Page 108 of Vitaly

How can I be so bold as to suggest I’m somehow greater than either of these men? Somehow more moral? The only thing that separates us is the people I’ve hurt aren’t in this room. They’re in a Russian prison.

I look at Mila who appears as fired up as everyone else, but her flame dies upon seeing my face. She looks at Alik then at me as she shifts her feet.

She knows. She knows the kind of man I am. The kind of things I’ve done. She knows I’ll never think this is the way.

But I’m not the one who Nikita hurt most. He killed her father. If she needs her revenge… She can have it.

“My mother believed in second chances,” I say to her, toying with the rock in my bloodied palm. “Do you?”

She looks at me intently as she considers this, her lips parted and her eyes soft. After what feels like a very long time, she looks at the tattoo on my chest, closes her eyes, and nods. “Yes.” She looks back at me. “For you, I do.”

I address the men surrounding me as I toss the rock into the circle. It tumbles and stops a foot in front of Alik.

“Nine years ago, I committed a crime worthy of death,” I say, the pain from the hole in my chest intensifying as I spread my shoulders. “Since then, I’ve committed many more… My father used to tell me that leadership is earned, and those who aren’t worthy will always fall. If I stand here and pretend I am somehow a better man than any we execute, I’m afraid I will not be a leader worth having.”

I take a deep breath and ignore Roman’s angry glare. “Unlike all of you, I was not here to experience Nikita’s cruelty. If you feelyou can’t live while he is alive, you do what you have to do… But if I am to be Pakhan, every man in this room still breathing will have the opportunity to have a second chance if they desire one.”

I meet Alik’s gaze, the cold melted from his eyes. I lock my arm with Mila’s, sweeping my eyes over the curious faces once more before we leave the room.

Once we’re outside the mansion, Mila holds onto me as I sway with blood loss.

“I’ve got you,” she says, clutching the wound at my side. “I’ve got you.”

I look at her and get the feeling she isn’t just talking about right now. She has my back as I have hers, always. Pakhan and partner. Husband and wife. Whore and deserter. It doesn’t really matter the label; it always ends the same.

I’ve got her.

She’s got me.

Always.

EPILOGUE

MILA

It’s tense in Vitaly’s office.

Four months into his reign as Pakhan, and I already have a sense of when he’s going to choose violence. I like to think that comes with the territory of being his wife, but I wonder if Alik, lounging in one of the antique looking chairs, can feel it too.

Bogdan, a large, insufferable man with a falcon tattoo perched on his arm, doesn’t seem to notice any shift. He stands in front of Vitaly’s desk, his scrunched face dripping with disrespect. He’s one of the shrinking population still loyal to Nikita, and it shows. Vitaly was true to his word. Everyone has gotten a second chance. I’m pretty sure Bogdan has used his up.

“As I told yourwife,” he spits like it’s an insult to have had to deal with me. That’s something people are still getting used to. “There was a problem with the drop. It couldn’t be done.”

Vitaly’s expression doesn’t change. He stands relaxed in front of Bogdan, his arms casually crossed. The thing I’ve come to respect most about him and his leadership is his constant state of calm. He never loses his cool. I think it can be confusing for people sometimes, though. It gives them an illusion of safety.

“If Nikita were still Pakhan, could it have been done?” Vitaly asks.

Bogdan huffs but doesn’t respond. “Look, if I say it can’t be done?—”

“Then it can’t be done,” Vitaly finishes with a tight smile. “I get it.” He points to the door. “That’s all I needed from you.”

Bogdan manages to lower his chin, a mildly respectful goodbye, before turning and walking for the door. Vitaly gives me the signal with a roll of his eyes and lift of two fingers.

I reach for my knife in the sheath at my side, then in a smooth motion, I fling it into Bogdan’s spine. He yelps as he collapses onto the ground, fully paralyzed. Walking up to him, he curses and spits, but there’s nothing he can do to get away. He’s just lucky Vitaly gave me the signal instead of Alik.

I pull out the knife from his back then slice his throat with it, silencing his outburst. When I turn, Vitaly is running his hand over his face.

“Do you think he’s telling them to be useless?” he asks Alik, referring to Nikita.

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