Page 122 of Savage Reign

Roman and Pavel are waiting outside the room where Emil is being held. Roman leans against the wall, his arms crossed, while Pavel stands with his hands in his pockets, his head down. They both look as wrecked as I am after not nearly enough sleep. But this is the kind of relentless pace we’re used to.

“He’s ready for you,” Roman says, tilting his head toward the cell door.

I nod grimly. But am I ready to do what I need to? I doubt it. I might be angry, but underneath, there is a potent sadness.

“Did you get answers?” Roman and Pavel spent the last few hours questioning Emil about the Black Company, needing to learn everything they could about the triad.

Roman’s eyes narrow. “He didn’t know as much as we’d have liked. The details he did know, he gave up easily. We didn’t have to work him over too hard. We’ll leave that to you.”

I brush a hand down my face. “What’s the story? I thought you dismantled the triad years ago.” From what I understand, the Syndicate crushed the Black Company after fighting over control of the international wine fraud market.

Roman exhales slowly, his jaw tightening. “We thought we did when we attacked Lai King, the leader of the triad. Unfortunately, even ghosts can rise from the dead. We don’t know who’s running things now, but it’s not the same operation we took down.”

Pavel’s lips press into a thin line. “It might be Hope King, Lai King’s daughter, who was just a teenager when we destroyed the organization. We gave her a pass. Looks like that might’ve been a mistake.”

Roman’s voice carries a faint edge. “That was your call.”

Tension ripples between the two men, their shared history surfacing like a crack in stone.

I glance between them but don’t comment. Whatever this is, it’s not my concern, at least not right now. I straighten and push the door open, giving them a final dip of my chin.

The cell is cold and dank, the concrete floor unforgiving beneath my feet. This is the same room I brought Sofiya to the night I needed pictures to push the Syndicate into action. The irony is dark and isn’t lost on me.

Now, Emil sits strapped to the chair in the center of the room, his head bowed, trying to shut out the world. When I step closer, he lifts his gaze, his eyes bloodshot but steady.

I take a seat across from him, my hands curling into fists at my sides. Usually, I’d start a conversation like this with a few well-placed punches or a shallow knife to the gut, but I don’t have it in me.

“You betrayed me,” I say, dropping my elbows to my knees. “Why? What could Igor possibly offer you that made this worth it?”

“It’s not what he gave me; it’s what you didn’t.” The silence stretches, heavy and tense. “You never took me seriously. It was always Eva over me. Always her. Even when we were kids, she was the one you trusted and leaned on. I was just… there. When you finally asked me to join the Zhukov Bratva, it wasn’t because you wanted me. It was because Sergey left a hole you needed to fill.”

His words settle over me like a lead blanket. A storm of emotions churns inside me—anger, disappointment, but mostly a deep, hollow ache.

“I wanted to give you a chance to prove yourself,” I say, my voice like gravel. “Even when you screwed up, I chose to believe in you. I wanted to believe in you. And you threw it back in my face.”

He scoffs, shaking his head. “You brought me on because you had no one else. Don’t pretend it was anything more than that.”

I stand and take a step closer, my gaze burning into his. “What did Igor offer you? Tell me everything. I think I deserve to know, don’t you?”

He hangs his head before meeting my gaze. His eyes are weary. “Igor promised me I’d be his second-in-command. He understood me. He saw that I wanted more, that I was capable of more. Unlike you.”

“You think Igor had any intention of keeping that promise? Of giving you power? He was using you, just like he used me.”

Emil’s lips press into a thin line, but he doesn’t respond, probably because he realizes it’s true.

“When did he turn you?”

“He first approached me when you were in the Caucasus region. He came by under the pretense of dropping off paperwork. That’s when he asked me to spy on you. To see if you’d follow through with what needed to be done.”

“What does that mean?” I growl, though I already have a sinking feeling in my gut.

Emil smirks bitterly. “Sofiya. He didn’t think you could stomach hurting her, and he was right. You’d already fallen for her. Anyone could see it. I just confirmed what he already knew.”

The words land like a punch to the gut, but I don’t flinch. I won’t show him that he got under my skin. “And overthrowing me using the Black Company—was that the plan all along?”

He exhales slowly, exhaustion slowing his movements. “I don’t know. Igor didn’t tell me everything.I do know they promised him control of the triad in Russia. All he had to do was deliver the casino deal with government backing and the Syndicate's promise to stand down. Taking Sofiya allowed him to kill two birds with one stone.”

I inhale deeply, my hands curling into fists at my sides as the pieces click into place. I was played this entire time, blinded to the truth—and that’s what put Sofiya in danger. The realization makes my blood burn like battery acid.

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