Chapter 21
Gavriil
I don’t get any sleep that night after pleasuring myself.
In fact, it feels like I’m being punished for my indiscretion as I watch smoke curling into the dark sky as out-of-control flames eat away at what’s left of one of my warehouses.
Another loss. One I earned.
And I knew exactly why.
While I’d been thinking about getting her mouth on my skin, someone else had been thinking about how to gut me.
My ears ring as I stare at the damage from the backseat of one of my SUVs, my stomach twisting and turning at the damning sight. Hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of products and cash are gone now because of a bomb planted right under our noses.
Despite all the work we’ve done on our defenses, we still failed to prevent another attack on our own territory. I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong, and that terrifies me more than the fire eating my empire alive.
“Reports of incoming cops, sir,” Matvei says from the passenger’s seat.
I pinch the bridge of my nose as pain radiates between my temples. Saying this has all been a headache is a severe understatement. This is fucking killing me.
“Have you heard back from Daniil and Rodya?” I ask him. “They left the warehouse only an hour before it was bombed.”
Matvei checks his phone. “Not yet. They should’ve dropped the cash off and reported back by now.”
I scrub my hand over my face, dread weighing down on my chest. Something feels off. Like not all the damage has been done yet.
“Between the bomb and the fire, all the evidence is probably gone,” I mutter as I look back out through the window, watching the rest of the warehouse structure succumb to the flames and collapse. “Just in case, call our law enforcement contact and make sure they don’t trace anything back to us.”
“Yes, sir,” Matvei replies. “We should probably leave before the cops get here.”
“Go,” I say, ripping my eyes away from the damage.
I don’t know what the Irish bombed the warehouse with, but it was powerful enough to shake the whole damn block and set off all the car alarms on the street. Our cameras only picked up masked men and a van without a license plate. Nothing to go off of.
But it must be the Irish. They’re the ones behind the other attacks.
Simeon drives us away from the scene, flying past a few cop cars with their lights flashing and their sirens wailing.
Matvei’s phone goes off. “It’s Pyotr.”
“Answer. Put it on speaker.”
Matvei taps a few buttons on his phone. “Do you have an update?”
“Not a good one,” Pyotr replies with a heavy sigh. “We followed their usual route and found the van crashed into the side of the building. Bullet holes in the windshield.”
My stomach drops. “Daniil and Rodya?”
“Dead.”
I grit my teeth and lower my head, shielding my face from sight. The darkness outside helps.
“Fuck,” Matvei breathes out. “Warehouse bombed. Daniil and Rodya dead. What the fuck is going on tonight?”
“Our enemies shouldn’t have known about the cash move,” I say, my narrowed eyes lifting. “Someone leaked that information.”
“Only so many people knew about it,” Pyotr agrees.
How many betrayals are there going to be? And why? What is making my men turn their back on me for the enemy?
“Make a list of people who knew about this and the attack on the Irish to narrow it down. Find me the traitor tonight with proof,” I demand. “We can’t afford to let them leak any more information.”
“On it,” Pyotr replies before the call ends.
Matvei starts talking about dealing with the loss of our goods and money, but his voice fades into the background. All I can hear are my own furious thoughts about what I’m going to do when we find who’s behind this.
I’m tired of losing property. I’m tired of losing money. And I’m tired of losing men.
Something has to change. Quickly.
The prison isn’t the only thing built underneath my estate. In the back right corner, there’s another room underground, and it gets more use than the prison.
As soon as Pyotr had the idiotic cash app receipts, two minutes before the attacks, our captive was brought in. I ordered Valentin to bring Alina down. After the night I’ve had, I need to see her.
And maybe I want her to see what I’m capable of. Either she won’t eye fuck me again after tonight or she’ll be excited by the violence. I’m hoping for the latter.
Pyotr stands by the door of the interrogation room as Valentin leads a sleepy-eyed Alina inside, pulling her forward by the chain linked between her cuffs. At least one of us got some rest.
“What—” Alina cuts off her own question when her eyes fall upon a man tied to a chair in the middle of the room. A single lightbulb hangs above him, casting a white glow onto the cement floor where there’s a drain in the center under his chair.
“This is Nazar,” I tell Alina.
Alina remains as still as stone as she stares at Nazar, who can’t say a word because of the duct tape covering his mouth. “Who is he?”
“One of my lieutenants,” I reply. “He’s been in my ranks for four years.”
