Page 92 of Lord of Vice

That wouldn’t suit anyone close to me.

When I lost my shit people died. It was as simple as that.

I pushed my way into the room, moving to the foot of the bed. I shoved my hands into my pockets, staring down at a man I would have thought of as frail. His skin was almost translucent, the machines beeping off to the side annoying. His heart rate was slow but not so much that it would be considered dangerous.

God knew I hated seeing him like this, hooked up to machines, fighting for his life. I also loathed being forced to wonder whether he was a part of the attempt to destroy me.

The fucking Morelli brothers? How many times had Misha and I talked about creative methods of ending their lives over a glass of whiskey? His favorite method was a chainsaw. Mine was something much worse. Chuckling, I knew every man and woman had a price for selling their soul, whether monetary or something personal, but given he had no family and was paid very well, it added to the doubt.

A few seconds later, I pulled the chair close to the edge of the bed, remembering I’d placed a piano wire in my suit jacket. Shit. The darkest part of me had planned on killing him.

I hung my head, partially from another emotion I’d never felt before. Shame. The man had been as frail as they came, starving in the streets in the worst section of Moscow, but still managed to drag me to safety even though at that point I’d outweighed him easily by a hundred pounds.

As I rubbed my hands together, the beeping sound infiltrating my eardrums going all the way to my brain, I tried to remind myself I had to separate my feelings of family from business.

And so, I began to talk.

He wouldn’t die on this day, nor would the woman who’d already claimed my heart.

But two men would die today if for no other reason than it should have occurred years before.

“Misha. The doctors say you’re going to be just fine.” Okay, so this was much tougher than I’d believed. “You’ve been with me for a long time, my friend. I won’t forget what you did all those years ago. You did your best to save me, to provide CPR to Katarina. In a fucking disgusting alley of all places. You also watched out over me until my soldiers arrived. Hell, you didn’t even want me to buy you food as a reward for what you did. You had such a resolve, such a will to live and to fight that you impressed me more than anyone else had.”

I took a deep breath, wishing he was conscious. These were things I’d never said to him before and were long overdue.

Even if the circumstances couldn’t be any worse.

While his eyes were rolling back and forth under his closed eyelids, there was no other indication he could hear me. Maybe I needed to get this off my chest in case the shit hit the fan.

“After insisting you come with me to America, I’ve never seen anyone begin to thrive so quickly. You were easy to train, more than willing to learn whatever I would teach you. You reminded me so much of my kid brother, someone who hated me. Maybe still does. But you were like family. Always. Which is why I can’t believe you would betray me.”

I hesitated one last time, almost laughing from my decision to come here in the first place. What the fuck did it matter? If I had to erase him from this earth, would my last one-sided conversation with him ease my conscience?

Fuck, no.

But I couldn’t afford to let my guard down, not for a single second.

“Several phone calls from the Morelli brothers, one lasting for two minutes right before I was attacked, the woman I’d grown very fond of almost killed. What happened? Did you accidentally get caught in the crossfire or had you been trying to warn me? Or were you going to ensure the deed was done? I don’t know what to think, Misha. Not even a little bit but I’m going to find out. When I do, only then will I know what to do.”

I stood, using my legs to push back the chair, standing over him for a few minutes.

It was time to leave, the night already long enough. I headed for the door, feeling shittier than I had since the night my parents had died. No, the night they had been murdered. As I placed my hand on the door, I glanced over my shoulder one last time.

The man’s heart rate was suddenly off the charts.

That’s the moment I left just as the beeping of monitors began, footsteps flying toward the room.

For a man with no conscience, I’d never felt so much like shit in my life, but my gut told me my world was getting ready to crash down all around me.

And burn to the ground.

CHAPTER 27

Kraven

Protected.

In the back of my mind, I still wanted to ensure that the beautiful woman I couldn’t seem to get enough of was protected. Given my brother’s change in demeanor and the fact I’d left eight of my most well-trained soldiers to watch out over her in my absence, I felt she’d be safe.

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