Page 25 of Shadow

I snorted. “I’ll find that out in the morning,” I assured him. “I’m not here because of Anatoly Balakin, Joseph. I’m here for Malik Carter—the man you put two bullets into today.”

With that, I pulled the trigger, watching as his brain matter exploded all over the wall behind him. Larisa stepped out of the back as I set my gun down, and her face screwed up in distaste. Her upper lip curled in disgust as she looked at me. “You couldn’t have used a gun of less caliber?”

I waved my hand at the splatter. “And miss all those dramatics? No.”

She made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat before spinning on her heel and going back into her office. I pulled my burner out and made the call.

Her place would be spotless in an hour, and her walls and floor would be so clean, people could fucking eat off of them in the morning when she opened.

I grabbed my cup and swallowed down the last of my latte. After tossing it into the trashcan, I made my way through the kitchen and to the back door.

It was time to get the fuck back to Shadow.

20

Malik

Ifuckinghurt. And something annoying was beeping, dragging me out of my slumber and grating on my last fucking nerve. Slowly, I peeled my eyes open, thankful the room I was in was dark. There was a cloying scent of disinfectant hanging heavy in the air and the low chatter that only came with hospitals was reaching my ears, almost as annoying as the fucking beeping machine.

Right—I got fuckingshottrying to save Anatoly’s ass.

I hoped whoever shot me got to meet Rurik because this was going to put me out of commission for a while, and the goddamn medical bills were going to be a pain in my fucking ass. Add rehab on top of that—because IknewI would need rehab for my shoulder—and I was looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars since I didn’t have health insurance.

Mother fuck.

With that kind of debt, maybe Anatoly should’ve just let me bleed out in front of that restaurant.

“You’re awake.”

I turned my head, watching as Rurik rose from the reclining chair against the far wall, tucked into a corner. His clothes were rumpled, and he hadn’t shaved, a light stubble coating his jaw that usually wasn’t there. And his hair was shiny with oil from lack of washing. It was a bit alarming to see him so disheveled, especially when healwayshad his shit together.

“How long was I out?” I rasped.

“Few hours,” Rurik told me as he came to stand by my bedside, his hands in the pockets of his slacks. “Long enough for you to undergo surgery to dig the bullets out of your shoulder and chest. I wasn’t here for that though.”

I grunted as I shifted, trying to get more comfortable. Immediately, despite clearly being pissed, Rurik began to help me, raising the bed a little with a button on the railing and adjusting my pillow for me. Once I was comfortable and my pain levels had gone down some, I looked back up at him, hating the sheen of sweat that’d formed on my skin.

“Where were you?” I asked. I wasn’t upset he hadn’t been here. What the fuck was he expected to do—sit in the waiting room and twiddle his thumbs while he waited for me to come out of surgery? If he had done that, I’d bepissed. All that time could’ve been used to find who the fuck did this to me.

Because fuck knew if he’d been on the receiving end of these bullets, I wouldn’t stop until I found the mother fucker and stole the life right from their fucking eyes.

“Taking care of business,” he said, leaving it at that. I nodded, knowing what he was getting at. Whoever shot me was taken care of. But then, I paused, realizing something was around my neck, and my good arm slowly raised to touch my throat. When I felt the chain there and the small padlock holding it together, my muscles froze. Tension rode my body hard, and for a moment, I couldn’t fucking breathe.

“What the fuck is this?” I growled, tugging at it. But I wouldn’t be breaking it. I knew that much.

“Your new collar,” Rurik supplied. Something in me loosened knowing he’d been the one to put it on. His lips quirked in amusement. “What—you really thought I’d let someone else put a fucking collar on you, baby?” He scoffed. “Fucking think again.” Reaching forward, he fingered the padlock. “There’s a tracking device in here. Every sixty days, I have to change it out.” His eyes met mine. “But I’ll always know where you are.” He gritted his teeth, his mask slipping, that monster he hid peeking through. “When Anatoly called me to tell me to come to the hospital, I felt… lost. Untethered. Because I didn’t know where the fuck you were, and he wouldn’t goddamn tell me.”

“I was here… I think,” I said, wondering if I could remember. But all I remembered was getting shot. Everything after that was just gone.

“You were,” he confirmed. “But I didn’t know what room you were in. Didn’t know what hall or what part of the fucking hospital.” He gritted his teeth and tugged on the chain around my neck, lifting me just the tiniest bit. I grunted in pain, but he didn’t release me. “And you’re not off the hook for that stupid fucking stunt you pulled,” he growled, lowering his face to mine. His mask was completely gone now, and his eyes were cold yet somehow full of fire as he stared into my own. “When you getout of here, Malik, you’re going to pay for every bit of suffering I went through from the moment Anatoly’s call came through my line until you woke up a few minutes ago.”

I swallowed thickly, hating that his words had my dick hardening all while trepidation slid through my veins. “I’m injured,” I tried.

His lips curled up at the corner, but it wasn’t a kind smile. No, his smile was full of malice and the promise of sweet torture. “You think I don’t know how to punish you without injuring you further, Malik?” He pressed his mouth to mine in a kiss so hot and aggressive, my lips bled, and I leaked precum beneath my hospital gown. When he pulled back, his blue eyes were bright with mania, and his lips were stained red with my blood. “I’ve been living in fucking hell since I got that goddamn phone call, Malik.”

“I’m sorry,” I rasped. And Iwassorry. I never meant to make him panic like that. Or lose control of himself to this point. “I just… Anatoly has a family. A daughter and a wife. And he’s your best friend.”

“And you’remine,” Rurik snarled, tightening his grip on the chain until it choked me. I gripped his wrists, pain flaring through my shoulder as I did so. “Doesn’t that fucking mean something to you, Malik? I can survive losing my best friend. Icannotsurvive fucking losing you.”

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