Page 60 of Stricken

"I think your mother would be proud of the man you've become. She wouldn't ask for more."

I hear a shuddering sigh on the phone. "I don't... don't know 'bout that, Nico. But I'm so tired of bein' alone with this... this pain."

His candid admission shatters something inside me. "You're not alone,caro. I'm here. You can share it with me if you want. I know a thing or two about being an orphan. I can come meet you."

Long pause ensues. Did I overstep? Did I make it too intimate? Did I make this into something it's not between us?

Finally, Vlad whispers into the phone, "Okay. That would be nice."

"Of course." I find myself already throwing back the covers. "Just send me the address, and I'll be there as soon as I can."

"I'll text it to you right now."

"I'll see you soon."

The line goes dead, and I spring into action. I hastily pull on a pair of jeans and a black Henley. As I'm tugging on my boots, my phone vibrates with an incoming text.

I swipe it open, expecting to see the address of one of Vlad's upscale apartments somewhere in the center of the city. Instead, I recognize the address as a different part of town. Suburbs.

I shoot off a quick text.

Is this another apartment?

Three bubbles appear, then disappear. Finally, a response.

No. It's my house.

CHAPTER21

VLAD

I sit alone in my dark living room, the half-empty vodka bottle gleaming on the table beside me. I'm more of a whiskey guy, but today feels different. Today I'm indulging myself in a drink that tears my mind apart with all the memories. Memories from my time back in Russia, when Yuri was still alive and well and scheming.

The terrace doors yawn open, inviting the night wind to dance across my skin. My phone feels heavy in my hand after ending the call with Nico. The alcohol numbs my senses, but regret pricks through the haze. Why did I invite him here, to my sanctuary? A foolish decision, born of desperation and longing for something I can never have.

A reminder that today is my mother's birthday twists through my mind like storm clouds. Guilt and sorrow slam into me. I should have seen the truth sooner. I should've pieced it together earlier, stitched the whispered words and secretive looks into reality before it was too late.

But I was blind, lost in the illusion of a family that never truly existed. A coward, too afraid to confront the demons that lurked within my own home.

Motherfucker didn't leave any loose ends.

No one questioned it.

Stroke at such a young age.

Now, as the vodka burns its way into my stomach and clouds my judgment, the fury rises like an angry wave. It crashes against the shores of my soul, eroding what little peace I have left. Regret is a constant companion, muttering in my ear of all the ways I failed her.Mama.

Vengeance is the only balm that soothes the ache. I will find Shtyk and make him pay for his sins. I will watch the life drain from his eyes, just as he watched my mother take her final breath.

The anxiety pushes me to my feet and I stumble around the table, the room spinning as I sway like a ship lost at sea. The vodka has taken hold of my limbs, made them heavy and uncooperative. I grasp my phone, the screen blurring before my eyes as I clumsily navigate to Nico's contact. My thumb hovers over the call button, a moment of clarity piercing through the haze.

I want to call him, to tell him not to come.

I shouldn't have invited him here in the first place, to my home. But it's too late. He has the address and the instructions on how to get past the front gate and the security have been notified too. This house I've built to shield myself from the outside world is the only sure thing I have. The realization sends a jolt of panic through my veins, my heart pounding in a frantic rhythm.

What if he sees through the cracks in my armor? What if he discovers the broken man beneath the polished veneer? The thought is terrifying, a vulnerability I can't afford in front of someone like him. In front of a potential enemy.

The sound of a car pulling up to the front entrance topples my reverie. I freeze, my breath catching in my throat as I hear the engine cut off. There is a slam of the door, then footsteps approach.

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