I pulled out a cigarette, lighting the end and putting it between my lips. Such a fucking nasty habit. I stepped into the alley, the single streetlamp barely piercing the darkness. But I could see Fredo just twenty feet ahead.
He pushed the woman against the brick wall, his hand sneaking up her skirt as he latched his mouth to her neck.
I inhaled deeply, a single flare from the end of my cigarette lighting up momentarily before I pulled it away and exhaled.
Fredo was so lost in his work with the woman he didn’t even notice he was blocked in. Me at the entrance. Nikolai at the other end.
There was the swish of a lighter opening and closing.
Open and close. Open and close.
It echoed enough that Fredo finally lifted his head from being buried in the woman’s tits to look in Nikolai’s direction. But my brother was shrouded in the shadows. The only distinguishable feature was his massive body in a relaxed stance as he braced a shoulder against the side of the building.
“What the fuck?” I heard Fredo mutter as he glanced at Nikolai and then at me.
He stumbled back, and I grinned.
I brought my cigarette to my mouth again and took a long hit. We said nothing. Just watched him.
After a long minute I finally moved a step forward, and Nikolai mirrored the act.
“Get the fuck out of here,” my brother harshly said to the woman. She giggled and stumbled away, moved past me, and headed down the street.
Now it was just the three of us.
Before Fredo knew what was happening, we had him cornered, his back to the bricks, his beady black eyes bouncing from me to Nikolai.
“What the fuck’s going on?” Fredo tipped his chin up and pulled his shoulders back, trying to seem bigger than he actually was.
I would’ve laughed if I found any of this funny, if I didn’t have murder on the brain.
As it was, just looking at him and being this close to the prick reminded me of what he did to Claudia.
All I could imagine was what he would do to her if he had her as his.
I didn’t realize I was growling like some kind of fucking primitive beast until Fredo took that minuscule step back that had him pressed even harder against the brick wall.
“You really did a number on my brother,” Nikolai said, still clicking the lighter open and closed, the metal catching before he flipped it back open. “I’ve seen my brother pretty upset many times, but nothing like this.”
And then Nikolai grinned so sadistically I couldn’t help letting one form on my mouth, too.
“That tells me he’s gonna go savage on your ass.”
“Do you know who the fuck I am?” Fredo’s voice wavered.
He could act like he was brave, but I could smell the stench of fear pouring off him. It was clear he’d never gone up against genuine threats.
He probably controlled a bunch of pissants who jumped when he told them to because they knew who his father was.
“How are we going to do this?” Nikolai asked me as he stared at Fredo. “Fist or needle?”
Fredo’s brows pulled down low, and he looked between Nikolai and me.
“A needle would be easier,” I said, low and deep. “Less painful for you initially.”
But no. That’s not how we are going to do this.
I curled my hands tightly into my palms, my blunt nails digging into my flesh.
Fredo’s beady eyes bounced back and forth, and I watched his hand go for his pocket. No doubt he was packing a gun in there.
The second that Fredo looked at Nikolai, I reared back and slammed my knuckles into the center of his head, causing his skull to crack back on the brick so loudly I was pretty sure bone broke.
He gave a deep grunt before falling to a heap on the ground.
I took a step back and spit on his unconscious form.
“Fist it is,” Nikolai said and closed his lighter before slipping it into his pocket. “Let’s get this party started.”
Chapter 26
Dmitry
An hour and a half later, we were in an abandoned storage container by the harbor.
I didn’t ask Nikolai how he’d found something so quick. My brother and I had connections that ran deep and long, and Nikolai had a way of getting whatever he wanted.
Being known as a raving fucking lunatic had people getting shit done for you.
I stared at Fredo as he was strung up. Although he was limp and barely breathing, I kept the bastard conscious enough so he knew what was happening to him.
I looked over at Nikolai, who grinned. Blood was splattered across his face and chest.
The fucker was just as psychotic as I was, especially when it concerned protecting what was ours.
Hell, he might’ve gone even more brutal if some fucker had laid his hands on Amara. I knew he’d killed one of her guards simply because he hadn’t watched her thoroughly enough. Beat the poor bastard to death with his bare hands.