Chapter 26
Dmitri
I can’t think of a better way to spend my bachelor party than hunting down the men I hate most with good friends I trust.
“You’re in charge of making sure Cara stays safe,” I tell Isaak as I stand outside the penthouse building with Andrei, Luca, Mark, Leo, and Denis.
Isaak nods. “Ivan is posted by the front door. I’ll have patrols sweeping the building and the block for any unusual activity. We’ll keep her safe tonight, sir.”
I pat his shoulder as a grin tugs at my lips. “Good. I’m marrying her tomorrow. I’m trusting you with my entire life, Isaak.”
“We won’t let you down,” Isaak promises me. “Be careful out there.”
“We’re going to have a hell of a time,” I say, glancing between Andrei and Luca. “Ready to kill some Council members?”
“Finally,” Andrei replies.
“I’m fucking ready,” Luca tells me as he gives his arms a little shake to warm up his muscles.
My grin fades a little as I look at Luca. There’s something that I need to tell him after we’re done. Something important.
I’d rip off that bandage now, but I need him focused tonight. I don’t want to lose any of these men. If Cara and I were having a more traditional wedding, they’d be my groomsmen.
It’ll just be the two of us up there with the officiant. It’ll only be our moment.
“Let’s go,” I say before Luca and Andrei join me at one SUV. Mark, Leo, and Denis head to the other SUV so we can all throw on bulletproof vests, leather gloves, and arm ourselves.
My assassination was still planned for tomorrow before I tracked down the shooter and paid him off. An attack on the Council tonight is the best way forward. They have no idea that we’re coming for them. And they just so happen to all be in town for the wedding.
Pavel Muratov has a nice house on a gated property outside of the main part of the city. The Council members think they’re so respected and powerful that they barely bother with security.
Who would be crazy enough to go after a Council member?
“Ram it,” I tell Andrei as he drives the SUV toward the gate.
Andrei floors it, plowing straight through the steel gate and ripping it off its hinges. He lets out a laugh as he drives toward the two-story house, tearing up Pavel’s lawn in the process. “Did he really think a puny gate was going to protect him?”
“They think they’re invincible,” I say, pulling my handgun out as I see a light turn on through an upstairs window.
The darkness gives us some cover, but Pavel will know who came for him soon enough.
Andrei hits the brake and puts the car in park before throwing open the door.
The six of us storm the front of the house, kicking down the door and charging into the dim foyer just as Pavel runs down a nearby staircase with a shotgun in his hands.
“Fuck,” I breathe out as he lifts the gun toward us.
We dive in different directions as Pavel fires, the blast echoing through the whole house.
Pavel aims at me, but when his eyes meet mine, he pauses. “Dmitri.”
It’s enough of a distraction for Andrei to shoot at Pavel, sending a bullet through his side.
Pavel cries out in pain as he loses his grip on the gun. It clatters at his feet as he sways, eventually losing his balance and tumbling down the stairs. He crashes onto the sleek wood of the foyer floor, blood running from a cut above his eye.
Luca grabs the shotgun and tosses it to the side out of reach, laughter rumbling from him. “You weren’t wrong. These guys are old and weak.”
Pavel glares up at us as we surround him. “Traitors! All of you! You will die for this!”
“That’s what Artur said too,” I reply with a wry smile. “Right before I killed him.”
Pavel’s eyes widen. “You…killed him?”
“Annika’s dead as well,” I tell him. “Don’t worry. I’ll pass the news along to the others.”
Pavel opens his mouth to speak, but I fire a round into his face, making his head snap back and hit the ground. Blood steadily forms a pool around him.
Andrei clicks his tongue at me. “I thought we were going to fuck him up a little more.”
“We have a lot of Council members to kill and only so many hours in a night,” I remind him as I lean down and yank Pavel’s family ring off his finger. It’s not the design Cara drew. Still, I tuck it into my pocket. “Plus, there’s one that I want to torture more than the others.”
Andrei gives me a smirk before turning around. “Let’s get going then. The next one is staying less than five miles away.”
We move like reapers through the night, storming houses and hotel suites, killing every Council member we find. A few have wives. Children. Those we leave alive, bound and shut away in another room. Their blood isn’t on my list tonight.
Most of the Council die quickly. A bullet. A knife. A few deserved worse.
“Let me go! I’ll fucking kill all of you!” Valentin shouts at the top of his lungs as Leo, Mark, and Denis string him up upside down in his basement, using a thick pipe and some rope.
“Oh, really? You think you can do that right now?” Luca taunts him as Valentin tries to swing at my men.
