Page 97 of Born into Sin

“They’re at the warehouse right outside of the city, the one that’s closest to our territory in the north,” I tell him, and he nods, letting me know he remembers the spot.

Both of our families have various properties located in and around the city. Hell, my family’s real estate company helped them buy several of them. They’re all under various corporations, all of our names hidden beneath a labyrinth of paperwork that no one will ever be able to decipher. It’s still a small risk, but it’s a necessary one because having a place to torture and kill that isn’t on your own personal property is a fucking must in this line of work.

I send a quick text to Lev, letting him know we’re on our way and to save me a piece of the bastard. He gives me a thumbs up, so I’m assuming that means there will at least be a little life left in the guy for me to snuff out.

Dario gets us to the abandoned-looking warehouse in record time, thanks to his refusal to leave behind his Italian way of driving and take up a more cautious approach to things like obeying speed limits and stoplights. He pulls in beside Matvey’s black Camaro, and when we step inside, the derelict façade of the place transforms into a large, soundproofed room with ample space for all five Melnikov brothers, their older sons, plus me and my two men.

The brothers give me a nod while Vitaly walks over with a smile and claps me on the back. “About fucking time. Don’t worry, Dom, we saved you some fun.”

I look around, surprised to see Sasha standing next to his cousins.

“It’s his sister,” Lev tells me. “He’s earned the right to be here.”

“He has,” I agree, not even bothering to argue. I was involved in shit like this at a way younger age, and I can understand his rage about his sister and the need to do something about it, and if the sixteen-year-old is having a hard time dealing with the violence, he’s hiding it damn well. The dead look in his eyes could rival any I’ve seen on far older, more hardened career criminals.

I give Sasha a nod and then look over at Alexei Zolotov. I frown and turn to Lev. “Are you sure he’s even still alive?”

Alexei is hanging from a chain, naked, and they’ve beaten him so badly that I never would’ve recognized him on my own. His hair color isn’t even visible because it’s coated in dried blood. Both eyes are swollen shut, I don’t think he has a goddamn tooth left in his mouth, and both of his Achilles heels have been severed, leaving his feet to hang uselessly beneath him.

“He’s fucking breathing,” Lev says, and then because he’s still pissed that I’ve been fucking his daughter, he adds, “Be happy you were even invited, Alessi.”

“Yeah, he’s still a little sore about everything,” Vitaly mutters under his breath.

Matvey walks up to Alexei and gives him a rough push so he starts to swing. The movement pulls a pained groan from Alexei while Matvey smirks and gives me an I told you so look.

“Where’s Adrian?” I ask.

Danil shrugs and then laughs. “The old man couldn’t handle the torture. His heart gave out about halfway through.”

“And Andrik?”

“That was Bratva business,” Roman says, making it clear that I was never going to get an invite to that particular party, and as much as I would’ve liked to have hurt that little fucker for kidnapping Natalya, I’m confident his death was sufficiently gruesome and slow.

Lev walks over to stand in front of me. Sandro takes a respectful step back, and Dario waits a few seconds longer than necessary, eyeing Lev the whole time, before slowly taking one step back. It’s a smaller step than Sandro, and we all notice it. I see Lev’s lip ring move up in a smirk at my cousin’s small show of defiance.

Lev holds a bloody knife out to me and raises a pierced brow. I know what’s being offered here, and for a second I’m too surprised to take the bloody blade from him. The man hanging from the ceiling tried to rape his daughter. Natalya wasn’t married or engaged at the time, and as her father, it’s his right to cut the man’s dick off and take the kill, but he’s not. He’s giving it to me.

“That’s so fucking sweet,” I hear Vitaly say from somewhere behind me, and then I hear what sounds like a package being torn open. When I look over my shoulder, he’s opening a bag of gummies with hands that are covered in dried blood and giving me a sort of sweetly sentimental look that makes me want to punch the fucker. He sees my look and smiles even bigger. “Why don’t you give your dad a hug? I think we’d all enjoy seeing that.”

“Jesus Christ, Vitaly,” Lev groans. “I’m not his fucking dad.”

“Father-in-law, whatever,” Vitaly amends and mutters to his son, “Potayto, potahto,” and then pops a gummy in his mouth from the bag the two of them are sharing.

“He’s not going to last much longer,” Lev says, pulling my attention back to the bloody knife he’s offering me.

I take it and give him a tight nod. “Thanks, Lev.”

He shrugs like it’s no big deal, but we both know it is. I assumed they’d let me have a little fun with Alexei, but Lev is offering me so much more.

“Just make it hurt as much as possible.”

“I will,” I tell him, because there was never any doubt about that.

“Wake up, Alexei,” Vitaly says in a sing-song voice. “You aren’t going to want to miss this.”

He tosses a bag of fruit snacks to Dario, who gives him a What the fuck? look before I turn to put all my focus on the man in front of me. Stepping closer, I run my eyes over him, taking in the bruised, bloody body without an ounce of sympathy. It reminds me of when my dad and I had killed the man who murdered my sister. I’d felt nothing then. By the time we’d found him, I’d felt more empty than anything else, but I don’t feel empty now. There’s a murderous rage brewing inside me, and I’m about to let it out.

“I know you can’t see me, Alexei, but do you know who I am?”

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