Page 119 of Kadra: The Unfeeling

The fact that I do indeed know him so well makes me proud. Vitali is not a man who reveals all his secrets. He’s also not one to let people in. That was clear to me the first time we met so long ago and yet he shared his secrets with me and let me in his twisted and beautiful mind. Now, I’m just as obsessed with him as he is with me and I’m not ashamed to admit that.

Looking away from him, I step inside and as soon as I enter the room I spot his surprise.

My breath hitches and I’m taken aback because even though I dreamt of this day, at some point I doubted it would ever come.

It did and all because of the man at my side.

“How?” I breathe out.

“It wasn’t easy,” he says while reaching inside his suit jacket for a pack of cigarettes. He shakes a cigarette out of the pack, lights it, and takes a quick drag before he speaks again. “I posed as a potential investor. Sweet talked his team into believing I was interested in joining their skin trade business and expanding it to my city. The greedy fuck fell for my bullshit and now he’s here and he’s all yours.” Vitali grins as he takes a long drag of his cigarette. He looks menacing and very proud of himself.

I take in what he’s saying before turning to look at the man of the hour with all the hatred I still carry in my heart for him and everyone who shares his blood and his filthy name.

Beauregard Sr.

The handsome politician with a charming personality and a smile that could make even the devil fall for his bullshit. But what lies underneath all of that is a poor excuse for a human being. A man who will sacrifice innocents if it means he and his family remain on top. A man who raised a scum like him. It had taken me a long time to understand just how powerful a man like him could be. It went beyond the money he made as a governor—it was the connections. He brushed arms with some of the most powerful men in the country and worldwide.

The governor of Detroit is tied to a chair drenched in blood from head to toe. There are purplish bruises on his face and from here I can see that he is missing a few fingers. I see that Vitali had fun with him first. “You said you didn’t want me to fight your battles,” My Russian murmurs between puffs of his cigarette. “I’m not. This is all about you. You have the honor to send this cockroach to hell.”

Thump.

Thump.

What a prince… the delusional inner voice whispers as I stare Vitali in the eye. “If we do this…” Christian Beauregard moans in pain. Ignoring him, I carry on. “It will start another war. There’s no going back from this. He’s not a lowlife we picked up from the streets. He’s a public figure. One who has connections and a very powerful reach.” I look at Beauregard Senior then I drag my gaze back to Vitali. “If they connect what will happen here tonight to you it will bring chaos to New York. You’ll make an enemy out of that family.” I tell him, wanting him to understand what inserting himself into my mess means for him. For New York and his family. The Soloniks.

Vitali takes a drag before he answers. He looks at me more closely, the cigarette clamped between his lips bobbing on his words. “I know what this means for me. But what you don’t seem to understand, love, is that they made an enemy out of me and my city the second that fuck laid his hands on you.” He then walks towards a table near the black wall where there are countless knives. He picks one up and walks back to where I’m standing. Then he handed me the knife while looking me in the eye. My heartbeat rises like it always does when he’s near and says just the right thing. “You, Kadra Parisi are the type of woman men like me raise hell for. The type of woman worth starting a war over.” He takes another drag of his cigarette, his eyes narrowing, the little lines around his eyes crinkling. He could even make smoking look sexy. But then, Vitali could make anything look sexy. “You have me, baby. Me and my city.”

“We’re going to hell for this,” I mumble, a bit disgusted by the image of Christian Beauregard’s naked and disfigured body. I see Vitali had fun, a little too much for my taste but whatever makes his perfect, slightly deranged heart happy.

Vitali takes another drag of his cigarette, blowing the smoke out of the side of his mouth, and huffs out a laugh before he speaks. “We’ll be together. It’ll be fun.”

Then he moves towards the governor and slaps him three times until he wakes up. “Wakey, wakey, suka. My woman would like a chat.”

“I’d rather not.” Beauregard senior’s eyes grow big as recognition crosses over his face. I looked down at the knife in my hand before, I looked him in the eye. Divine Karma. “Your heir is next.” With that, I plunge the knife into one eye before pulling back and watching the blood ooze out of his now empty eye socket, before I do the same to his other eye.

Another weight is lifted off my shoulder, as life slips away from the man who backed up his depraved son and caused so much pain in so many people’s lives. The man in charge of one of the largest child trafficking rings in America.

Then I step back and watch as Vitali picks one eye off the floor and places it inside a white gift box with a black ribbon. That’s when it hits me. The mysterious packages with body parts inside that arrived at the Parisi Hotels or my mansion every Christmas Eve or birthday.

It was him.

Vitali was behind the morbid gifts after all. Gifts that at first were strange but then I found myself waiting for the next one to arrive.

He’s been fighting my battles with me all along.

I think I fell in love all over again.

My sword and my shield.

My dragon.

My Solonik prince.

* * *

Whoever said romance and chivalry are dead haven’t been wooed by Vitali Solonik. After the torturing session that ended in first degree murder, he took me for ice cream.

And now we’re on our way back home.

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