Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Andrei
When they dragged Pavel into the basement, he was covered in blood. The two men hauling him down practically carried his weight the whole way. His knees slammed against the concrete steps with dull thuds, but he didn't make a sound.
They strapped him to the iron chair. The ropes bit into his wrists, blood trickling down and dripping onto the cement floor, pooling into a small patch of dark red. He lifted his head to look at me, a knowing smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.
My chest tightened. I'd trusted Pavel. I'd trusted him with my life. And this brother, this man I'd called family, had conspired with my enemy to bring me down.
"Talk," I said, standing over him. "What did Declan promise you?"
He spat a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the floor. "The North District."
That answer stopped me cold for a second. The North District was nothing—three docks, two warehouses. Laughable. All the power I'd given him over the years, all the trust, a position that would've let him retire in comfort—none of it measured up to Declan's empty promise.
"That's it?"
"You were never going to give me the North District.
Never going to let me out of your sight to run my own territory.
" He smiled, blood seeping from the gap where his front tooth used to be.
"I've bled for you for over a decade, and you've never once treated me like one of your own!
I'm just a dog who does what you say! Andrei, you think I couldn't see that? "
Spit and blood sprayed across his shirt as he spoke.
I stared at him, that weight in my chest rising again.
"The North District? You think this is about the North District? You never understood why I wouldn't let you run things on your own. You're not cut out to lead. You're too rash, too easy to manipulate. I kept you close because I thought at least that way you'd stay alive." I was shouting now.
Pavel's expression wavered, but he quickly sneered again. "You expect me to believe that? I've been with you as long as Dmitri and the others, but you gave them territory. What did you ever give me? This isn't fair!"
"Pavel, what you want isn't fairness—it's everything I have." I looked him dead in the eye. "Without me, you would've frozen to death on a Manhattan street fifteen years ago. I gave you your life. I gave you dignity. But apparently, you're nothing but an ungrateful bastard."
I was done wasting words on him.
I pulled out my phone, opened a video, and turned the screen toward him. The footage showed the warehouse at his private dock. My men were hauling out crates of smuggled weapons. Someone torched the ledgers stacked by the door—flames lit up the whole dock like daylight.
Pavel's eyes locked on the screen. His pupils constricted, then his whole face began to twist. Jealous rage burned in his eyes, mixed with desperation and fury.
He lunged forward violently. The iron chair scraped across the cement with a piercing screech.
The ropes dug into his neck, leaving deep red welts, but he kept straining forward like a chained animal.
My voice echoed through the empty basement. "The ragtag crew you put together? Gone. Every smuggling line you had? Cut. No one's coming to save you. Now—are you ready to tell me everything you know?"
"Andrei, I'm going to kill you!"
Pavel lost it. His voice shot up. "I should've made my move at your wedding! I should've killed you right there in that church!"
"I should've killed that little whore you fell for first, watched you suffer, then put a bullet in you and sent you both to hell together!"
Listening to Pavel's curses, rage flooded through me. I grabbed the salt-water-soaked whip from the side and lashed him again and again.
I beat him until his skin split open.
I tortured Pavel myself. I watched him bite down on his lip with what was left of his teeth, refusing to cry out. Watched his head droop, then get yanked back up by his hair. Finally, barely breathing, he still wouldn't make a sound.
"Good. You're a tough one." I finally stopped. "Pavel, I don't touch women. But like you said, I can send you two to be together. Call it doing you a favor."
Pavel panicked for a split second.
I sent men to an apartment in Brooklyn.
Sergei pounded on the door. After a long moment, a beautiful woman opened it. When she saw Sergei, her unease turned to terror. She looked at the video feed showing Pavel drenched in blood, and her scream nearly pierced my eardrums.
Pavel saw it all on my phone screen.
"Maria... don't be scared, I'm just messing around with the guys—Andrei, enough. Leave her alone. I'll tell you everything—" Pavel caved immediately.
"Sergei, stay there and watch her." I hung up.
Pavel finally broke completely. He gave up everything—the hideouts for Declan's remaining forces, the new contacts, the assets that hadn't been moved yet. He handed me everything I needed to wipe out what was left of Declan's operation.
I walked out of the basement. The night air hit my collar, and I realized I'd been clenching my jaw so hard my muscles ached. I looked at the cars parked in the courtyard. Sergei was already back.
The priority now was dealing with the entire Irish crew. Declan was dead, but his heirs were dividing up his empire. I had to crush them before they finished carving it up, or there'd be no peace.
Over the next few days, I swallowed the Irish gang whole. Every stronghold, every pocket of resistance still fighting back—I pulled them out one by one, crushed them, wiped them clean.
"Have the guys get on the inventory. Log Declan's goods separately. Keep them sealed." I lit a victory cigar.
"Got it." Dmitri turned to give orders for the count.
Sergei leaned against a crate, pulled an energy bar from his pocket, and took a slow bite. His usually stern, almost cold face showed a rare moment of relaxation that only came at the end of a job. "Really need the kitchen to make something hot," he muttered.
The wire I'd had strung tight for days finally loosened an inch.
Then my phone rang. It was the man in charge of transporting Pavel.
"Boss, we've got a problem. Pavel's gone."
My heart seized. "Explain."
