Page 55 of Beautiful Scar

First, they try to kill my wife. Then they steal my fucking product.

The cockroaches are going to pay with their lives.

“There’s more,” Arsen says. He takes a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolds it. “This was left here.”

My name is scrawled at the very top. I stare down at the writing, my heart hammering in my ears.

Tigran, you shouldn’t have fucked with us. Now we’re going to get rich on your hard work, and we’re still going to murder that bitch of a Russian wife. Cheers to you, cocksucker. See you soon, Ciaran and Oisin.

I shove the paper back at Arsen. He takes it, folding it carefully, and stashes it away. I pace toward the empty boxes and rip one into pieces, tearing the thick cardboard until my forearms hurt. My brother watches silently until I’m finished.

“You have to kill them,” he says simply. No emotion in his tone. Only a direct order.

“I know that,” I say, already imagining their blood dripping between my fingers.

Their lives are already forfeit. They went after my fucking wife. I was hunting them down, but this is only making it worse.

This is a fuckingembarrassment. It makes the whole Brotherhood look weak and ineffective. If the Irish can break in here and take what’s ours, then anyone else could do it too.

Which means I have to make an example of the fucking twins.

A bloody, ugly example. The sort of brutality the city will talk about for decades to come.

“Soon, Tigran. I have everyone out listening. Make sure that fake butler of yours has his spy network on it too.”

I nod at my brother grimly. “I’ll handle it,” I tell him, already shooting a text to Vito.

Put all your resources on finding Ciaran and Oisin. Top priority.

I shove my phone away only to realize with cold horror that Dasha is all alone back at the house.

Arsen’s saying something about a war, but I can’t listen anymore. I push past him and hurry toward the entrance, my heart racing. How could I be so stupid? There are guards back atmy place, but the twins know where I live. Without me there to make sure she’s safe, I can’t trust anyone. I can’t even trust my own men.

Only I can protect her.

“Tigran, damn it, what the fuck?” Arsen grabs my arm before I can storm out the door.

“Dasha,” I say, and I must look fucking psychotic because even my hard-as-hell brother pulls back from me like I’m foaming at the mouth.

Arsen’s jaw tightens. “She isn’t Natalia. You know that, right? What happened to Nat?—”

I storm out of there, not bothering to reply. That name sets my whole body on fire, and I’m desperate to go see my wife, to make sure she’s safe.Fucking Natalia. It had been much too long since I’d thought of her, but now that girl’s ghost haunts me still. Each time I think I’ve moved past her, suddenly she returns.

Alexan looks up from his phone, startled. “Boss, what’s up?”

“Drive home,” I snap at him. “Drive fucking fast. And don’t talk. Hurry, break laws. Get me back home.”

Alexan’s face goes serious as he puts the car into gear. “I’ll get you there.”

The tires kick up dirt as we rush back to the house.

Chapter 16

Dasha

I’m weirdly disappointed.

The meeting with his brother and his aunt yesterday went really well. Afterwards, he stopped by just to tell me that he was giving me another night off, which I guess I appreciated, but it was also strangely frustrating. Because I wanted him in my bed. I wanted him to bury my mouth with his.

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