Page 53 of Till Death Saves Me

"We've got a way to hit them back," Nikolai continues. "Hard."

As he lays out the strategy, I find my mind drifting. I see Virginia's face, her warm brown eyes filled with fear. The image of her tied up in that warehouse flashes through my mind, and I have to suppress a growl.

"Ivan," Lev's sharp voice snaps me back to reality. "You with us?"

I nod, forcing myself to focus. "Yeah. I'm here."

Nikolai raises an eyebrow. "Something on your mind?"

I hesitate, weighing my words carefully. "Every time we've dealt with these snakes, Virginia’s been hurt. I can't—" I stop, realizing how it sounds. How weak it makes me look.

Lev's eyes narrow. "You can't what?"

I meet his gaze, unflinching. They both have wives and reputations. They should get it. "I can't let that happen again."

Nikolai leans back in his chair, studying me. The silence stretches, heavy with unspoken words.

"You're right," he finally says, but I don't relax. "We need to end this. Now. Before anyone else gets hurt."

Lev pushes off the wall, coming to stand beside me. "I agree. It's time we wipe these fuckers out. For good."

Nikolai's eyes flick between us, his expression unreadable. I can almost see the gears turning in his head, weighing the risks against the potential rewards.

"Alright," he says after what feels like an eternity. "I'm tired of playing in this petty war. The Red Serpents shouldn't have even held out against us, but they don't seem to get the messages we've been sending."

"We might as well just kill them all," I grumble, the idea drawing up the bloodlust that is always simmering under my skin. I'd love to take as many of those fuckers down with me as I can.

Lev claps me on the back. "Never thought I'd see the day when Ivan Kozlov let a woman cloud his judgment."

I shrug off his hand, irritation flaring. "It's not like that."

Lev's laugh is sharp. "Sure it's not. Sure it's not."

We spend the next hour discussing what we need to do. Nikoali said it was time to go on the offensive, full force. I could only nod to that, ready to be done with these fuckers once and for all and remind them why they don't mess with the Sokolov Bratva.

"We're not waiting for these fuckers to make another move," Nikolai says, his voice cold as ice. "Tonight, we hit them hard. All their supply houses, simultaneously. We take out their product and as many of their men as we can."

Lev grins, a predatory gleam in his eyes. "Sounds like my kind of party."

I remain silent, but my mind's already racing, plotting out the logistics. We'll need to move fast, hit them before word can spread. And we'll have to go in small groups to keep it up.

Nikolai continues, "With no supplies and depleted manpower, their business crumbles. And while you two handle that..." He pauses, his eyes hardening. "I'll take care of their leader personally. This has been too much disrespect for me to tolerate without a face to face meeting."

Or execution. Whichever way he wants to phrase it, it means the same.

The finality in his tone gets me ready, the bloodlust swarming. I've seen Nikolai in action before. Their leader won't know what hit him.

"Any questions?" Nikolai asks, his gaze sweeping over us.

Lev and I shake our heads. We know what needs to be done.

"Good," Nikolai says. "Get it done. I want this over by sunrise." He waves his hand, dismissing us.

As we turn to leave, I can't help but feel a surge of anticipation. Tonight, we end this. And I'll make damn sure Virginia never has to worry about the Red Serpents again.

As I exit the office, my mind races. The Red Serpents have proven they're not above targeting our families. The image of Virginia tied up in that warehouse flashes through my mind again, making my blood boil.

I pull out my phone, pulling up the cameras. I just need to see her. I need to know she's okay. The knot in my chest only startsto loosen when I see her outside in one of those damn bikinis. Fuck, she is beautiful.

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