I take my cell from my pocket and pull up my camera, tap on the image I had enhanced earlier today and hand it over to her.
“Just as I thought,” she murmurs quietly, and then looks back to her men. “Ready the men, we’re going in.”
“All due respect, Boss, but I wouldn’t advise any of us walking in on—”
Katya pulls her gun and within an instant a shot’s rung out and the man trying to offer his advice is on the ground, holding his knee as he bleeds. “Does anyone else here want to give me unsolicited advice, or are you going to fucking do as your told?!” Katya snaps, nostrils flaring at her group of six men who came with her. She glares down at the man who spoke up and walks toward him. “Do you not care for my kin, Oleg? Do you not care for what happens to Kronid’s woman, who happens to be my stepdaughter, Dema?”
“N-no, I wasn’t suggesting such a thing. I only meant to be of service to you—”
“How can you be helpful when such stupid shit comes from your mouth like diarrhea. You have diarrhea of the mouth, asshole. You speak when spoken to, do you understand me?” Katya’s accent comes out thick with her anger and just as she’s screaming at her idiotic man, Michail comes charging down the stairwell.
“She’s at the Volkolv compound.”
At his words Katya stops berating her man and smirks. “A resourceful one you have here. I was just about to get to that part. The wolf tattoo on the neck signifies it’s a Volkolv man. The tattoo is the way they show commitment to the head of the Volkolv family, who happens to be Maxim.”
I’ve heard rumors about Maxim Volkolv, how he was the mad child of Valentin Volkolv and his mistress. But what I know the most is how Maxim wasn’t supposed to get the heir to the Russian throne, instead it should’ve been his eldest son, Aleksandr. I don’t know the circumstances around Aleksandr not getting the title, but it always comes down to love. I know Aleksandr is married to an Irish mafia princess, and Valentin Volkolv had a longstanding war with the Irish. My guess is when he chose his wife, he walked away from the potential of being the boss.
“I know which estate Maxim stays at. My men constantly have eyes on him,” Katya speaks up, looking to me, and then to Michail.
“Well then, what the fuck are we waiting for?” I speak up.
Before I know it, we’re all exiting the garage bay, minus Katya’s broken man, and we’re in two large SUVs driving at what feels like lightning-fast speed to get to the Volkolv estate. It’s on the other end of Moscow and is tucked away in a private community, ironic considering Maxim is the man who prefers to put on a show.
Katya’s men crash the SUVs through the gates, not giving a flying fuck at the damage they put on the property or the vehicles themselves. The cars come to a screeching halt at the top of the hill, and we all open our doors, guns loaded, ready for the fight of our lives.
One of Maxim’s men comes charging over and pulls his gun up, immediately stopping when he sees Katya. She smiles cockily and looks at the man. “Take me to my cousin, dog. This is Volkolv business, and Volkolv business only.”
“I . . . apologize. I didn’t know it was you, Katya.” The man looks down onto the ground and holds his hand up, signaling everyone to stop shooting. I look over to my boss and she gives me a nod, signaling me to be quiet and let her handle things. I keep quiet and follow her closely as Maxim’s goon takes us in through the back door of his estate, into some sort of living room.
In a matter of seconds, a blond man with a buzz cut and tons of tattoos is coming into the living room. “Cousin, to what do I owe this very unexpected visit?”
“Cut the shit, Maxim. You have my stepdaughter and I’d like her back.”
Maxim smiles and claps his hands together. “Bravo! You’ve won the scavenger hunt and now yo—”
“I said cut the shit, Maxim!” Katya snarls at her cousin, pacing the room.
Maxim falls back onto an armchair and crosses his leg over the other. “Why ruin my fun, cousin?”
“Because you stole my stepdaughter, who’s also one of my employees. Why’d you take her?”
“Sergei fucked with my father far too much, and when I discovered his child was here, in Moscow, I couldn’t resist. So, I took her for some fun.”
“She’s not some sort of toy you can play with, Maxim, fuck!”
“You will hand her over now, before things go sideways,” I grit, finding it hard to control my anger.
Maxim looks over to Katya and chuckles, not even having the decency to look me in the eyes. “Keep a leash on your dog, before it gets put down.”
“Don’t make threats against my men, Maxim. You of all people should know better,” Katya snaps. “Hand Dema back over to me, now.”
“Why the fuck would I do such a thing? She’s a Kolosov, so she deserves the same pain her father experienced toward the end of his life.”
I yank my gun free and pull back the safety, pointing it at Maxim Volkolv. I don’t give a damn that he’s the leader of the Russian Bratva. I only care that he has my woman. She’s the only thing that matters to me right now.
Maxim begins to open his mouth and without hesitating I pull the trigger. The bullet flies from the barrel of my gun and goes into the top of his head.
I glance over to Katya and her face is flushed bright red. I mentally prepare myself for being chastised by her, but instead, something different comes from her mouth. “Search every inch of this place until we find her. Tell everyone here the Bratva is now mine because I have Volkolv blood running through my veins.”
Chapter Nineteen
Dema
Warmth surrounds me and I wonder if this is heaven. Will I finally see my mom again? My dad?
No, this can’t be right. What is the noise I keep hearing? It sounds like people’s voices speaking softly. There’s also a beeping sound. Like a heart monitor, I don’t know.
I struggle to open my eyes. Light flickers in my aching eyes and I sink right back into the dark abyss, not having the strength to open them completely.
“Are you sure she’s okay?” The sound of people talking closer to me pulls me back from the abyss of nothingness.
“She’ll be okay,” a woman’s voice says reassuringly.
“We don’t know that.” I know that voice. It belongs to Kronid, but he can’t be here. Can he?
I died at the hands of Maxim. Didn’t I?
“The doctors said everything was healing nicely and they took her out of the medically induced coma yesterday, Kronid. You know I wouldn’t get anything but the best for Dema. Not after what she endured at Maxim’s hands. We’re just waiting for her to wake up,” another woman says. My heart begins to pound against my chest at the mention of Maxim’s name.
“I know this. I just want her to wake up. It’s been two weeks since she’s been here,” Kronid mutters. The frustration is evident in his voice.
Holy crap. Did he just say two weeks?
“Look, see this is proof she’s waking up,” someone else says, mentioning something beeping.
It takes all my strength, but I open my eyes and blink against the brightness in the room. My gaze immediately moves to Kronid as I take in the room. I’m in some hospital room of some sort.