He hoisted himself into a sitting position and slumped against the wall, his blood now smeared on it. “No motherfucker is gonna get through his hallway without me shooting their brains out.”
I believed him.
Yegor would fight until his last breath.
Once a made man, there was no out. You died living this life. Born into darkness or later brought into the Underworld…death followed the same fucking way. Through the darkness, a never-ending pit.
Lives were made with a lot of choice. And what we chose…it defined our path.
Like me…my choices brought me here.
Like Yegor…he knew, one day…his choices would lead him here.
Reluctantly, I stood up. My back straightened, and I inhaled then exhaled.
“Thank you,” I murmured. “For being the best right-hand man I could ever ask for. I trusted you, and not once have you ever betrayed me. Your loyalty will always be remembered, and you will always be honored.”
He grinned, his white teeth now a bit bloodied, a contrast to his dark skin. “We did it, Viktor. The bastard is dead. Now, get your woman out of here.”
Motherfucker.
Emotions clogged my throat, and I nodded. “Thank you,” I mouthed one final time. He raised his gun, waving me away, and smirked.
That was the last image of Yegor, and it was deep ingrained in my memory.
Chapter 29
Viktor
I burst into Valerie’s room, only to stop dead at the sight in front of me. Motherfucker.
The room was trashed, but that wasn’t what caught my attention.
Luka. Valentin’s most trusted man. I might have been the second in command, but Luka had always been Valentin’s right hand.
Fucking Luka had my Valerie.
She struggled against his grasp, the fear on her face equivalent to a stab wound in my chest. The side of her face appeared to be bruising already, and blood seeped from the wound on the side of her head. A painful whimper escaped past her throat, and I could feel the murderous fury burning inside of me. I was high and bursting with adrenaline, my thirst to watch my enemies bleed to dead still not quenched.
Luka had a hand over her mouth, stifling her cries. He kept his knife at the base of her throat. I could see the welts of blood forming on her porcelain skin where the sharp blade rested.
“What did you do to Valentin?” he hissed.
“You are too late, Luka,” I drawled, watching his every movement like a goddamn hawk.
The situation was tricky, and I wasn’t going to risk hurting Valerie.
“Where is he?” Luka roared. The blade pressed harder into her skin, and Valerie’s eyes widened further. “Fuck with me and she is dead. Trust me, it would cost me nothing to kill her. She is disposable, and I’ll dispose of her fucking body right in front of your eyes. I’m going to ask you one more time, where the fuck is Valentin?”
“Dead.”
Luka seemed shocked for a second, so I taunted him some more. “His body is currently burning to ashes right now.”
He realized I was a traitor. He already gathered that I tortured Valentin.
But he probably never thought I’d kill Solonik.
I took his momentary surprise as my chance. I advanced forward, but my myshka was a fighter.
She was smaller and quicker. Valerie took advantage of Luka’s shock and twisted from his arm. She brought her leg up and then slammed her feet over his, knocking him off balance. The knife fell from Luka’s grasp and into Valerie’s. The fear of death and the unknown had her reacting without a thought.
I stayed rooted to where I was and watched my woman drive the thick blade into Luka’s neck. She stumbled away and into my arms. Her tiny body was trembling, and I held her to me.
Luka gurgled, blood pouring from his mouth. I walked forward and gripped the handle of the knife and dragged it out from his flesh. His mouth fell open with a silent scream. Blood sprayed out, and then I drove the knife back in, hitting his main artery.
One swift movement. He slumped to the ground, his body convulsing. One breath. Two heartbeats.
Dead. Fucking. Man.
I felt Valerie’s cold hand in mine, and I laced our fingers together. From the corner of my eyes, I noticed Irina cowering in the corner of the room. She cradled her arm to her chest.
“I think it might be fractured. I heard the crack when he threw me against the wall,” she whispered.
“We don’t have time to fix it. Can you run, Irina?” I asked quickly. She appeared a bit disoriented. When Luka threw her into the wall, she must have hit her head.
The noises grew louder in the estate, and I knew the fire was spreading fast. It was already chaos, and we only had a few minutes left to make our escape.
Irina nodded weakly.
I grabbed her good arm and pulled her to her feet. “Then let’s go. Follow closely behind me. Understood?”