Chapter 41
DANTE
When I see Romi tied to a chair, it immediately puts me in a bloody, murderous rage.
For once, I’m grateful to my brother's overbearing ways since he was the reason we could track them so quickly. My heart freezes the moment I see the bombs strapped to the women, but when Romi looks at me, her gaze is fierce like a warrior's, and it immediately eases some of my agitation. I’ll get her out of this situation, and I couldn’t be prouder as my woman sits there defiantly.
But she shouldn’t be sitting there at all.
The man standing in front of us is insignificant, and he speaks with a clear American accent, which is only more confusing as to who the fuck this Fyodor Novikov is.
“You,” the man says, pointing to Lorenzo with the gun, “killed my best friend.”
“You’re going to have to be a bit more specific. I kill a lot of people,” Lorenzo blandly replies.
I covertly scan the room and notice the woman hiding in the shadows, as if hoping she won’t be seen. She seems unsure as the events play out, which means we did catch them off guard. Other than the two of them, I don’t notice anyone else. Is this really the last of them?
“My friend worked for The Lion. He was trying to get out, and you killed him before he had the chance. He didn’t want to be a part of this life anymore,” the man says, waving the gun around, but it’s the device in his other hand I care most about.
“He got caught in the crossfire, and you walked away. Your boss walked away. Hell, everyone walked away unscathed but him!”
“And The Lion,” I add on, reminding him that the very monster he was trying to free his friend from had also been killed.
He points the gun at me, and I smile, putting my hands up.
“Look, I know more than anyone how much of a dick my brother is. His collecting enemies is not a surprise to me, but remind me… who are you again?”
He turns a shade red. “The name's Shaun. Not that you’ll remember it.”
My eyebrows dip. “Shaun? So, who the fuck is Fyodor Novikov?”
“It’s a name I made up, dumbass, so everyone was looking for some Russian Bratva warrior instead of me. No one ever looks at a bartender twice, do they, Romi?” He glances over his shoulder at her, and a guttural noise escapes me as I take a step forward to regain his attention.
“Ah, ah,” he says, holding up the device. “I didn’t expect things to unfold like this, but it’s benefited me. Now, both of you are going to sit your asses down while we tie you up. If you don't, both of the women die. Do we have an understanding?”
Romi’s eyes connect with mine again. There’s no fucking way that is happening.
“How about you let them go since we’re the ones you want?
” I say as calmly as I can, considering the circumstances.
I try my hardest to cling to my control, that murderous rage within me unfurling in poisonous tendrils.
But if I make a move against him now, it jeopardizes her safety.
Lorenzo and I both walk toward the chairs.
We’d been idiots. This whole time, an amateur like this was pulling the strings, and that’s what blinded us to it. We were so fixated on whether the Bratva was retaliating, we didn’t even consider this fucking loser entering with his revenge plot.
“It doesn’t work like that. I need to make sure you’re good boys, then I’ll use you both in the meantime to draw out Luca.”
I scoff as I take a seat. “You’re really something if you think our boss actually cares about our safety. Like your friend was to The Lion, we’re expendable.”
He shakes his head agreeably, but an unhinged smile crosses his features. “But that’s the fun part. Because I know you two will do whatever it takes to ensure these two women survive. So, you’re going to bring him to me.”
Lorenzo and I really take him in now. This little lunatic thinks he has it all figured out, but there’s no way I’m letting him hurt Romi, and I’m sure Lorenzo feels the same about Lily.
At the very least, I know if something were to happen to me, Lorenzo will protect Romi.
I find comfort in that. We might not be on the best of terms, but Lorenzo has always been more of a hero than I am.
“And what’s the woman’s involvement?” Lorenzo asks as he crosses his arms over his chest and takes a seat as casually as one does while someone is attempting to hold a beast hostage.
The only thing that keeps us on our barely-there leashes is the two women sitting across from us.
I keep my gaze on Romi, a silent message passing between us.
That no matter what, she’ll walk out of this alive.
I take my seat across from her.
Her jaw clenches, and I try to instill her with as much ease as I can. In fact, I imagine that by tomorrow we’ll be bickering like we always do, and her gaze softens as if she read my mind.
“Oh, Fiona? Well, I promised her that if she worked with me, I’d connect her with her long-lost brother, Andrei Popov. They were separated, you see. She went into foster care here, and her brother was taken back to Russia. He appeared a year ago alongside The Lion and was one of the few to survive.
"I got some dirt on him before my friend was killed, and let’s just say blackmail works like a dream.
He helped me set up these bombs, in fact, and acted as my middleman while dealing in weapons with Pavel Smirnov, another member who followed The Lion and had gone into hiding.
I kept Fiona close, and once all of this is over, she’ll finally get to meet her brother. Everyone wins.”
Ah, I see it now. He held her as leverage as he prompted Andrei to loyally work with him, and this woman seems none the wiser to her predicament. I’m not in the market to pity others, however.
“Oh, Andrei Popov? We killed him,” I say matter-of-factly. “But, Shaun, surely you knew that.” I tsk, and Fiona steps out of the dark, her hands clutching a gun to her chest.
“H-he’s wh-what?” she stammers.
“Don’t listen to them,” Shaun says quickly. “He’s trying to get into your head.”
“For what it’s worth, your brother was worried about you.
The only way we got answers out of him was when we questioned your connection, and he was adamant you had no involvement in this.
You realize you’ve been played, right? This asshole has been using you as leverage against your brother,” I provoke, because I need to make sure their attention is on me. It’s what I’ve always done best.
“You can’t listen to this liar!” Shaun says, half laughing, but his smile drops when she nervously points the gun at him. I refrain from smiling myself.
“Call him.” Her hands are shaking, but she doesn’t lower the weapon. “Call Andrei. I want to hear his voice.”
“Shaun, I know you’re new to this game, but the thing about using people is, they have to be alive to be used,” I say insightfully.
“Shut the fuck up!” he screams as he presses his gun to my temple. My pulse quickens with the cold kiss of the barrel.
“Don’t!” Romi yells, and I wish she never said anything because it only draws his attention to her.
“You’re right. It shouldn’t be him I’m pointing a gun at when what will hurt him most is right here.” Shaun redirects the gun in Romi’s direction. I go to stand, but he points it back at me and hovers his thumb over the red button on top of the bomb's remote.
“You’re really starting to piss me off,” Shaun growls, and for once, I refrain from telling him it’s kind of my thing.
“Then this is about to really piss you off,” I warn.
Everything unfolds within seconds, just as planned. Shaun’s wrist explodes in a bloody mist, which means Tyson and Kage are in position, and as always, Tyson’s a good shot even from a distance.
In Shaun’s moment of shocked surprise, I add to his pain by punching his forearm. As he staggers back, his gun swings to point in the direction of Lorenzo. And I act before I think. The moment I step in front of my brother, the gun goes off, and pain explodes in my stomach.