"There was a mix-up during the shift change. He got out through the back of the transport van. By the time we noticed, all that was left were some cut ropes. We're already searching—"
"When did this happen?"
"By the time we found out... almost two hours ago."
Two hours. Lilith!
Pavel knew Lilith was my weak spot. If he wanted revenge, he'd go after her.
The brief relief I'd felt evaporated instantly.
I ground my molars. "Find him. The second you catch Pavel, put a bullet in him!"
I didn't care anymore about what else Pavel might know. Nothing mattered compared to Lilith.
I hung up.
"Dmitri," my voice dropped low, "from now on, drop everything. Redeploy security around Lilith—both the hospital and the manor. Assign our best people. Twenty-four-hour rotation. Don't let her notice."
"You're in charge of keeping Lilith safe."
Dmitri's expression shifted instantly. "Yes, boss." He turned and left.
After giving orders, I rushed to the hospital. I knew she didn't want to see me, at least not now.
But I had to see with my own eyes that she was safe.
I arrived quickly and hurried to Elena's room. When I saw Lilith safe and sound, I finally exhaled.
She was okay!
I wanted to rush in, pull her into my arms, but at the door, I stopped.
I saw the things I'd been sending Lilith these past few days.
The flowers were wilting. The box of her favorite cake sat there untouched... She still hadn't forgiven me.
Right then, I couldn't bring myself to go in. I leaned against the wall, listening to Lilith's voice inside. She was telling Elena jokes. She didn't make Elena laugh, but she cracked herself up.
I imagined her laughing, and my lips curved slightly. Then Elena suddenly said, "Lily, stop dodging. You need to tell me what happened between you and Andrei. He's been sending you things for days but won't show his face. Did you two fight?"
"Did he hurt you?"
Hearing Elena's question, my heart sank. What I'd been dreading was coming.
"No." Lilith was silent for a long moment. I heard the tears in her voice. "I'm sorry, Elena..."
"Andrei—he's a mobster... I fell in love with a mobster..."
"I'm so scared. I'm scared of the killing, scared of hurting you again. I can't love him anymore. There's no future for us..."
Lilith's anguished sobs were like a dull blade stabbing into my heart, twisting again and again until I couldn't breathe.
She said she was scared.
She said she couldn't love me anymore.
But I wouldn't accept that. I couldn't let her leave me... but even more, I couldn't stand watching her in so much pain.
"Boss?" Dmitri noticed something was wrong. His hand rested on my shoulder. "You okay?"
"I'm fine." I couldn't listen anymore. I was afraid it was my final judgment. "I'm leaving."
"Keep Lilith and Elena safe."
Back in the car, Sergei started the engine and glanced at me in the rearview mirror.
"Boss, Luka's been keeping his head down lately," he said. "You still want us to clear him out of the Manhattan place?"
The mention of Luca made my temple throb.
"No," I said. "But cut off the little punk's credit card. He won't get another dime from me."
"Got it."
What happened at the wedding made me want to kill Luca, but only for a moment. Lilith wouldn't want to see that. And I didn't want to give her the image of me as someone who killed his own son.
Back at the manor, I cleared everyone out and sat on the couch drinking alone.
Lilith's anguished crying kept replaying in my head.
My rules told me that as long as I wanted, Lilith could never leave me.
But I couldn't stand her suffering.
Should I let her go?
I don't know how long I sat there on that couch. The alcohol made my head fuzzy, consciousness drifting between clarity and fog. Half-asleep, half-awake, I suddenly heard soft footsteps at the study door, slowly approaching.
Is that Lilith? Am I dreaming?
That was the first thought in my head.
Lilith—she came back. She came for me. My lips almost instinctively curved upward.
Then a heavy floral-fruity perfume hit me.
Not Lilith's scent. Lilith never wore perfume like that. She always smelled faintly of roses mixed with a hint of hospital disinfectant.
My smile froze. Disappointment crashed down. I opened my eyes and saw Rebecca getting closer.
"Get away from me." I snarled. "Don't come near me!"
"Who said you could come in here?"
Rebecca paused. She bit her lip, looking hurt. "Andrei, I'm just worried about you." She reached for the bottle beside me. "You've had too much."
"What do you want?" I had no patience for this.
"I... I got hurt at the wedding. Ever since then, I feel like someone's been in my place, moving things.
Someone broke in, Andrei. I'm scared. I can't be alone.
" She took a small step forward. "Could you let me stay here?
And I heard about Lilith... if she's not here, I could take care of you instead. "
Her hand reached out, trying to touch my arm. I shifted away.
"Don't touch me."
Rebecca froze for a second, her eyes instantly welling up, her hand suspended mid-air, stuck.
"Andrei—I'm just concerned about you. After my brother died, I've always thought of you as my only... brother. Seeing you hurt yourself like this, it breaks my heart—"
I looked at her without speaking. Her brother Lev had gripped my hand as he died, asking me to look after his sister.
That responsibility had weighed on me for years.
I'd never set it down—not even now, not even with my head full of Lilith, not even though this uninvited concern exhausted me to the point of irritation.
I still couldn't bring myself to kick her out.
"Take the guest room on the first floor." My voice was colder than before. "Now go. Don't come upstairs. And stay away from my study."