36. Nikolai
NIKOLAI
A ndrei wasn’t much of a talker to begin with, but he seems quieter than usual as he drives us to meet The Wolf. I’m not at all surprised that The Wolf has property on the outskirts of New York; he owns properties in many major cities around the world. It’s just a matter of what waits for us there.
I’ve put all the things into place that I need to, in order to ensure Sienna’s safety.
She sits in the back seat with Agata beside her.
I look in the rearview mirror at the two women, unsettled.
They are the only two I have ever cared about, and driving up this long driveway becomes more nerve racking as I swat away the small chance of my perfectly meticulous plan going to shit.
No matter what, I have to keep them safe.
I sense Andrei’s eyes on me. He, of course, is none the wiser to my plans, because despite my thoughts on Andrei, this is not the time to test his loyalty to The Wolf. It’s not a risk I’m willing to take.
We pull up in front of the basic-looking mansion. It’s different from his European estates.
I adjust my shirt, as if business is running as usual, as I spot two guards waiting for us.
Before I can open the car door, Andrei’s hand on my arm stops me.
My body locks up until I realize he’s leaning over to the glove box and pulling out another gun, even though I see the one peeking out of his suit jacket.
“Watch the floor,” he says cryptically. I look between my feet where I see nothing. Confused, I raise my head to look at him, only to realize he’s getting out of the car and opening the door for Agata.
My brow furrows as I mirror him, doing the same for Sienna.
“Watch the floor.” Is he warning me about something?
He tucks the second gun into the back of his pants, the handle of it exposed. Agata notes the placement, never missing anything. And I start to wonder if Andrei is silently helping us or if he’s entirely unsuspecting. Either way, I can’t depend on him. I won’t risk it.
I look down at Sienna, who wears a large coat to fight against the chilly morning air. I want to wrap her in my arms, convey more than I already have, but when I reach out for her, she jerks away from me, her expression twisting into anger and disgust. “Don’t touch me.”
We all have our role to play. One more acting gig.
I latch on to her elbow and sneer in her face. “Don’t try me again, little doll. Once this is over, you can return to your perfect little life.”
“Hopefully with a bullet between your eyes,” she snaps with such fierceness I have to supress the smile.
So beautiful.
So cruel and wicked.
So believable.
I pull her toward the mansion, the two guards at the front never taking their eyes from us.
Without delay, they open the doors, and the empty space beyond crackles with tension.
Hair rises on my arms, always an instinctual reaction when I sense someone is watching from the shadows.
I look up to the corner of the room, where I find a camera has been placed.
Sergey comes down the hall and then stops in the middle of the black and white checkered tiling of the entryway. This mansion is outdated and lacks in furniture. Does The Wolf plan on using this mansion as another one of his houses of horror? If so, what exotic creature will he install here?
“ Udav ,” Sergey greets in Russian. “Come, the boss is waiting for you.”
He only briefly glances at Sienna, uninterested in the others. I still pull Sienna by the elbow, the only comfort I have, knowing she’s literally in my grasp, and I can shove her behind me when the time comes.
We walk down the narrow hallway, and I click my tongue, fucking hating confined spaces. When we reach the door at the end of the hall, the sound of screams invites us into the room.
Sienna looks up at me, uneasy, as we hear someone choke for help. I deliberately step in front of her to block her view, my jaw locking as I see a man in a glass tank, the floor beneath him alive with snakes striking at him. The tank is double his height and could easily fit ten people inside.
Blood drips from his eyes as he rasps for breath, his face turning purple as his hand drags down the inside of the tank in a plea for help. He chokes, blood bubbling from his lips as he crumples into the agitated mass of snakes.
“Ah, little cub, you came at a good time!” The Wolf bellows, snapping our attention toward him.
He stands on a platform that appears to wrap around the room, in what might’ve once been a library.
It’s clear the renovations to twist this property into one of his demented arenas is already underway.
This is nothing but another pen where he can observe the atrocities he so enjoys inflicting.
Large metal staircases flank either side of the tank, and The Wolf looks down on the man who has since stopped moving.
Blood leaks from the man’s eyes and mouth as the snakes undulate around him, attempting to slither up the tall glass enclosure.
They’re no longer interested in him because a dead man is no longer a threat.
