Page 5 of Deadly Devotion

“You lose more than you win. And tonight, you’re losing Mr. Lupani’s money. Pay up,now.“ He screws a silencer on the end of the gun and pushes it into the raven-haired man’s chest. The raven-haired man doesn’t seem frightened. Instead, he gets angry…veryangry.

“Do you know who I am,mudak? If I say I’ll pay you next week, I’ll pay you next week,“ he spits through clenched teeth. “Tell your boss he’ll just have to wait.”

“And I’m supposed to believe you? You’re nothing but a drunk loser. Do you think Mr. Lupani is your wallet? You’re just one of many losers that he loans money to. Keep pissing me off, and I’ll add another ten percent on top of the five percent interest you owe. Now,pay up!“ He hits the raven-haired man on the side of the head with the gun. Before he can hit him again, the raven-haired man grabs the gun. They struggle, each trying to get control. In the blink of an eye, the raven-haired man stops struggling, his eyes going wide as saucers. Backing away,he looks down at his chest, where a crimson circle forms on his white silk dress shirt. He falls to his knees, clutching his chest.

I let out a yelp, taking a step back from the door.Oh my god, oh my god. He shot him. He just shot him.The man holding the gun snaps his head around, peering through the crack of the open doorway. He’s looking right at me. He takes a step toward the door, and I panic. My instincts kick in; it’s fight or flight time. I choose flight.

Running as fast as I can, I fly down the hallway. I chance a quick look behind me, but I don’t see the man, although that doesn’t slow me down. He saw me, or at least I think he did, and I’m not sticking around to see what else will happen. Turning the corner, I pull off my high heels and keep running until I see the emergency exit ahead. Pushing open the door I run into a dirty alley behind the club. I run until I reach the street where cars are whizzing by.

Ducking into a twenty-four-hour grocery store, I dared to release the breath I had been holding in. Instinctively, I reached for my cell phone to call Sandy, only to realize my street clothes, backpack, and cell phone are still at the club.Fucking hell.I have no money and no phone. Rubbing the tattoo on my wrist, I try to calm down.Now, what do I do?

Chapter 4

Aleksandr

“Dimitri! Tell me what’s happening!” I bellow.

The SUV swerves around a corner, the tires screeching on the asphalt. Dimitri’s knuckles are white from his death grip on the steering wheel. “Mikhail’s been shot,” he shouts over the roar of the engine.

My heart pounds in my chest. The world falls silent, and my vision goes white as his words sink in.Mikhail’s been shot.A sharp pain shoots to the top of my skull. I felt the same pain when Otets was killed. I suck in a deep breath, and the world comes back into focus. “Is he alive?”

“I don’t know,” he replies tersely.

In a matter of minutes, we’re parked in front of Echo. A line of clubgoers is anxiously waiting their turn to be let in. The stocky man holding the clipboard unhooks the velvet rope to the entrance when he sees us exit the SUV. “Mr. Avilov,” he acknowledges with a nod of his head. Passing by him, we enter the club, dodging dancers gyrating to the music on the crowded dance floor.

Stopping in front of the black door with the gold star, I ring the doorbell. The peephole cover opens and closes, and then Joey opens the door. “Mr. Avilov,” he greets with downcast eyes. “Phil is waiting for you in his office.”

I push past Joey and storm into Phil’s office. I find him sitting behind his desk with his head in his hands. “What thefuckhappened?!” I roar. “Where is my brother?”

Phil lifts his head, a defeated look on his face. “I’m so sorry…”

I don’t give him a chance to finish the sentence. I lunge across the desk, my knuckles connecting with his nose. A satisfying crunch tells me his nose is broken. Grabbing his face, he backs up as far away from me as he can. His mouth hangs open in shock as crimson blood seeps through his fingers. Dimitri grabs me from behind, pulling me away from Phil. Joey runs into the office, positioning himself protectively between me and Phil. “Mr. Avilov…” His words trail off as the ringing in my ears climbs to a deafening level.

“Brat, take a breath,” Dimitri urges, pulling me toward the doorway.

Shaking him off, I take a deep breath through my nose, hold it for a few seconds, and release it slowly. “Where is my brother?”

Joey looks hesitantly at Phil, then back at me.

“It’s okay, Joey,” Phil mutters. Cleaning the blood off his face with a white handkerchief, he walks around the desk to stand in front of me. “I’m so very sorry, Mr. Avilov. By the time we found Mikhail, he was dead. One of our waitresses found him.”

“How the hell did this happen?!” Dimitri bellows, tugging on the ends of his short blonde hair. “You check everyone for weapons when they enter the VIP area. How did someone get a gun in here?”

“I don’t have an answer for you,” Phil explains. “Everyone who entered the VIP area, including the staff, was patted down.”

“Get every motherfucker that was here when it happened and put them in the poker room,” I demand. “I want to speak with each one of them.” Joey nods and leaves the room. Slipping off my suit jacket, I hang it on the back of the black leather sofa. No use getting anymore blood on it tonight. I face Phil, my fists balled up at my sides. “Take me to my brother,” I demand.

Phil nods and leads us out of the office to a small supply room down the hall. He unlocks the door and then steps to the side of the doorway. I glance at Dimitri, his emotions masked behind a stone face. “Wait here,” I tell him. He nods once, pulling a gun out of the waistband of his pants and standing guard.

The room is dark and smells faintly of bleach. Paper goods and cleaning supplies line shelves along the left wall and metal filing cabinets line the right wall. Straight ahead, there are more shelves lined up.

Mikhail is lying on the floor, covered with a white tablecloth. Bending down next to him, I pull back the tablecloth to see his lifeless eyes staring up at me. “Brat, I’m sorry it ended this way. Now you can be in peace with Anya,” I whisper.

Stepping outside the room, I pull Dimitri aside to speak to him quietly. “Make sure the body is taken care of, then call Denis. Tell him we don’t want the police involved and that we’ll handle this ourselves. See if he’s heard anything around the precinct.” It has been invaluable to have my cousin Denis infiltrate the police department. After he graduated from the police academy, he moved through the ranks to become a detective. He’s a good cop, although he is loyal to the family. We have five of our men on the local police force.

“We’ll avenge him,brat,” Dimitri swears, placing his hand on my shoulder. “We’ll get the motherfucker that did this and cut off his head.”

I nod once, then turn my attention to Phil. He’s visibly shaken, as he should be. My reputation precedes me as a ruthless sonofabitch. “Let’s chat with your guests,” I snarl.

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