an electrical pulse thrumming. It’s an evening when magic can happen, and what I see before me only accentuates the feeling.
A string of incoherent mumbles fills the air, and even though I can’t make out what he’s saying, it’s safe to assume Viktor Belov is one unhappy boy. I mean, he is tied to a chair in the middle of a rat-infested warehouse.
Stopping several feet away, I peer down at him, continuing to puff on my cigar leisurely. The calmer I am, the more irate he becomes. See, I told you I’m a simple man.
As Viktor is Serg’s right-hand man, I plan to take his right hand as punishment. Pavel’s patience is wearing thin, however, and he storms over to Viktor, ripping out his gag.
Viktor moves his jaw from side to side. “скотина!”
I reply by blowing out a ring of smoke high in the air.
“You are nothing.” He spits, wishing me to know what he thinks of me. All this does is cement my decision to cut out his tongue. “I’m not telling you anything. You may as well kill me now.”
As he continues to ramble, I look down at my Rolex. At this rate, I’m going to be late, so I decide to get this show on the road. With my cigar between my lips, I reach into my shoulder holster and am overwhelmed by a shiver when I come into contact with the cool metal.
“Hello, Viktor. How’s your mother?” I ask casually, producing my gun.
Viktor isn’t surprised I’m carrying, but rather, that I’m asking how his dear old mother is. “If you’re trying to blackmail me into talking, then you’ll need to try another tactic, Мудак!”
Tsking him, I take a draw of my cigar with my left hand. My right is busy with my gun trained on him. “You kiss your mother with that mouth? I must pay her a visit and inform her of your insolence. I fear she’d be most disappointed.”
He scoffs, incredulous, but when I rattle off her address, he realizes I’m not playing.
“So this will go one of two ways. You tell me where that piece of shit is, and I kill you. Or you tell me where that piece of shit is, and I kill you. The choice is yours,” I offer with a smirk because there isn’t a choice.
His fate is decided. And I’m fine with that.
He struggles against his restraints, grunting in anger. “Your brother—”
“Half-brother,” I correct, curling my lip in disgust.
“He is the new king of this town. You are a joke.”
Oh, this waste of space is really testing my time and now, my patience. “We’re going to have to agree to disagree because he wishes he were a king. He’s merely a scared little boy, hiding behind his mother’s skirt.”
His mother, Zoya—who is sadly also mine—is the reason he was able to infiltrate my empire and ensure it came crashing to the ground. So it goes without saying that she must also pay for her crimes. She made her choice—we all did—and now, it’s time we deal with the aftermath.
Viktor isn’t going to talk, but that’s okay. We all have our weaknesses. And I plan to exploit his. “Your loyalty to a bottom-feeder will get you and your family killed.”
He bursts into laughter. “Please, you’d be doing me a favor. I’d pay you to kill my свинья of a wife. And I doubt those kids are even mine. So if this is your grand plan, you lose—again. The feared Aleksei Popov is nothing but yesterday’s news.”
Pavel yawns beside me.
Tsking Viktor, I decide to put an end to his theatrics because I have someplace to be. “You know what separates me from Serg? I earned my place by adapting to my environment. That’s what a victorious leader does.
“I ensured I knew every single thing about my enemies because when the time came, I would use this for my gain. Like right now.”
Walking toward Viktor, I smoke my cigar casually. “It appears you’ve been a very busy boy, going back and forth between your wife and mistress. I don’t know how you can keep up.”
I take great pleasure in seeing him pale.
“Why don’t you just divorce her?” I ask. Even though I know the answer, I just want to see him squirm.
Before he has a chance to reply, I tap my forehead as if I’m struck with an epiphany. “Maybe it’s because your beloved is married herself? What do you think would happen if her husband knew the son he loves