Page 54 of Control

“Is the scene clear?” I asked as we turned left, making our way down the street of our destination. I wanted to be sure that the location was free of any innocent patrons.

Zayn moved his phone closer to his eyes to check. “All clear. It seems they shut the place down.”

Good. The last thing we needed was innocent bystanders getting in the way or calling the police.

I spotted the location out of my window. A restaurant calledSemya,which meant “family” in Russian. It was ironic that he was meeting here when he was the same dick who had killed his own father.

No, I hadn’t forgotten that tidbit of information I had over him. Once I killed him and his bastard cousin Igor, I’d make sure to let his Brothers know just how family-oriented theirPakhanhad been. That would surely get them off my back and prevent any of them from seeking revenge for Leonid’s death. He would die in dishonor.

The SUV circled around the main entrance and entered the side alley, away from public view. My men were to enter from the back of the restaurant, since I expected Leonid would have heaviest reinforcements there; it was the ideal path for a getaway. I would enter from the front of the restaurant. It wasn’t my style to sneak up on him from behind. I wanted him to see me coming. That was probably where I had gone wrong with the assassination attempt. Hiding and shooting from afar wasn’t true to my methods. I was a “face them head on” kind of a leader.

I opened the car door and looked up and down the alley before getting out. No one was in sight. Leonid’s cars must have been parked further down to avoid detection. No doubt, his drivers were ready and waiting for the signal to drive by for a pick-up.

Zayn walked around to join my side, dressed up more than he was used to, in a suit. “Ready, brother?”

I nodded, straightening the sleeve of my suit jacket. Today, I had opted for something a little dressier too. The added layers allowed me to hide weapons easier than a pair of jeans and a t-shirt would have. I hated ties, so I’d left that bit out.

The two of us walked silently to the street entrance of the restaurant. The exterior looked very old-world Russian. Dark cherry-wood slats framed the windows. The red curtains inside were drawn so I couldn’t catch a glimpse of the interior. A black-and-white striped awning extended over the large wood front doors.

I paused in front of the entrance, gathering my thoughts. Zayn looked at me, not uttering a word, but his eyes said, “I’m with you, brother.”

I pulled off my shades and tucked them away into my pocket. I wanted the motherfucker to see my eyes when I pulled the trigger.

My hand rested on the handle of the door for a moment. Pulling the weight of the wood toward me, I entered the restaurant first, with Zayn right behind me.

The vestibule was dark and swathed in dark-red and gold wallpaper. A velvet curtain separated the hostess’s table from the main area. Today must have been a special event because there was no hostess in sight.No problem. I can seat myself.

Pulling back the curtain slightly, I saw him sitting at a table in the back of the room. His dirty-colored hair and disheveled facial hair stood out. He was stuffing his mouth with food while two of his men flanked him from behind his chair, machine guns in hand, resting across their chests.

His loud cackle brought my focus back to him. Igor sat next to him, messily gulping down liquor from his glass. His vile cousin couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off something in front of him. I moved in closer to get a better look.

Leonid was holding a meeting and chattering loudly in Russian.

I glanced at Zayn, nervous that we had gotten ourselves into something that would turn out messier than we had hoped. My brother shrugged his shoulders, as if he too were clueless about the meeting taking place in front of us.

I wondered if I should hang back here to eavesdrop instead of ambushing him like I had. If he were meeting with allies, I should know what sort of shady dealings he was up to and who else was involved.

The person across from him never spoke, so there wasn’t much to listen in on. My Russian was mediocre at best, so it was pointless to sit here and listen to a bunch of one-sided garbling from this moron.

I pushed through the curtain with Zayn in tow, making no effort to silence the sound of my footsteps on the hardwood floors.

Leonid looked up from his plate, his shockingly green eyes widening with recognition. He was beaming from ear to ear. The bastard had expected us.

I was unable to focus on anything but his disgusting face.

He pushed back from his chair, his short height barely reaching the base of my neck. “Welcome, boys! So nice of you to join us! Come join us for lunch.” He motioned to the empty chairs flanking either side of the table. Igor stayed seated, showing us his toothless smile.

Zayn and I stopped midway to the table. Before I could speak, Leonid addressed us again.

“You seem to have caught us at right on time. Say hello to my friends, sister.”

Confusion clouded my thoughts. He had asister? I glanced to the guest seated with their back facing me.

“Get up, girl,” he spat angrily.

The woman stood up carefully from her seat, as if she were a lowly slave mindlessly following a command. Slowly, she turned to face me, locking her panic-filled eyes with mine.

I had to do a double take just to believe what I was seeing. My chest filled with dread and the pit in my stomach swallowed my heart. I damn near collapsed from shock.

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