“Why is he tied up?” Alina asks, sounding like she doesn’t really want to know.
“Because you were right.”
“Me?” she repeats quietly.
“Guess who suggested Leon change the route at the last minute and also had details of plans that blew up tonight.”
Her eyes dart over to the man.
“That’s right. He sold out my men to the enemy not once but twice and got more of them killed for two measly cash app deposits,” I state as I turn to face Nazar, who shrinks back in his chair.
“If he wants me to kill him quickly rather than draw it out, he’ll start talking about who he betrayed us for. ”
Alina takes a step back like she’s ready to flee the room. “Why am I here?”
Because I feel a little less out of control when you’re near me.
I can’t admit that, so I tell her, “Your suggestion is what helped me uncover his deceit.”
Alina frowns but doesn’t say a word as I step closer to Nazar.
“You didn’t cover up your tracks well enough, Nazar,” I say before ripping the duct tape off his face. “A cash app? Are you really that stupid or just that cocky to think Leon would take the fall for you?”
He grunts in pain, his body stiffening under the multiple zip ties confining him to the chair. “I didn’t—”
I strike him in the face with a clenched fist to shut him up, making his head snap to the side from the heavy impact. “You did. You informed our enemy about the attack and the cash move. They ambushed Daniil and Rodya, killing them both.”
Nazar spits blood onto the floor, his teeth shining red.
I glance over at Alina, seeing the shock written across her face.
After a few moments, her expression settles, and she watches and waits for whatever comes next.
A surge of determination hits me, and I turn back to Nazar, ready to extract everything that I can from him. “Who did you tell? Who paid you for that information?”
Nazar lowers his eyes to the floor. “I can’t. They’ll hurt my parents.”
I grip the short strands of blond hair on the top of his head, jerking his gaze up to mine. “You will. Give me the name or I’ll let you rot in a cell for months.”
Nazar swallows hard. “They’ll kill them if they find out.”
“And I’ll kill you now, slowly, painfully if you don’t talk,” I tell him, keeping my voice firm and steady. “Did you leak the information to the Irish?”
Nazar stares up at me, his mouth remaining sealed.
I drive my fist into his stomach, knocking the air out of his lungs. My hand itches to deliver more blows.
“Answer me,” I grit out as I grab Nazar’s throat, squeezing tighter and tighter by the second.
Nazar tries to gasp for air, but my crushing grip prevents him from taking a proper breath. “Not…them…not…”
I loosen my grip enough for him to suck in a trembling breath. “Who? If not the Irish, who?”
Nazar shakes his head, his eyes closing tightly. He can’t hide from this. No matter what he does.
Fury burns through me, and I do my best to breathe through it and think. “The Irish are working with another faction?”
Nazar keeps his eyes closed, but he subtly nods.
“Who?” I question him, digging my fingertips into his neck.
“Can’t…”
“You can. You just won’t,” I say before releasing him and whirling around, frustration pounding through my veins.
War is unfolding, and I can’t figure out who all is on the other side because I can’t get this bastard to talk. Someone else has already threatened him, and he’s willing to die before he speaks their name.
It makes sense for there to be more than one threat, though. It would be a stretch for just the Irish to pull off all that’s happened, including the bombing, the ambushes, and other instances. But what other faction is in the mix now that it’s confirmed that there’s another one?
“I could continue questioning him for you,” Pyotr offers.
“I don’t think we’re going to get much further with him,” I reply with a shake of my head. “He thinks staying silent will save his family. It won’t.”
“You sure about that, Nazar? If you talk now, the Pakhan might take mercy on your old folks,” Pyotr tells him.
Nazar remains silent, keeping his eyes on the floor.
I slowly rub my jaw. “Once you’re dead, they’ll assume you ratted them out, so you may as well tell us their names now. Don’t be a fool and think you’re protecting anyone. You can’t trust them.”
“And I should trust you? You’re too pussy-whipped to lead,” Nazar murmurs. “Nobody can believe a conniving little bitch came between the two most powerful men in the city. You’re going to lose everything because of her.”
“What?” I grit out. Something inside my chest fractures. Not rage but panic. Our enemies know about Alina?
“Ignore him, Pakhan. He’s just trying to goad you into killing him faster,” Pyotr remarks as he pulls his knife free from the sheath on his leather belt. “Let me do the honors.”
Going over to Nazar, I grab a fistful of his hair to tip his head up, forcing him to look at me. “What the fuck did you just say?”