Chapter Nineteen
Jarek
F ifteen minutes later , the Callahan Tunnel, Boston...
“Talk to me, Declan.”
Jarek’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the armrest. His jaw clenched so hard his teeth ached. Cold sweat trickled down his spine as he waited with dread cursing through him.
“Don’t bother coming to TAP, Boss.” Declan’s voice sounded gruff as it cut through the tense silence inside the SUV. “I just arrived. Levin Jackson is dead, shot in the chest. Tatiana isn’t here, but Robert Ward confirmed that fuckface Skull took her. Our tech team tracked the van through the traffic cams to East Boston Yacht Club. The satellite feed shows them forcing her onto a speedboat. They left five minutes ago.”
Gripping the secured tablet in one hand, Jarek watched the real-time feed from their surveillance system. Their tech team had developed proprietary software that merged multiple data streams via traffic cameras, satellite imagery, facial recognition, and thermal imaging. The AI could analyze and predict movement patterns, creating a virtual grid across the city. The drones they had launched provided additional coverage, but the growing distance between the boats and shore would soon make tracking more difficult.
“Playtime is over,” Jarek’s voice came out as a deadly whisper. “I’m going to tear that bastard apart piece by piece.” The fury coursing through his veins shocked him with its intensity. When Gregor had murdered his family, he had wanted revenge. But this all-consuming rage at the thought of Skull touching his wife threatened to shatter his carefully maintained control. His hands shook as he fought the urge to punch through the window.
“I should’ve fucking known better,” he grunted under his breath. He should have anticipated Gregor’s move after Tatiana had cut ties with him. His arrogance in thinking she was safe at TAP now crushed him with guilt. He should have assigned a security detail and had men watching her every move. The failure to protect his wife tightened around his chest like a vice.
“She watched her best friend die,” he ground out. The horror of what Tatiana endured was traumatic, something he knew firsthand. He was still haunted by the helplessness, the guilt of surviving, and the way it had changed him forever. Now, she would have to face the same recurring nightmares.
Lucky Holden, reading the situation, pushed the GMC faster and veered toward the exit, weaving through traffic with precise control.
“Keep eyes on that boat, Declan,” Jarek ordered in a raw voice. “Meet us at the marina.”
“Already moving,” Declan replied. “I’ve got two speedboats prepped and waiting. The tech team has drones in the air with thermal imaging active. We won’t lose them, Jarek. I’ve also ordered men to be positioned at every marina within fifty miles of the coast.”
Thank God for Declan’s foresight. The man anticipated needs before they arose. It was a rare quality that had saved their operation more times than Jarek could count.
“Step on it, Lucky,” Nevil growled as he checked his weapons in the backseat. The metal clicked ominously and was in tune with Jarek’s increasing concern. “Today, we are going to paint the harbor red.”
The SUV surged forward as Jarek’s mind raced through scenarios, each more violent than the last.
“I’ll find you, Tatiana, and when I do, that fucktard will learn the true meaning of suffering,” he vowed in a deep voice.
“Damn fucking right he will,” Lucky snickered, already preparing himself to be the one dishing out the pain.
Death would be a mercy long in coming... except Jarek’s anger might be the bastard’s savior. Because making him suffer paled in comparison to the desire to watch Gregor Polov die. Now that he had shown he truly had no humanity, even to a granddaughter he proclaimed to adore, Jarek coveted the final showdown in two days with Martinez. It would be the crème de la crème he had been waiting for over twenty years.
“It’ll be over soon,” he growled. “But first, we have to find my wife.”
The roar of twin Mercury engines drowned the harbor as Jarek and his men boarded the first speedboat. Declan took the helm while Lucky and Nevil secured their weapons. The second boat, filled with their tactical team, fell in behind them.
Salt spray stung Jarek’s face as they cut through the choppy waters. The ocean churned with dark waves crashing against the hull, matching the storm raging inside him. Each passing minute without visual contact of Skull’s boat twisted his gut tighter.
The tablet in his hands showed their position. A quickly moving dot that kept gaining distance. Despite Declan pushing their boat to its limits, the gap widened. Jarek’s fist slammed against the console.
“Sir,” the operational tech team’s voice crackled through their earpieces. “Thermal imaging shows their boat just made landfall. Coordinates coming through. They’re heading north toward Nahant.”
