Moscow
The enforcer and his comrades stalked through the doorway with weapons raised, and the rest of us trailed behind. As we neared the room, I heard Maksim and Vladimir shouting over each other.
“Put down your weapon,” Vladimir said.
“Your brother failed to defend you against your papa. Take your revenge. Kill the man who betrayed you. That’s an order,” Maksim yelled.
“The penalty for harming the pakhan’s wife is death,” Yuri said.
Yuri must’ve taken out the entire crew and had come back to help us. I quickened my pace to keep up with Semyon’s hurried strides. I contemplated how they would react when they found Yuri aiming his weapon at two of the Bratva’s most valuable resources. Unlike Maksim and Vladimir, Yuri was expendable.
By the time Semyon and I entered the room, the enforcers had separated Vladimir and Maksim, and both were still alive. Vladimir was badly beaten and had a thin trail of blood dripping down his face, but I was thankful to see him breathing. Maksim was messed up too. He was wheezing heavily and holding his chest. Yuri was on the other side of the room and had his long black pistol aimed at Maksim’s head.
The enforcer in the gray suit had his sights locked on Yuri and ordered him to stand down.
Yuri defied him and kept his gun aimed at Maksim.
“Drop the gun. Now. That’s an order,” Vladimir commanded. Maksim was considered “untouchable” in the organization. The penalty for murdering him carried a death sentence, and if Yuri didn’t follow orders, Moscow would use lethal force to protect him.
Reluctantly, Yuri lowered his weapon. I placed my hand over my heart and sighed in relief. It appeared the guys were behaving, and the impending threat of a bloody massacre had subsided, but we weren’t out of trouble yet.
The goons shoved Maksim and Vladimir each down in a chair. Semyon approached them with the swagger of a self-assured kingpin and regarded his busted-up geniuses with a disapproving scowl. He questioned them in Russian, and each man defended his actions. Maksim and Vladimir traded verbal insults, each placing blame on the other for causing the rift between their families—and more importantly, causing the delay in the delivery of Project K.
I was becoming fluent in Russian, but I couldn’t figure out what they were saying. They were either speaking in code or the words were technical in nature and not a part of my everyday vocabulary. Even when Vladimir spoke in English, I didn’t understand his programmer jargon. I glanced over at Yuri to get a sense of his reaction—tense. I shifted my gaze between the guys, and watched in horror as the conversation took a nosedive.
Vladimir’s temper had flipped to pissed-off pakhan mode. He ranted in Russian then fired off a phrase I completely understood—my wife is pregnant.
The conversation died, the attention shifted to me, and every set of terrifying eyes in that room zeroed in on my stomach. Semyon cruised over to me and placed his unholy, pasty hands over my baby bump to confirm Vladimir’s bombshell of a revelation.
“This is Vladimir’s heir?”
My mouth went dry and my words caught in my throat. I couldn’t speak, but nodded to confirm.
“You want me to finish Project K and undo the damage?” Vladimir asked. “Then get your fucking hands off my pregnant wife and take me to Moscow.”
Semyon’s eyes flashed with anger and he barked out an order to one of his goons. In retaliation for Vladimir’s show of disrespect, the enforcer with the thin moustache raised his fist and busted my husband in the jaw. The force of the blow knocked him back, but he righted himself before he fell off the chair. Vladimir wiped away the blood oozing from his busted lip and glared at Semyon, daring him to do his worst. Instead of dishing out more violence, Semyon seemed satisfied. He held up his hand and called off his wolf.
Vladimir rushed to my side and held me in his strong embrace. My energy had been sucked away into a black hole, and I no longer had the strength to hold myself up. I closed my eyes and melted on my husband’s chest as he rubbed warm circles on my back and whispered loving affirmations in my ear.
“I’m so proud of you for protecting George. You are a wonderful mama, and the most perfect wife…”
The sound of Semyon’s creepy voice snapped me out of my vegetative state. He spoke in Russian to Vladimir, but I was too dazed to concentrate on the translation.
One of the enforcers grasped Vladimir’s arm, alerting him that it was time to leave. But before Vladimir let me go, he cupped my cheeks and stared into my eyes. “I swear to you, our forever life is only on hold. We’ll be a family like we planned. I will come home to you, Carter. Promise you won’t give up on me.”
“I promise.” My gaze bounced between my husband, Semyon, and the enforcer clutching Vladimir’s arm, forcefully pulling him away from me. I turned and spotted Maksim being manhandled and dragged off toward the hallway. Whatever was happening, the guys were in grave danger.
“Where are they taking you?”
“Your husband and Maksim had a job to do for Moscow—and they failed,” Semyon said. “We have no room for incompetence in our organization. They’re going back to Moscow with me.” He brushed my cheek with the back of his hand. “According to my sources, you are the cause of the distractions. Maybe you come back to Russia too and answer for your sins.” A filthy grin spread across his withered face, and I nearly choked on the bile coming up my throat.
“We have a deal, Semyon. Carter goes home.”
“What deal?” I asked.
Vladimir snapped his fingers at Yuri. “Take her home. Now.”
Semyon chuckled incredulously at Vladimir’s bravado. “My trusted men will escort your wife home.” He ordered one of the handlers to remove me from the room. Semyon turned his attention to Yuri who hadn’t flinched since he lowered his gun. I craned my neck to see what was happening.
“Are you an Ivanov or an Ovechkin?” Semyon asked.
Yuri stood tall and regarded Semyon with that menacing glare of his. “I will always be an Ivanov.”
Semyon widened his stance, taking on the persona of a commanding general. “When you left your family, you pledged your loyalty to the Ovechkins. Without trust, there is no brotherhood. You have failed to do your job, Yuri. There is no place for traitors in our world.”
My handler dragged me out of the room. I could no longer see what was happening, but I heard Vladimir shouting at Semyon, bargaining for his brother’s life. My legs wobbled and fear turned my muscles to mush. Yuri was in deep trouble. He committed the number one sin in their organization, betrayal, and now he would pay the ultimate price. I prayed Vladimir had enough influence over Semyon to—
A single gunshot blasted in the room and echoed off the walls, followed by the heavy thud of a body collapsing on the ground. I covered my mouth and dropped to my knees as the noxious odor of gun smoke clouded the air. Oh, God. They executed Yuri.