Naturally, no one laughed, all of them stoic, their faces unreadable. One guy merely tipped the muzzle of his gun in the direction of a motorboat, silently telling me to move my ass and get on. My glare raked from one guy to the other, trying to assess my current situation. Since they had weapons and I didn’t, I’d say my current situation was, well…less than favorable.
Without saying a word, I walked in the direction of the motorboat. Just as I reached the edge, someone pushed me from behind, causing me to fall face first into the boat.
Fuckers said something in Russian as I righted myself. I guessed it wasn’t compliments they were spitting my way.
One man climbed onto the boat, his gun aimed straight at me. I kept my hands in the air. “Where is Vadik? Where is Doe?”
Another guy got onto the boat, while the other moved in behind the wheel. As the boat started to move, the salt water smell surrounded me, the cool wind ruffling through my hair while I reached out to hold on to the barrier. Within minutes, we were out the harbor, and I saw the lights of a yacht in the distance.
“Is that where we’re going?”
No one answered me.
My stomach was slowly turning inside out while my heartbeat remained steady, even though it felt like it would creep up my throat at any second. Doe and Karina better be there, and unharmed. I might not have a gun, and I knew my odds of survival were probably slim. But if Vadik so much as hurt a hair on their heads I would die trying to pull his spine from his fucking body.
I kept my gaze on the yacht in the distance, my shoulders squared and jaw clenched. One thing my father had taught me was to never show fear. Assholes like Vadik fed on it. It only made them stronger, giving them more power.
The boat came to a stop next to the dock connected to the yacht. When I read the name on the side of the yacht, I almost snorted.Master VI. Fucking original. Son of a bitch probably had one of these babies anchored at every goddamn port.
They cut the engine of the boat, and one of the SOBs shoved me forward, forcing me on the dock. All I did was glower at him over my shoulder. What I really wanted to do was rip his tongue out and shove it up his ass. But I was keeping my eyes on the prize, and that was doing everything I possibly could to get Karina and Doe away from this twisted motherfucker. A part of me felt thrilled to finally meet this Vadik fuck so I could carve his goddamn heart out. I just wished I had a little more of an upper hand than I did now.
There was a winter chill in the air, but the adrenaline in my veins kept me warm. It could have been three degrees outside; I still wouldn’t have been able to feel it. The salty scent of the ocean came in waves with the breeze, and I hoped like fuck this wasn’t the last time I’d smell the sea.
“Walk,” the fucker with the mean-ass tattoos ordered from behind me. Getting inked up his neck and over his bald head had to hurt like hell. “I said walk.” He shoved me again, and I growled in the back of my throat.
“Push me again, and I’ll slit your throat.” Seriously, there was only so much a man could take before he lost his shit.
The guy laughed, and then true as fuck, he shoved me again.
I stilled, closed my eyes, and bit my lip. There was a click, a heartbeat, and I swerved, flicking my wrist. My aim was perfection, the thin slice across his throat starting to bleed the second I brought my arm back down. He gargled, choking on his blood as crimson poured down his chest. The other son of a bitch watched in horror. I, on the other hand, watched in sheer fucking delight.
The guy turned to face me, eyes wide, completely shocked. He moved, and so did I…only my knife was jabbed into his gut before he even had a chance to raise his rifle. Fucking idiot. Everyone knew rifles were shit short distance. Vadik really needed to get himself some security with a little less muscle and little more brain.
I took my five seconds, watching my victims bleed. Watching them die. It was so easy, so simple to take a life—especially when the life of someone you cared about depended on the death of another.
I heard them before they reached me, the rest of Vadik’s crew. There was no doubt I would pay for the lives I had just taken, but at least it was two fuckers less I had to worry about.
A hard body slammed into mine, sending me face first to the ground. And then…nothing.
***
From the ache in the back of my skull, it was painfully evident I had taken a blow to the head. That also explained how I ended up bound to a chair, ankles together, wrists tied to the armrest. Immediately, I remembered the image of those two guys I killed. They could strap me down in a straitjacket, or twist chains around my body from head to toe. It was still fucking worth it, taking the last breath of those arrogant fucks.
“You sure know how to make an entrance, don’t you, Valenti heir?”
I glanced to the right, then to the left, finally seeing the fucker leaning against the wall looking all dapper and shit in a fucking suit. The long trench coat with fur lapels totally gave him away. Russian fucker.
“Vadik, I presume.”
He nodded.
I cringed, a sharp pain shooting up my skull. “Yeah, your pictures don’t do your ugly face justice.”
He pushed himself away from the wall. “As the leader of one of Boston’s most powerful families, you should know that sarcasm is a very unbecoming quality to have.”
“So is raping little girls.”
That shut the fucker right up. In fact, the way he frowned, those freaky as fuck blue eyes scowling at me, I knew he was envisioning my head on a stake. Well, the feeling was fucking mutual.