Chapter 46
I’m speeding to Dima’s house—address provided by good ol’ Boris.
Before this, I’d left Cindy in the trunk at the Marchetti residence, instructing one of his men to drop her off in the middle of nowhere when I gave him the go-ahead.
I’m not letting her go until I have Genesis.
Leaving her in the middle of nowhere will give her time to think about her bad decisions as she walks home.
My phone rings, and Derrick’s name flashes on the screen.
I cut a right, following the GPS. “Is she alive?”
“Unless her ghost called, yes, she’s alive.”
“Fuck off,” I grind out. “Is she safe or still in harm’s way?” I slam my foot on the gas pedal. “How many men are there?”
“She told the operator she killed Dima and one of his men in self-defense. She’s upstairs, so she doesn’t know who else is downstairs.
She did note that even though it was hard to see outside on the drive there, she thinks there are guards at the gate because they stopped to talk to a group of men. ”
“She killed Dima?” Antonio whistles, impressed. “Damn, Genesis.”
“That’ta girl,” Damien comments from the back seat.
“I’m on my way to Dima’s residence now,” Derrick says.
“I’m four minutes out,” I tell him.
“Squad cars are behind me, FYI. If you make it there before I do, don’t do anything stupid that they can put you in prison for.”
“Tell them to turn around,” I instruct. “I got this handled.”
“No can do, Julian. There was a 911 call. It’s on record, and it’s our duty to respond. It’s also the Morozovas, a family we’ve wanted to catch for a while. No way are we losing our chance to rid them from the streets.”
“It sounds like they’re gone from there now anyway. Dima and Yaroslav are dead.”
“Yaroslav is dead?”
“Dima killed him.”
Derrick curses under his breath. “Man, I’d never join one of these families.”
“We’re not all like that,” Antonio corrects. “The rats always end up dying at some point. Those who are smart and loyal survive.”
“Loyalty is subjective,” Derrick comments.
“See you there, Derrick.” I end the call and slow my speed as Dima’s residence comes into view.
It’s private, like Boris said, and spans at least ten acres. The home is made of stone, almost castle-like, and I park on the side of the road when I spot two armed guards at the gate.
“You ready?” I ask the guys, opening the glove compartment and grabbing my Glock.
Damien turns the safety off his AK and unrolls his window.
Antonio holds his gun, ready to fire at any moment.
Cristian and Benny Marchetti are in the SUV behind us. While they usually don’t involve themselves in other families’ issues, Neomi told Benny she’d file for divorce if he didn’t help get Genesis back to safety.
Benny immediately grabbed his gun and jacket, telling us to come on.
Love does some crazy shit to men’s brains.
I shift the SUV into drive and floor it toward the gate. As soon as the guards notice us, they raise their guns. Damien sticks his AK through the window, ducking low, as I speed toward them.
Damien’s bullets hit both men right between their eyes, and they crumple to the ground.
I swerve, running one over, and crash through the gate.
A man sprints toward us, a rifle in his hand, and stops in front of us in the driveway.
He gets three bullets out before I run him over as if he were nothing but a mere speed bump.
Looking in my rearview mirror, I see Cristian Marchetti following right behind. Benny thrusts his body out the window, shooting two men standing alongside the fence, as Cristian runs over another.
I love bowling with motherfuckers as the pins.
As soon as we reach the house, I shift the car into park, jump out, and run into the house. A man sitting in the foyer, headphones on, jumps up from his chair.
He scrambles for his gun, but I shoot him in the head before he gets the chance to find it.
What kind of dumb motherfucker wears headphones when you have a hostage in the building?
Antonio, Damien, Benny, and Cristian are behind me.
“Genesis!” I scream, darting up the stairs while the others search the house. “Genesis!”
As soon as I make it on the second floor, a door opens, and Genesis darts out of the bedroom.
“Julian!” she sobs, running straight into my arms, shoving her face into my shoulder. “They killed Sage … I killed them.” She digs her fingernails into my shirt. “I’m a murderer.”
I cup the back of her head, massaging her wet hair.
While I’m proud of Genesis for killing Dima, I know it’ll haunt her.
Most people aren’t made for murder.
While I have dreams of murder instead of nightmares, Genesis is the opposite. Her heart is too pure.
Good people aren’t made to kill.
The unfortunate thing is, sometimes, they have to.
“No, Genesis,” I say, kissing the top of her head. “You’re a survivor. You did what you had to do.”
“You’re also a badass, Genesis,” Damien says, standing behind me. “You outsmarted a Bratva boss and killed his ass. Good for you.” He squeezes Genesis’s shoulder as he passes us. “Where’s the body?”
Genesis pulls away a few inches, pointing toward the door she ran through. “In there.”
We all look toward the door at the sound of sirens.
“Fuck,” Cristian grumbles, massaging his forehead. “Who called the cops?”
“That’d, uh … be me,” Genesis mutters.
“You really need to memorize my number, baby.” I smack another kiss to her head while massaging her shoulder.
Cristian, Benny, Damien, and Antonio disappear into the bedroom.
“Jesus,” I hear.
We walk toward the stairway banister, looking down on the first floor, to find Derrick. A group of officers are behind him.
“I’ll assume Dima killed his men at the gate,” he comments, checking the pulse of the dead man in the foyer.
“That’s right,” I reply. “Everyone was dead when we arrived.”
He shakes his head, attempting to hide a grin.
“Come on, baby,” I say to Genesis. “Let’s get you home.”
“You take her,” Antonio says. “Damien and I will ride back with Marchetti.”
Benny exits the room, holding up a pair of Chanel flats. “Do these belong to you, Genesis?”
She nods.
He hands them to her.
“Thank you,” she says, holding on to my shoulder and slipping them on.
I can tell she’s still in shock. If dead bodies are in there, that means she’s been sitting with them.
“I want pictures of the bodies,” I tell Benny. “And their phones.”
He nods in response.
Genesis holds my hand as we walk down the stairs, and Derrick walks with us outside. Cop cars line the drive, and I hear one call for ambulances through his radio.
“I appreciate you not doing too much damage,” Derrick tells me before lowering his voice so only I can hear. “We will need to bring her in for questioning.”
“Not today you won’t,” I reply.
He nods. “But we will.”
“When she feels up to it.”
He nods again. “I’ll give you a police escort back so you can get her home faster.”
“Appreciate it.” I clap him on the back.
He smirks, sliding on his sunglasses. “See, isn’t it nice, somewhat obeying the law sometimes?”
“Sorry to break it to you, Derrick, but you sold half your soul to the dark side when you began working with me.”
He shrugs. “At least I didn’t sell all of it.”
I help Genesis into the SUV, buckling her in, and she grabs the sides of my face. Her hands tremble, and she stares up at me with shuttered eyes.
“Julian, I fucking love you,” she says, her tone urgent. “The entire time I sat there on the phone with 911, all I could think about was how I needed to tell you that. I had known I had to get rid of Dima because no other man would ever be my love, my husband, but you.”
Derrick steps away, giving us our moment, and I see the smile on his face.
I’ve never felt my heart warm.
Never felt a happiness beam inside me.
I caress her cheek with my knuckle. “Genesis, I think I started falling in love with you years ago, that day in my mother’s kitchen.
I pretended to glare at you, but the truth is, watching you was all it took for me to ignore the pain as she stitched me up.
You’re my peace, my chaos, my everything.
” I press a light kiss to her lips and wipe blood off her cheek.
“If something had happened to you, I’d have lost a piece of myself. ”
She settles her cheek into my palm, and a tear falls down her face. “Let’s go home. I want to show you your surprise.”