I straighten up and look out towards the farmhouse where both boys are now jumping off the porch in turns.
Innocent and fearless. Too young to be as scarred as I am.
There was a time when I’d entertained the notion of a quiet life like theirs somewhere peaceful.
But that was only a fever dream.
I was a fool to think I could leave the Bratva behind.
It is part of me.
Sutured into my skin, as necessary to me as air.
“Where can I find the little bastard?” I ask.
Guillermo stays on the ground at my feet. “They work out of a small farm to the southwest of the mountain range. Right off the highway. You can’t miss it.”
I nod. “You’ve been useful, Guillermo.”
It’s the closest he’ll get to a thank you.
* * *
I leave Guillermo lying in the shit and jump into my Jeep. Then I start the drive to the farm he described.
With every mile that passes under my tires, I get angrier.
This fucking kid thought he could fuck with me by ransacking my cabin like some a goddamn cat burglar.
He and his men are about a get a lesson in the art of fear mongering.
You don’t fuck with Artem Kovalyov.
The adrenaline is pumping through me as I drive fast down the rural highway. I see the house rear up in the distance. I stop half a mile away and pull my truck out of sight behind a pyramid of hay bales.
Then I sit and wait for nightfall.
* * *
When darkness comes, I tuck a pistol into the back of my jeans and grab my rifle. It takes me half an hour to get within range of the house. I move slowly, stopping and starting often, and always watching for signs of life.
When I come up on the structure, I can see only a few men outside.
They’re smoking cigarettes and laughing. I see a mound of beer cans littering the ground at their feet.
Fucking perfect.
I screw the silencer onto the pistol as I take stock of the situation. I know I have to be fast. There are three men out front, and I have to hit all three before any of them can warn the other men inside the cabin house.
My hands are steady as I take aim. It helps that all three men are sitting close together.
So considerate of them.
Then I shoot.
One. Head shot.
Two. Head shot.