“Push the throttle to the max, Declan,” Jarek’s voice cut like steel through the wind. “They have a five-minute head start you need to shrink. Nevil, get us ground transport.”
Nevil’s fingers flew across his phone. “Team already did. Two SUVs will be waiting at Nahant Beach.”
The boat lurched as Declan opened the engines fully. Water sprayed over the bow as they carved through the waves at maximum speed. Jarek gripped the rail as rage inside him built with each passing second, threatening to override his tactical judgment.
He forced himself to take deep breaths. Losing control now would put Tatiana at risk. He had seen too many operations go wrong when emotion clouded decision-making. The memory of her voice during that brief phone call centered him.
“No matter what happens,” he said as the shoreline grew closer, “remember Tatiana’s safety comes first. I don’t want her to get hurt.”
The others nodded grimly. They all understood the message. Skull would pay for his part in her abduction, but getting Tatiana back safely was their first priority.
Tatiana
T atiana shifted against the ropes binding her wrists, doing her best to ignore the sting as they bit into her flesh. The metallic taste of blood lingered in her mouth from where Skull had hit her earlier. She had stopped fighting, not from fear but strategy. Let him believe he had broken her spirit.
“You do know he’s coming for me, right?” She kept her voice steady, watching Skull pace the small space of the speedboat. “I don’t know about you, but the stories I’ve heard would make my dick shrink thinking of what’s heading your way.”
His face contorted with rage. Even without the scar covering half his face, he’d be ugly. “Do I look like the kind of man to be scared, bitch? Or have you forgotten who I am and what I’m capable of?”
“Ah, I’m a bitch now, am I?” she scoffed, knowing he never would’ve dared in the past. She knew his type. Men who confused cruelty with power. The kind who folded like cheap cards when faced with real strength. “Just remember, fuckface, he who scoffs at danger hurts the most.”
“Who came up with that lame bullshit?” Skull barked a laugh as they reached the shore. He roughly dragged her toward a waiting truck. “Besides, it doesn’t matter. Your loving husband won’t find us, and soon, it won’t matter if he did.”
The threat barely registered. Skull was just another rabid dog doing Gregor’s bidding. She would rather deal with him than that coward who couldn’t even face her himself.
“ You’re gonna off me?” she sneered as he shoved her into the backseat. “Well, that’s new. Is the mighty Pakhan suddenly too chicken shit to do his own dirty work, or is it that he’d rather let you deal with the Irish fury heading your way?”
A glint of sunlight off water caught her attention. Two speedboats approached rapidly from the distance, cutting through the waves with purpose. Relief flooded through her. She instinctively knew it was Jarek. He had promised to find her... and he did.
“How sure are you that he won’t find me in time?” Her lips curved into a mocking smile. “He’s already here, you stupid prick.”
“ Blyat !” Skull’s spit flew as he whirled to look. The color drained from his face.
“What’s wrong?" Tatiana taunted. ”Just figuring out you’re not as smart as you thought? The Dark One’s reach goes further than your tiny brain can ever comprehend.” She leaned back with satisfaction coursing through her at his obvious panic. “I almost feel sorry for you. Almost... but not quite.”
Jarek
N ahant Beach, just outside of Boston...
The speedboats cut through the final stretch of water. Their engines roared as they approached Nahant Beach. Jarek’s trained eye caught the fresh tire tracks in the wet sand.
“We can’t be more than minutes behind them.”
Relief flooded through him, tempering the rage that had been building since Tatiana’s phone call. Skull wouldn’t kill her yet. He was too arrogant, too convinced of his own superiority to waste his bargaining chip. The bastard would want to gloat, to play his hand for maximum effect. That psychology would be his downfall. Two black SUVs waited at the designated spot with their engines running. Jarek’s team smoothly transitioned from sea to land with their weapons checked and ready.
The SUVs tore through the coastal roads, tracking the signal from their drones. Jarek’s knuckles whitened on his gun as they spotted a truck ahead that matched the description from their surveillance feed.
“There,” Declan pointed. “Two vehicles, moving fast toward that industrial complex.”
The truck suddenly veered off the main road, taking a narrow path toward an abandoned warehouse.
“The motherfucker must’ve spotted us,” Nevil spat as he instructed the team to split up. The SUVs broke formation to cut off potential escape routes.
