Page 5 of Reign of Four

Best not push my luck too much.

“Seven days,” Liam repeats, a smile lighting up his face. “Think you can find us in seven days, boys?” He laughs like he’s telling the funniest joke in the world, clearly underestimating who he’s up against.

My men haven’t clawed their way to the top of the Bratva on an old lady’s name and connections. They did it themselves.

Mikhail’s eyes brighten, and he licks his lips as the gambler in him comes out. “Let’s make a bet, Liam. We find you and Valentina within seven days, and as long as you haven’t touched a single hair on her head, we take Valentina and let you go.”

Liam crosses his arms. “You won’t win. It’s impossible for you to find us?—”

“If you win, we’ll let Valentina go, and we won’t come after you anymore.”

All the air in my lungs whooshes out at once.

What is he saying?

I wait for Ezra to counter, but the man stays silent, either too busy with whatever the fuck he’s doing in the background, or too shocked—like me—to say anything.

Liam takes a moment to mull over the endless possibilities in front of him. A wager. The stakes being, oh, not much except my life handed to the winner on a silver fucking platter.

Liam’s smile seems genuine. “If you don’t find us within seven days, you have to watch as I fuck Valentina. You don’t get to stop me, and you let me walk away with her once we’re done. You won’t come after me or her, ever again.” Liam’s actually interested.

What the fuck.

Mikhail grins, his eyes sharp as he nods. “You’ve got a deal. Seven days. Starting tomorrow.”

“Today.”

“Tomorrow. In case you’ve forgotten, you wrecked a fucking wedding. Wrapping that up took most of our day.” Mikhail scowls. “It starts tomorrow, or the deal is off, and we find you and gut you alive. Your choice.”

I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe Mikhail is betting my fucking life in a pissing match. I’m going to strangle him when I see him.

Liam grumbles, but nods. “The countdown begins at midnight tonight.” He glances over at me, his eyes hooded with desire. A rigid tent in his pants makes me gasp. “Better hurry, or I might change my mind. She’s begging to get fucked when she’s tied up like that.”

While Liam’s distracted, Mikhail meets my eyes, looking more confident than ever. He winks, and my desire to strangle him turns into a need.

I’m going to murder the fucking maniac.

The video feed cuts out, and my image in the camera expands to fill the screen. I stare at the naked woman with pity and fury and grief swirling within my heart.

Pity for her fucked-up situation.

Fury towards the men that put her here.

Grief for innocence lost.

Life within the Bratva put me here. It groomed me for a throne without teaching me the shadows that throne sits upon, hiding the blood and bone from view.

I was never meant to look down and see it.

But as I sit naked in a concrete prison, an obsessed psychopath keeping me captive, all I can see is the ruin around me. I’m within the shadows now, the part I was never meant to see, the throne high over my head and out of reach.

If my men clawed their way out of the shadows to claim the throne, it’s about time I learned to do the same.

Chapter 2

Valentina

“Valentina, Valentina, Valentina,” Liam hums, shaking his head. “My, what a mess you’ve made of things.” He licks his lips as his eyes travel down my body, then his gaze freezes between my thighs. With a sigh, he picks up the switchblade he tossed to the floor. “I think you need some time to reflect on your behavior, don’t you?”

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