Valentin spits in Luca’s direction but misses. “I don’t even know why you’re here! Dmitri will stab you in the back the moment you become useless to him.”
I hand Luca my knife. “You can do the honors this time.”
Luca flips the knife in his hand with an eager grin on his face. “Grazie, amico.”
Denis ties the other end of the rope down to another pipe running low along the basement wall. “There. He’s suspended.”
Valentin still swings his arms and kicks his free leg as he hangs by his ankle, fury making his face turn red. “Do you really think this is smart, Dmitri? Killing a Council member?”
“You’re actually the seventh tonight,” I say.
Valentin’s eyes widen. “What?”
“I heard about your little plot to assassinate me at my own wedding tomorrow,” I tell him as I cross my arms. “That was incredibly rude. Don’t you think, guys?”
Andrei, Luca, and my men smirk and nod in agreement.
“So, I figured I would give my bride peace of mind by killing all of you tonight,” I say.
Valentin lets out a furious shout, breathing heavier now as his thrashing wears him out more and more with each passing second. “You’re not going to get away with this! Others will find out it was you and retaliate!”
“I don’t think they’ll retaliate,” I state as I get closer to him.
Leo and Mark grab Valentin’s arms, forcing him to stay still as I approach.
“I think they’ll fall in line. Some might even thank me,” I reply, stepping closer. I yank Valentin’s ring off his finger, glancing at it long enough to know it’s not the right one before letting it join the other six in the pocket of my black pants.
Valentin scoffs. “Follow you? You’re an idiot if you think anyone respects you enough to follow you!”
“I’ve secured important alliances and taken out enemies of the Bratva. Many owe their safety and lives to me,” I bite out as I lean closer to him, fire blazing in my eyes. “They’ll realize that once you’re all out of the way. You’ve been a disease in the Bratva for far too long.”
“Liar!” Valentin spits out.
I turn away from him and nod to Luca. “Let’s wrap this up. We still have a few more to go.”
Luca stalks toward Valentin, who tries to break free from Leo and Mark. He doesn’t completely slash Valentin’s throat. Instead, he leaves a shallow, ugly cut a few inches long, letting the blood pour slowly from Valentin’s neck and drip onto the floor.
“What are you doing?” Valentin questions him, panic flooding his voice.
“You’re going to bleed out,” Luca tells him with a cold chuckle. “Slowly. And there’s nothing that you can do to save yourself.”
“Sadistic bastard,” Andrei says with a smirk as Luca returns to us so that we can leave.
“You’re just jealous that you didn’t think of it first,” Luca replies, pushing at Andrei’s shoulder as we head up the stairs.
“No! Stop! You can’t leave me like this!” Valentin shouts after us.
We ignore him and head to the next two targets, making quick work of the Council members and taking their rings for my growing collection.
“I saved the best for last,” I say as we park on the street around the corner from Victor Kardashev’s Vegas estate.
Luca stretches once we get out of the SUV. “Can we get something to eat after this one? I’m starving.”
“I’ll treat you all to whatever you want,” I promise them as we make our way around the corner.
“It’s your bachelor party. We’ve got it covered,” Andrei says as he pats my shoulder. “How are you going to kill this one?”
“In a way that terrifies him,” I state as Victor’s house comes into view.
It’s larger than the others, and it’s better guarded. I can already see two guards stationed on the porch through the steel gate surrounding the large property. There could be more guards inside.
“We’ll take care of the guards,” Leo says as he gestures to himself, Mark, and Denis.
“I brought a rifle for some long-distance damage,” Mark says as he rests his rifle against his shoulder.
“We’ll go through a window,” I tell Andrei and Luca before we split up into two groups.
Andrei, Luca, and I crouch down and hurry along the side of the property, using the darkness and some shrubs for cover. I motion for them to stop and wait before straining my ears to hear.
After a few minutes, the sound of Mark’s rifle going off rings through the air, followed by shouts.
“Let’s go!” I tell Andrei and Luca before climbing up the tall fence and hauling myself over it. I jump down onto the ground on the other side, losing my breath for a second from the force of the drop.
Andrei and Luca follow before we rush across the lawn toward the nearest window that we can see on the side of the house. Andrei slams his covered elbow against the glass, shattering it on impact.
I slip through the opening and land in what looks like a study, at least from what I can make out in the moonlight. “Come on. Hurry!”
Andrei and Luca jump through the window, landing unceremoniously beside each other on the floor.
I barely get Andrei and Luca moving again before the double doors to the study fly open.