Tatiana
“T hey’re trying to box us in,” Tatiana heard Skull curse as their truck skidded to a stop inside the warehouse. “Get her upstairs. Now!”
The following moments blurred into a sequence of rough hands and angry shouts.
“Get your filthy fucking hands off me,” she snapped as two men tried to drag her out toward a metal staircase leading to an office overhead, but the sound of screeching tires outside made them pause.
“Boss, they’re here!” one of Skull’s men called out. Tatiana reveled in the panic evident in his voice.
“Keep her in the truck,” Skull sneered.
Tatiana watched from inside the truck as chaos erupted. Gunfire shattered the morning quiet as the sharp reports echoed off the warehouse walls. She ducked low in her seat, working furiously at the restraints around her wrists.
Two of Skull’s men fell instantly, precise shots from Lucky’s rifle dropping them before they could reach cover. Skull yanked the door open, clearly intending to use her as a shield, but froze at the sound of a bullet whizzing past his ear.
“Move one more inch and the next one goes through your skull,” Jarek’s voice carried across the lot in a deadly calm tenor.
Skull fired wildly as he spun around. His remaining men scattered, trying to flank Jarek’s position. But Declan and Nevil had already moved to higher ground, picking them off with methodical efficiency.
“You’re surrounded, you dumb fuck,” Tatiana snickered, unable to resist taunting him even now. “Should’ve listened when I warned you.”
“Shut the fuck—”
Skull’s response was cut short as Jarek emerged from behind a stack of crates, moving with lethal grace.
“Let’s see if you can fight someone of your own size, you useless piece of trash,” Jarek jeered as they crashed together in a brutal exchange of blows.
Tatiana had never seen Jarek fight before and was struck numb by the raw fury he emitted. Each strike was meant to inflict maximum damage.
Skull managed to land a lucky hit, splitting Jarek’s lip, but the victory was short-lived. Jarek caught his next punch, then twisted, and Tatiana heard the distinct crack of breaking bones.
“Blyat’ !” Skull howled in pain as the fragile bones in his wrist splintered under the pressure.
“That’s for touching my wife,” Jarek growled, following up with a devastating combination that left Skull sprawled on the concrete.
As Nevil and Lucky secured the perimeter, Declan appeared beside the truck.
“Did the fucker hurt you, Tats?” he asked, using the name he always called her while quickly cutting through her restraints.
“Well, I got a fist against the head, which knocked me out,” she said morosely as she rubbed her raw wrists. Her eyes were fixed on Jarek as he stood over Skull’s prone form.
“You fucking hit her? A woman four times smaller than you?” Even over the distance, she could see Jarek’s body grow even tenser.
“Fuck you, Farrel. She betrayed her own. She’s lucky it’s all I did at the time.” Skull spat blood, trying to maintain his bravado even now. “Finish it, or are you waiting for Dead-Eye?”
Jarek’s response was chillingly calm. “Death would be too easy.” He glanced at Tatiana. His eyes softened briefly before hardening again when he noticed the bruise on her cheek. Turning back to Skull, he said in a dark voice, “You hurt her, so I will reciprocate. Believe me, you’re going to wish I had killed you here.” With another look of disgust, he turned his back on him.
The adrenaline that had kept her going suddenly evaporated. Tatiana’s legs buckled as Jarek’s arms encircled her, pulling her tight against his chest. The facade of strength she had maintained crumbled, and the horror of what she had witnessed crashed over her like a tidal wave.
“Levin,” she murmured against Jarek’s shirt, her voice breaking. “He killed Levin. Shot him without blinking an eye.” The words emerged as a sob, and she clutched Jarek’s jacket. “There was so much blood. I tried to stop it, but it just kept coming. He died in my arms, Jarek. He died protecting me.”
The memory of Levin’s last smile, the way he had pushed her behind him to protect her, threatened to tear her apart. Her hands were clean now, but she could still feel his blood gushing through her fingers.
Jarek gently tipped her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze. What she saw there made her breath catch. Gone was the calculated coldness she had grown accustomed to, replaced by a deep, wounded understanding. His eyes held warmth and an emotion she had never seen before, one that sparked a flicker of hope in her darkness.