What I do notice is that Mikhail is nowhere to be seen. Something feels off.
“What do you think?” The Wolf asks, impressed with himself. “I considered getting an udav myself, you know? I decided on this instead, because, well, it’s far more effective. Who knows which snake got him in the end. But isn’t it marvelous?”
My jaw tightens. “And this is how you’ll make introductions with Luca Armani?”
He starts down the stairs, the clink of his boots audible in the silence.
I survey the room quickly, taking note of eight men in total, excluding The Wolf and Sergey.
Two remain standing on the platform, looking down at the snake tank.
One of them pulls on a lever attached to a hook, raising the body from the tank.
A snake strikes at the dead body, interpreting it as a threat.
Two men stand stoically on each side of the room. And two are posted behind us.
I don’t like the layout. It’s too open. The only thing I’ll be able to cover Sienna with is my body. And that’s only if more don’t approach from the hallway or spill in through the back door I can see through the glass tank.
“I’ve organized a meeting with Luca Armani this evening. Your job here is done. You can leave the woman with Sergey. The money will be deposited into your account.”
He can’t seriously think the arrangement with the Armanis will be that easy. Then again, I don’t know what poison his son has been filling his head with. The Wolf’s ego has allowed him to blindly stick his neck out.
Perhaps he was once a powerful leader, but whatever schemes Mikhail is orchestrating behind the scenes will be his downfall.
But perhaps that’s what was intended all along.
It dawns on me then that Mikhail is an opportunist just like me.
This is all a theory, however. I don’t care for their personal affairs because it changes nothing for me now.
My stomach turns at the thought of leaving Sienna anywhere near this man. I look down at her, and she meets my eyes. And although she tries to cover her fear, I can sense it the same way I always have. It’s in the way her body tightens. The slight flicker of apprehension in her gaze.
But there’s still that subtle determination burning within her.
It’s time.
Sergey steps forward, as if to take Sienna. I glance in Agata’s direction, and my jaw locks as I shift into the part of me that’s always come so naturally. The part of me that thrives from the kill. But now it has reason to be more feral, even as I fight to control it.
To protect my woman .
I whip out my gun, so quickly I’m able to shoot Sergey in the head before he even realizes what’s happening. His fingertips barely touch his gun as he falls back. I aim up, shooting both men on the platform. One falls over the railing and onto the edge of the glass tank, breaking his back.
In my peripheral vision, I see Agata yank the gun from Andrei’s waistband, and when I corner Sienna, barricading her behind me, Andrei and I point our guns in one another’s direction. But when he shoots, it’s at the man behind me.
A moment of understanding flickers between us as I shoot the man to his left.
Fire explodes in my leg, and the man who shot me is taken out by Agata, who, unbeknownst to most, has perfect aim with a gun. She is, after all, from a deadly family.
I ignore the wound in my leg, pointing my gun at The Wolf, who’s already up the stairs, laughing as smoke billows into the room.
Fuck, I can’t see anything. But I hear more footsteps run in from the back room.
More men. I look over my shoulder and notice men spilling down the hall, and Andrei is quick to close and lock the door, keeping them out.
But it’s temporary; even I know that.
A loud clinking noise echoes through the room, and I look up at The Wolf, who is smiling as he holds a button .
“Watch the floor!” Andrei yells as the front panel of the tank lifts, and snakes spill onto the floor.
Fuck .
Andrei lifts Agata onto the ladder. I follow his action, grabbing Sienna and doing the same with her.
But as I go to step up behind her, I feel a sharp prick in my leg.
When I look down, my stomach drops as I see a snake with its fangs embedded in my calf.
I shake it off, flinging it back into the cloud of smoke.
Another gunshot goes off, and I hear a man scream. The Wolf is literally sending his own men out to die as they come through the screen of smoke, trying their hardest to avoid the snakes. But not all of them make it through without being bitten.
“Nikolai!” Sienna screams, and I cover her body with mine just before a bullet goes into my shoulder. The man who shot me is gunned down by Andrei. Then the next by Agata.
I look up at The Wolf, determination pumping through my adrenaline-fueled bloodstream. I shove against the sliding ladder Sienna stands on so she’s closer to Andrei and Agata’s protection.