Page 19 of Reign of Four

“It is temporary.” Which it is. I’m only taking them until we find Valentina—then, I’ll give it a rest and sleep it off for a week or two. Hopefully, with our woman tucked safely in my arms.

Mikhail scoffs. “She’s not gonna like it.”

I glance up at the floor level. Two more to go. “She does not need to know.”

“She’ll notice if you’re strung out on some military-grade bullshit. You’re like a walking time bomb.”

“I am fine.”

Andrei’s comment is much less patronizing. “Don’t pass your limits. Keep a cool head.” He rubs the back of his neck, stifling a groan. “Just be careful.”

“I am.” Always.

When one floor remains, we each pull out our guns. We came up with a plan when we first regrouped: Mikhail will block the exit, I’ll sweep the perimeter, Andrei will head straight for the heart.

If the mayor’s home, he’ll wish he wasn’t.

I can feel each steady beat of my heart with every passing second. This is it. The moment we finally get some answers. The past few days have been nothing but chasing rumors and navigating threats to the Bratva—there haven’t been enough results for all the effort we’ve put in. Mikhail with his bribes and deals. Andrei with his negotiating and information-seeking. Me, with my orders for our men to sweep the entire city. I’ve been along for the hunt, but it hasn’t been satisfying enough. Not enough results.

We can’t raze our own city to the ground if we don’t know where our enemies lie. There would be too much innocent blood flowing through the streets.

Now, though, we have direction. Now, we have action.

The elevator doors slide open. As I step outside, I catch a bulky silhouette in black armor standing in the main room, a gun slung casually over the man’s shoulder and a grim set to his mouth.

Our plan falls apart before it begins. I lose sight of our mission and take a step closer to the man—someone I thought we’d lost years ago.

Mikhail curses somewhere behind me, but Andrei flanks me as I advance. My voice catches when I speak, more of a grumble than words. “I thought you were dead.”

Thanatos inclines his head. “Maybe you’re seeing a ghost, brother.” He doesn’t look like his name suggests—a god of death—instead, age has blessed him with defined cheekbones, chiseled musculature, and an even sharper gaze in his amber eyes than before.

If he’s been away fighting his demons, it looks like he beat them into submission. But every soul within the Bratva knows that our demons are never truly vanquished—they bite at your heels and cackle at you from the dark, taunting you with their presence, until they finally dig their hooks in and start tearing.

We all know the risks when we join the Bratva. Inner demons come with the territory of being a made mafia man. Much like the ink on our skin, our demons brand us, twisting our hearts until there’s little man left behind the monster that remains. I’ve seen it happen to both righteous men and sinister ones—they either drink to keep their demons at bay, or they drown in other abuses. Women. Drugs. Violence. We offer support programs and hold meetings for the ones treading water, but it’s a constant battle. Some learn to cope.

Others burn out.

But most men battle demons of the past still haunting them. Wrongs they’ve witnessed. Crimes they’ve committed. People they’ve lost or let down.

What makes Thanatos and his three younger brothers different from the rest of the Bratva is that their demons are of the flesh. Still breathing. Left unpunished for their sins.

The eldest brother left five years ago to track their demon down. To see Thanatos back within the city walls means he either succeeded . . . or his demon has returned to the city to settle unfinished business.

That puts his brothers in danger. And Thanatos will do anything for those boys.

Even return to a Bratva he deserted.

I ignore our plan and approach Thanatos directly. He’s armed, but after all we’ve been through, I know the man won’t shoot. Riot gear hugs his body from head to toe—brand new gear, unscuffed and still shiny, barely worn in. If it’s his, he hasn’t been wearing it long enough to break it in. If it’s not, that means he’s been hired by someone wealthy.

Like me, Thanatos is best as either a bodyguard or an enforcer. It’s why he was my best man five years ago. Put us side by side, and we intimidated the hell out of these streets and kept our people in line. I’ve managed without him, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say his departure hurt us.

But what matters more than our shared history is rescuing Valentina. If Thanatos is here, that means the mayor must be involved in Bratva business.

Thanatos doesn’t work with outsiders.

And the Baranova Bratva didn’t hire him.

He eyes me cooly as Andrei and I approach. “Your woman is interesting.”

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