“Be strong, love.” His voice was soft and gentle, as it had been before he changed. “This pain you’re feeling? Don’t push it down and allow it to freeze your heart.” His thumb brushed away a tear from her cheek. “I’ve walked that road. Experienced it turn grief into an ugly and consuming hate. Let yourself feel it, mourn him, but don’t let it change who you are. That’s how Gregor wins.”
At that moment, every piece of the puzzle fell into place. She saw him, really saw him, perhaps for the first time. The wall he had built around himself and the coldness he wore like armor suddenly all made sense. This was what losing his family had done to him. He had chosen a path of vengeance because the alternative was too painful to bear.
She straightened in his arms as her voice found strength in knowing she had his support. Unlike him all those years ago, she wasn’t alone.
“Gregor Polov has another death to answer for now. It’s time to end this, Jarek, and I won’t stand in your way.”
“What do you want to do with this piece of shit, Boss,” Lucky asked as he kicked Skull in the sternum.
“Let’s take him on a ski trip after dark.” Jarek’s eyes glimmered ominously. “With the sharks.”
Jarek
F ifty miles off the coast of Boston, a deep stretch of ocean known locally as the Feeding Ground...
The boat cut through the darkness with the midnight waters calm beneath a moonless sky. Skull lay bound and gagged in the stern. His muffled curses were growing more desperate as they reached the designated coordinates.
Lucky removed his gag as he worked methodically, his blade glinting as he carved precise cuts into Skull’s flesh. Not deep enough to kill, but enough to draw blood. The large man’s screams were lost to the sound of waves as they hoisted him overboard with a rope tying his hands together, securing him to the boat’s stern.
The engine growled to life, and Declan began driving in slow, deliberate circles. The water churned in their wake as the scent of blood dispersed through the current. Tatiana stood at the rail. Her knuckles were white against the metal as the first silvery fin broke the surface.
Jarek’s jaw locked at the expression on her face. He cursed himself for bringing her with him. She didn’t need to stand witness to such viciousness.
More sharks appeared, drawn by the blood trail. The first strike was tentative, a test bite that tore through Skull’s thigh. His scream pierced the night. Then the feeding frenzy began.
Jarek watched without expression as the sharks tore into their prey, piece by piece. Nature’s executioners were more brutal than anything he could have orchestrated. The rope strained with Skull’s desperate thrashing until finally, with a sharp snap, it gave way. The dark waters swirled and then stilled. Skull was gone.
He felt Tatiana’s hand trembling in his and turned to see her face drained of color with her eyes fixed on the settling waters. He recognized that look. The moment someone truly understood the darkness of their world. Disgust warred with disbelief in her expression, and beneath it all, a fear that cut him deep.
His jaw tightened as he pulled her closer. “This is not who we are, love, but he hurt you, and for that, I have no mercy.”
“I understand your reasoning, but using me as an excuse for your cruelty? Tell me, Jarek, how much different are you than my grandfather?”
With flashing eyes, he curled his fingers around her throat, forcing her to meet his gaze.
“You’re more than just my wife, Tatiana. You belong to me. You are mine in every aspect. No one touches or hurts what belongs to me.”
Refusing to be intimidated or treated like an object, she tilted her chin higher without his aid.
“Did you treat your first wife like this?”
His jaw locked as his fingers tightened in warning, and he growled in an ominous tone, “She is in my past. It was a different time with two different people. I am a changed man. Understand one thing, my dear wife. I will never compare you to Lisbet.”
“Why? Because, unlike me, she was pure and free of baggage?”
His face twisted with a derisive smile.
“No, because you are on a completely different level than her. There is no comparison, Tatiana. Don’t get me wrong. Lisbet was the first love of my life, but no woman compares to you. In that, I am a very lucky man.” Releasing his hold on her throat, he sighed as her expression remained obstinate. “It’s almost over, love. The end is in sight.”
Her eyes became misty as she searched his face.
“What then?” Her voice was barely a whisper. “Is this kind of life ever going to end, or is this who and what you will be until the end of time?”
The question hung between them, heavy with implications. Jarek stared out at the dark horizon, and not for the first time, the burden of his choices, his vengeance, and his entire existence pressed down on him, and the uncertainty of their future gnawed at his heart.
He had no answer for her. The path of revenge had been clear, driven by grief and rage. But beyond that? The future was as dark and undefined as the waters below.