plastic-wrapped corpse and feel absolutely nothing except satisfaction.
"I'm good."
"Then go home to your woman. She's probably climbing the walls by now."
He's right. Ava will be frantic, wondering what happened, if I'm safe, if her father is dead.
I need to get to her. Need to hold her and reassure her and claim her all over again now that this obstacle is finally removed.
I nod and head for the exit, already pulling out my phone to call Jasmine.
She answers on the second ring. "She's okay. Anxious, but okay. Laney's got her watching some terrible reality show and eating ice cream."
"I'm on my way."
"Good. She needs you." A pause. "It's done?"
"It's done." I end the call and climb into my car.
The drive back to the hotel feels longer than it should. My mind keeps replaying the phone call this morning. Ava's voice, strong and angry as she confronted her father. The way she chose me over him without hesitation.
She is truly mine now. No more obstacles. No more threats. Just us. And the future we're going to build together.
I park in the underground garage and take the private elevator up to my floor. When I open the door to my suite, I hear voices from the living room.
"—not that bad," Laney is saying. "Yakov's actually very sweet once you get past the whole 'I'm going to murder everyone' exterior."
"And Adrik is surprisingly romantic," Jasmine adds. "Who knew the silent type could be so good with words when he wants to be?"
Then Ava's voice, soft and uncertain: "What if he changes his mind? Now that my father's gone, what if he doesn't need me anymore?"
"Are you kidding?" Laney laughs. "The Korolyov’s don’t do stuff by halves. They are obsessive and possessive in all the best ways.” She wriggles her eyebrows for emphasis and I can’t help but laugh. “They don’t claim a woman if they don’t intend to spend the rest of their lives with them."
"Plus," Jasmine adds, "you're sleeping in his bed. He told the entire family you're his and put out word to keep you safe. Korolyov men don't do that unless they mean it."
I clear my throat, and all three women turn to look at me.
Ava's on her feet instantly, her face pale. "Is it—"
"It's done," I say.
She makes a sound somewhere between a sob and a gasp, and then she's across the room and in my arms, trembling.
Laney and Jasmine exchange looks.
"We'll give you two some privacy," Laney says, grabbing her purse. "Ava, call me if you need anything. Us Korolyova wives need to stick together."
"She's not a wife yet," I say, though there's no heat in it.
"Give it a week," Jasmine retorts with a grin. "Adrik's already called the judge."
They leave, closing the door softly behind them.
Ava pulls back to look at me, her eyes searching my face. "Did he suffer?"
"No. It was quick."
"Good." She touches my chest, my arms, checking for injuries. "You're okay?"
"I'm fine." I cup her face. "It’s important for you to know, I wasn’t the one who did it. But it's over, milaya. All of it. Your father's gone. The debt is paid. You and your family is safe."
"And you still want me?" The vulnerability in her voice breaks something in my chest.
"I will always want you." I kiss her, slow and deep. "That doesn't change just because the mission is complete. That doesn't change ever."
She kisses me back desperately, her hands fisting in my shirt.
"Bedroom," I murmur against her lips. "Now."
We barely make it. I strip her clothes off piece by piece, worshipping every inch of skin I reveal. When she's finally naked beneath me, I take my time.
Slow. Reverent. Claiming her all over again, but this time without the shadow of her father hanging over us.
This time, it's just us. Starting our forever.
"Yours," she gasps as I push inside her.
The word stops me cold. "Say it again."
"I’m yours, Renat."
I move inside her, as she comes apart beneath me crying my name, I know this is forever.
She chose me. And I'll spend the rest of my life making sure she never regrets it.