Page 64 of Secret Bratva Twins

“You don’t get it.” She pressed her ear to the metal and stole a glimpse at the heavy security lock again. “I know this place… I’ve been here once,” she looked at me. “I know this… Max, this room…”

Slow, dramatic, and repeated claps echoed in the room and stopped Gia mid-sentence. Her eyes grew wide and later narrowed when she looked behind me.

I turned around and reached for my gun, fists clenched around the grip, and bloody violence fighting to burst forth.

I knew what she saw. The devil himself was in an Italian brown suit, with a silver gun in his clasp and a wicked side-tilted grin on his wrinkled face.

“So nice of you two to join us here.” He tapped the gun against his hip and eyed his daughter. “Never thought we’d have this kind of family reunion. So fucking cozy, isn’t it? Just the warm welcome you both needed.”

“Only a sick person will find any of this amusing,” she hissed.

Paul put a hand on his chest, feigning hurt. “It physically hurts that you would say that.”

“Let them go!”

“I am sorry, sweetheart, but I don’t think that’s the plan.”

“They have done nothing to deserve any of this. Our children are innocent.”

“But their parents are guilty,” he cackled. “And where I come from, children are valuable enough to pay for their parent’s sin.”

Hoisting the gun, I grated my teeth. “Sad to say, Paul, but this is not one of those times when I appreciate your fucking humor.”

“Doesn’t matter, Maxim Vadim. I couldn’t use your appreciation to wipe the dirt off my fucking shoe, even if I wanted to.” A smirk pulled up his face and he took a nonchalant step forward. “You want to know why?”

I flashed a smile. “Enlighten me.”

A chuckle, dry and empty like the look in his eyes, passed his thin lips. He shrugged. “It’s because you’re completely worthless, like a pesky fly that refuses to stay in the fucking sewer where it belongs. And do you know what people like me do to pesky flies like you?”

“Please, don’t stop,” I arched a brow. “I’m taking notes.”

He barked a short laugh. “Oh, well, good. Jot this down then; I’ll fucking exterminate you, Vadim. I’ll put you right where you belong, and that little brat behind you, who is sadly my daughter, will help me do it.”

“Never!” Gianna yelled beside me. From the corner of my eyes, I watched her fingers curl in determination. “I will never help you do such a thing!”

“Hmm…” He stroked his chin, squinting his eyes. The mask of amusement dulled on his face for the flicker of a moment before bouncing back even brighter. “I thought you would say that, and that’s why I made sure you will do exactly what I want you to, with or without your consent.”

My brace on the gun grew tighter and Gia stepped forward.

“There is nothing, absolutely nothing you can do that would make me turn my back on—”

“Even when your children are involved?” Something wry and wicked danced in Paul’s eyes. His teeth bared in a nasty snare and he waved his gun aimlessly in the air and rose a dark brow. “You would sacrifice your children for this bloody son of a bitch?”

The insinuation in his tone caught both our attention, and her brows dipped low when she spared me a glance. I wondered as well, what card did the old bastard have you his fucking sleeves?

Gia summoned more courage to voice the question. “What are you saying?”

The vicious look in his eyes blazed a thousand times hotter. To him, this was some sick game; and he was enjoying every fucking minute of it.

He waved the gun again and motioned to the door behind us. “You see, that room holding Ryan and Daylan, has something like a small vent inside.” He smiled. “And you see those tiny red numbers slowly counting down on the lock? That shows how long your babies get to live before their oxygen is shut off.”

“You’re bluffing.” Gianna held my gaze. “He is bluffing, right? There is no way he’s telling me he is about to kill his grandkids, right? This is all some kind of sick joke. It has to be.”

The resolve in my eyes told her he wasn’t bluffing. Paul almost never did. It was one of the reasons the mobster boss had grown more and more notorious over the years.

Slowly, very slowly, she shook her head and turned back to him. “You wouldn’t do that?” Tears dropped on her cheeks and her lashes shimmered. “Tell me you’re joking, Dad.”

“Oh, now I’ve finally got a spot in your life?” Paul scoffed. “I’m your dad now, aren’t I? When I have a gun to their heads.”

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