Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 104127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
My brother speaks, begging Gideon to find me and keep me safe. To protect me.
The man I love promises my dying brother the world, and then he stands up.
Roman’s breathing is labored, his chest caves in; his lungs are collapsing.
“Take it away,” he says.
On the camera, Gideon watches him, and then, with a look of regret that I have seen before on Gideon’s face, he takes out his gun.
Gideon might’ve pulled the trigger, but it was a mercy kill…
My brother was painfully dying, and Gideon gave him peace. I was so wrong about him.
The past month drifts through my memory.
The way he held me.
The way he encouraged me.
The way he loved me.
Everything was real.
We might not have started out that way, and yes, maybe it started off as a lie, but from the moment he tried to save me, it was all true.
Gideon loves me.
And despite it all, I still love him.
He might be a monster.
But he’s my monster.
53
GIDEON
My heart thumps hard in my chest.
Roman lies on the cold concrete floor of the warehouse, gasping for breath and clutching his bleeding chest. His face is a pale mask of agony, and his eyes glint with fear as he gazes up at me.
The air reeks of dust and sweat, giving it an acrid taste that clings to my tongue like glue.
The darkness of the room threatens to swallow us both whole, and I feel like I’m standing on the edge of a precipice, teetering between life and death.
I go to leave, turning back to my men, when the sound of a cough stops me.
“Gideon…” Roman chokes, and I glance back in his direction. “Take it away.”
I stare at him for a brief second, trying to determine if I understand him.
The pain I see is unimaginable. His lungs are collapsing.
I nod to him, raising the gun toward my old friend, who lies helplessly before me. He stares at me with pleading eyes, asking for something from beyond life—mercy or forgiveness—but all he gets is a single bullet through the head.
The gunshot explodes in my ears like thunder and sends a shock wave through my body that reverberates in my bones until it fades away into nothingness. Roman’s body, now on the ground, lifeless as discarded trash.
My heart feels heavy in my chest.
Such a waste.
The smell of gunpowder hangs heavy in the air, its smoky tendrils lingering with regret.
I take one last look at Roman before turning away from him forever; his face is still etched with pain.
His anguish forever frozen in time.
I wish things could have been different, but nothing can erase what has happened today.
The girl.
His sister.
I need to find her.
A promise forged in blood.
The sound of my phone ringing has me shifting from my memory back into reality.
“Speak,” I answer.
“Nikolai got the information you’re looking for,” Julian tells me.
“Tell me now. There isn’t time,” I snap.
“He will only speak to you, sir.”
“Fucker. Very well, I’m coming down.”
My long strides eat up the space quickly, and before long, I’m throwing open the door to the interrogation room.
Despite the fact that Nikolai is working for us now, I’ve had my men bring him here on the off chance his intel is unreliable.
He needs to prove himself to me; only then will he be granted a job within my organization.
“Tell me what you found out.” No time for formalities. Every moment Sasha is missing is another moment where they can be hurting her.
“I have it from a reliable source that Dima is holding Sasha at a warehouse in Brighton Beach. I have the address.”
“And how reliable is this source?”
“He gave me the answer somewhere between losing his finger and me scooping out his right eyeball.”
My jaw tightens. “Is he still alive?”
“For now.”
“Good.” I stand from the chair and nod to Julian. He’s clear that Nikolai is to stay here, on the property, in this room until his intel checks out.
As I step out of the room, I find Lorenzo Amanté waiting for me.
I lift an eyebrow. “What are you doing here?” My anger is not aimed at him, but it’s hard to switch it off when I’m this enraged.
“Word around town is your firefly flew away.”
“That she did.”
“I’m here to help you get her back.”
I stare at the man who started as a business acquaintance and has long since become like family to me. In this business, you can’t trust many, but Lorenzo, I can trust.
“Thank you,” I grunt, not used to showing emotions to anyone but Sasha.
He nods, no other words spoken, as I pick up my phone and dial Jax.
“Is Lorenzo there yet?” he answers.
“Good to know you’re on top of everyone’s moves.”
“Not always, but when one of our girls is taken by the Russian mafia, yeah, I get involved.”
“Thanks, man.”
“No problem. Lorenzo will ride with you. The rest of the guys will meet you wherever you tell them. I’ll watch from the satellites.”