Page 35 of Ruthless Bonds

Knowing that she wouldn’t be living here for much longer put a smile on my face. I tapped the glass twice on the divider, indicating to my driver to take me home.

*** ***

“Come on, pussy. That’s all you got?” Gavriil taunted as he circled me in the ring.

“You know how much I enjoy playing with my food.” I threw a right hook, missing his jaw by an inch.

“Speaking of—Miss Wolfe seems to be hard up for money. She took a few things to a pawnshop last night.” He used that moment of distraction to kick the side of my knee, and I grunted with irritation.

I’d already known about the pawnshop. And since I’d cloned her phone and had access to all her texts, I’d figured out why. Her lowlife sibling had stolen from her, and now she needed money. He was in hiding—he and Whistler’s crew had gone underground and hadn’t been seen. I was sure that had everything to do with them finding out who they’d stolen from. I wasn’t a good enemy to have. And now the entire crew was on my shit list.

I’d keep my word, though. I wouldn’t lay a handon Dylan. The rest of his crew wouldn’t be so lucky. Someone was going to pay for what had transpired at that safe house. I needed to know if the Cruel, or someone else, was responsible for that explosion.

“Stop trying to distract me. Did Cheslav set up the cameras on the trails?”

After someone had tried to access his files from somewhere on my estate, I’d added more security. My estate was over fifty acres, and there had been a few blind spots on some of the cameras I wasn’t happy about. Now nobody was going to get in or out of here without me knowing about it.

“It’s taken care of.” He grunted when my left hook landed, cursing under his breath. “Time,” he panted. “That’s it, I’m done.”

I chuckled and grabbed two towels from over the cage, tossed him one. We’d been at it for over an hour, since six a.m. As the saying went, the early bird got the worm, but it also planned the destruction of its enemies.

“I need you to look into Deputy Mayor Wilson.” I leaned against the cage and wiped the sweat off my chest. “He’s holding up the license approval for Club Void. We need to see who’s encouraged him to step out of line.”

“Hm, I thought he understood his place?”

“As did I. Something’s changed, and I want to know what. Did you see his reaction when I mentioned Club Mayhem at the licensing board meeting? His eye twitched, and he stuttered when he responded. Check with Bela first. I want to know if he’s been to Mayhem recently.”

If he had any secrets he wanted to hide, I wouldfind them. I would show him what happened when he fucked with my money.

“What’s Aleksandr’s status?” As he was one of my most trusted captains, I’d sent him to Toronto to manage the shipping and trucking company I’d be using as a front for my weapons trafficking. I’d already spoken with my suppliers to increase production fivefold, promising them a bigger market.

“He’s set up a company and started to facilitate weapons transport. The agent at CBSA was easy to bribe—he had over one hundred grand in gambling debt, so he was very cooperative.”

“Excellent.” I pushed off the cage and hopped down the stairs. “I want an update on Wilson this afternoon. I’ve no time for his disobedience.”

“What about Miss Wolfe?” Gavriil arched his eyebrow.

He already knew what I wanted, but was going to be a prick about it. “Get her stuff from the shop and bring it to me.”

“If you’re planning on doing what I think you are, it could create some problems with your father.” His tone was serious, but I dismissed him with a wave of my hand.

“I’ll handle my father.” He of all people would never stop me from getting what I wanted.

And I wanted Alora Wolfe.

I’d already decided to marry her. She just didn’t know it yet. I’d witnessed firsthand her devotion to her family, and I had no doubt she would make the perfect wife and mother to my children.

I spent the morning scanning intelligence reports and holding secure video conferences with myVors. Each one of my men reported to me with military precision. I relied on them to carry out my orders and stay on guard for potential threats from our rivals and law enforcement, who, for the most part, were in my pocket.

Money flowed from every outlet. Guns, drugs, gambling, blackmail and extortion—you name it, I ran it. I also had several legitimate businesses other than my clubs, including Zokrov Capital, a private equity and wealth management firm I used to legitimize and invest my illicit gains.

Then there were the other private financial firms I owned a forty-nine percent stake in through a complex web of shell companies and offshore accounts. None of which could be tied back to me, but all of which made me extremely wealthy and powerful.

My Vors and I managed all of this like a well-oiled machine. When issues did arise, like this morning when a mid-level dealer skimmed some product, sometimes I took a hands-on approach. More often than not, though, I delegated it to my enforcers. And although I relished in the fact that I’d earned a reputation for serving cruel punishments to those who crossed me—from getting creative with a blowtorch or blade, to setting entire industrial complexes on fire—today I had more pressing matters to attend to.

The glass doors to Constantine’s suite swooshed open, the sterile scent of antiseptic mixed with flowers hitting me in the face. I nodded at the nurse to step out so I could spend some time with my brother. After he was pronounced comatose, I’d moved him to my estate where he could get the care he needed without the threat of assassination.

It was almost hard to believe. The great Constantine Zokrov, master sniper, brutal enforcer, lay motionless in bed. Heart monitors and other machines beeped in the background, making sure you didn’t forget that he wasn’t here with us.

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