30. Aiden
Aiden
When the chopper lands fifteen minutes later, I stay back long enough to watch them hurry Rurik inside before I follow. No need to rush this. I’ve worked through every possible outcome, and only one gets me what I want.
Small hospital means bare bones. No real security.
Lane’s done his part by prepping my team so there’s no confusion when I walk in. Even Jen knows what’s coming.
I head through the back like I belong, keeping my pace steady and my focus forward.
“You can’t be back here.” Dr. Miller steps directly in front of me.
I keep moving, walking right through him.
Rurik’s stretched out on the table, being prepped for surgery but still conscious. Sweat beads along his temple, his breathing uneven. Both signs he’s in a lot of pain, lost more than his share of blood, and likely in shock. Good.
When his eyes meet mine, there’s no fear. Just that same cold, twisted confidence that he’s still running the show.
Seeing him so cocksure sends my temper to a new level.
“Everyone out!”
“Sir—”
I lift my gun and level it at his face.
Dr. Miller’s eyes flare wide. “Don’t do this.”
“Out,” I order, every ounce of my patience gone. “Now.”
Jen steps in front of him, putting herself between us, doing her best to defuse this before it escalates. “I hope you know what you’re doing. Please think long and hard before you do anything stupid.”
I just stand there.
Her eyes stay locked on mine, searching, pleading, trying to pull me back from whatever line she thinks I’m about to cross.
I’m unwilling to give her my word. I can’t. Not when I don’t know how far this will go.
She places her hand against Dr. Miller’s chest and urges him to move.
“You have ten minutes, Aiden. Ten. That’s all.
And whatever you do, don’t remove that blade.
He’ll bleed out before he can answer you.
” Her next words, surprise me, telling me she’s not completely against me doing this.
“But don’t be afraid to bump it. That should be a great incentive to talk.
Just be prepared. He might throw up again.
Or piss himself more if he has any left in him. ”
“I’m calling the police!” Dr. Miller shouts as he backs out of the room.
Jen moves fast and snatches his phone from his hand before he can follow through.
“No, you’re not. None of you.” She points at the other nurses who scattered the second I pulled the gun. “If he wanted him dead, he would’ve done that already. He needs answers. Ten minutes.”
The door swings shut behind them, cutting off the noises and leaving me alone with my thoughts and Rurik.
Now that we are alone, I turn to face him. “Start talking.”
“Fuck you!”
I don’t give him time to settle into that defiance. Three years inside the Irish mob has taught me a lot. Most of it ugly, all of it useful on how to handle men like him.
My fingers close around his exposed pinky toe on his good leg; I don’t hesitate. I twist. Hard. Down and to the side until it snaps.
Rurik shrieks in pain, his body straining against the restraints, tears spilling down his cheeks as his leg jerks backward, but goes nowhere. “You’re a dead man!”
A low, unfamiliar cynical laugh rumbles out of me. “Talk.”
“Eat shit!”
Without a second thought, I grab the next toe and snap it the same way. “Talk.”
He shakes his head, teeth grinding as he tries to push through the pain. “Never.”
I don’t give him time to recover. The next break comes just as fast, and this time he loses it, howls in agony, like a wounded animal.
“We can keep going,” I tell him, my grip steady as I hold his foot in place. “You have seven more toes. Then I move to your fingers. Next your wrists.”
I wrap my fingers around the fourth toe and squeeze, not breaking it just yet. “I’ll break every fucking bone in your body if that’s what you force me to do. Now talk!”
“Stop!” The word breaks apart as he chokes on a sob. “He came to me.”
“Liar.” I lean closer, my voice turning colder. “Names.”
He sucks in a breath. “Drake. Drake came to me. I’m not lying. He came to me nine months ago.”
That’s when everything shifted. When I exposed the man who once held my position. Drake was there. He was always there.
At the time, I didn’t question it. Not the way he just stood there, watching it unfold, never reacting. Not even when he stepped forward and ended it seconds before the man could plead for his life.
Trent hadn’t been happy about that, but he’d let it go. Dismissed Drake’s behavior as loyalty, an overreaction toward someone who’d betrayed the family. They’d come up together. It made sense.
Now, it doesn’t.
My gut’s on fire as the pieces shift into place.
Are you fucking kidding me? The evidence I found was planted by the same bastard who made sure my predecessor didn’t get the chance to rat him out.
“What did he want?”
Rurik smirks through the pain. “Power.”
I don’t break his toe, but I make sure he feels it. “And somehow you were going to help him get that? I find that hard to believe.”
With what little strength he has left, he drags his head off the table and meets my eyes. “Just like I find it hard to believe anyone would mistake you for a Doyle.”
A loud pop is followed by the high-pitch screech that rips through the room. It only grows louder when I grab his foot and squeeze with all my might.
Movement shifts behind the door, enough to remind me of my team in the hallway, holding the line. Time’s running out.
“One more question.” Bringing my hand near the wound on his leg, I lean in and gently tap the blade with my fingertip. “What’s your take on dying?”
The change in him is immediate. His gaze drops to my hand, my fingers clenching the knife’s handle. Something close to fear shines back at me. “If you’re going to do it, do it. Don’t be a coward.”
I don’t remove it. That’s too easy.
“I’m not a coward,” I say, then twist the knife. “But killing you isn’t my decision. So instead, I’ll settle for making sure you lose your leg. Every time you look at it, you’ll remember me.”
The sound that comes out of him is raw and sharp, ending my time with him.
Jen shoves me out of her way. Her sharp glance sends me retreating, yielding the space as she assumes control.
Dr. Miller frowns as he takes his place across from her. Regret lingers there, but it doesn’t stop him. He’s sworn an oath to heal, so he won’t let that get in his way of saving this arsehole’s life.
Turning my back to the table, I pull out my phone to make a few phone calls. But before I can walk out the door, Rurik yells after me.
“One more thing!”
I don’t bother giving him my full attention, just a glance over my shoulder. “I’m listening.”
“Never underestimate a Del Markov.” His menacing gaze sends a shiver of fear down my spine. “We strike when you least expect us. You found her once, but you won’t find her this time.”