Page 19 of Sean Collins

“I should have had them take you out when we had the chance. Did you think they didn’t see you cowering under the couch, covered in your parents’ blood?” Mikhail spat. “I was merciful for letting you live. That came back to haunt me, though. You are just as stubborn as your mother. I should have known not to let you live.”

He adds, “The real story is that we hired a Steel Kings member named Skinner to take out your parents. The club leader owed me a favor, and I wanted to keep our hands clean on this one. He took some of the others over there and dealt with the problem.”

My heart sinks in my chest. “You’re lying. They were Russians,” I say.

S.C. nods at Creed. Instead of carving into Mikhail’s face again, he takes his arm and wrenches it hard. I hear a loud crack as Mikhail’s arm breaks in two, causing him to howl in pain. “Tell the truth, or I will break every bone in your body before carving up your face. You will beg me for death by the time it’s done,” Creed growls into Mikhail’s ears.

Tears run down the Russian’s face. “Fine, stop. You are right – a low-level biker couldn’t have performed such a flawless hit. It was Anton.”

My eyes move to the Russian held at gunpoint by Torque. His face goes from pale to angry in a moment’s notice. “That is not the case,” the man counters. “At the time of your parents’ killing, I was Mikhail’s driver. We had risen through the ranks together as his father wanted him to start from the bottom and earn his position, but we all knew he was the Boss’s son and would eventually take over.”

When I didn’t say anything, Anton continues, “I drove him to house and stood and watched as he killed them. The operation was just a cover; he wanted vengeance on your father for going straight and on your mother for jilting him.”

Mikhail’s face darkens, and he curses Anton in Russian. I feel all the color drain from my face as everything I knew about my family is getting rearranged again.

“What is he talking about, Mikhail?” I ask, striding over to the mafia boss and wrapping my hands around his throat.

The malice and glee in his eyes make me want to end it right here and now, but I can’t do it without hearing the entire story first.

“Anton is right; I knew your father when we were children. His father was an enforcer for mine, and we grew up together. Our fathers were close, and we were thrown together enough that we created a special bond. Then, there was Kathy, a daughter of a dirty businessman that my father had dealings with. Eventually, Tom and I fell in love with her. We both courted her, but she chose Tom in the end, saying she wanted a different life. When Kathy’s father was killed after a bad business deal, she took her money and ran away with Tom. I was left to take over my father.”

I stare him down darkly, willing him to continue.

“I was bitter, yes, but I would have left them alone. Then, they started their little pet project of cleaning up towns, and Operation Sandcastle brought them our way. Tom knew the ins and outs of our organization and used it against us. He ruined a few high-powered deals and angered not only the Russian mob but also the Steel Kings, a powerful biker gang.”

He smirks at S.C. “Your father supplied the guns and ammunition that took out Elora’s parents. So, your hands are just as dirty as ours.”

I wring his neck again, bringing his attention back to me. “This is a lovely story, Mikhail, but who pulled the trigger?”

He looks me right in the eye. “I did. Your mother rejected me for Tom, an enforcer’s son, over the man who was poised to run the Russian mafia in America one day. After that, they got into their heads that they were going to save the world together. It made me angry. It didn’t help that my wife Lilliana committed suicide instead of being with me. She didn’t want to be forced to be part of the mob family. Out of anger, I took your parents out and threw their bodies in the river.” He smiles, making me feel sick.

“You killed my parents because of some grudge. You took their light out of this world because my mother had the good sense to choose my father over you.”

My hands slip from his neck as I slide to the floor. There was so much about my parents that I didn’t know. They tried to turn their lives around and help others, but all it did was get them killed. Tears stream down my face as the hurt and loss of that terrible night slam into me again. One man’s jealousy and misplaced rage changed my life forever.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Sean

The pain on Elora’s face rips at my heart. She finally has the answers she seeks, but they are so far from what she has expected that she is going through the pain of losing her parents all over again. Now that she has her answers, it is time to end this situation.

I look at Creed and Torque; their expressions match mine.It is time to take out this Russian scum once and for all.

“Elora, we need to take care of everything now. You don’t need to witness it,” I say gently.

Before anyone can move, Anton rips out of Torque’s grip and takes two steps to the bed before plunging a knife he had hidden in a sheath into Mikhail’s heart. The look of shock and surprise on his face mirrors the one on our faces as blood spreads across the sheets.

“You are a dishonorable man who killed those people in cold blood because of your petty vengeance. I will not keep your disgusting secret any longer,” Anton hisses into Mikhail’s face as he lays dying. “Join your father in hell.” He drops the bloody knife to the floor and turns to look at me.

Mikhail takes one last gurgling breath before life leaves his eyes.

“Why did you do that?” I ask Anton, who drops to his knees in front of me.

“We might be mobsters, but there is a code we follow, and Mikhail broke it. He went there to talk to them, rough them up a bit, and scare them off. Instead, he killed them for petty reasons. He ruined every life he ever touched – mine, his wife’s, his daughter’s, and your girl’s. He deserved to die.”

“And you? Do you deserve to die?” I ask him. Torque trains the gun at the back of Anton’s head, waiting for my word to pull the trigger.

“I knew that my life would end in violence one day – it is the payment for doing what we do. It will be an honor to go out at the hands of a Steel King. You might have been outlaw bikers, but once you took over the crew, I saw that you were a man of your word. The men under your command don’t fear you; they are loyal because of trust, not fear.”

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