Page 64 of Hateful Vows
I dial Dante, who picks up on the first ring. “Petrov’s second is in the country. Popov is with him. And my bodyguard.”
“Jivko?” I hear Irina on the other end of the line.
“Are you sure?” Dante asks.
“Yes. We’re going hunting.”
I don’t wait for him to answer; I share all the data I have from Dan who is sending us everything he has via satellite connection.
The man we’re about to kill is a worm and we knew he was in the UK the moment he set foot in the country. That Misha Petrov thought it was safe to challenge me is a mistake his men will pay for. The promise of violence sings in my system. I need blood on my hands. To expel this crazed energy that has been following me around since I let myself drink Irina down like the best liquor in the world. And fuck, she was.
Dan waits for us by his car, smoking a cigarette and assembling more weapons than he can carry when Ilia and I arrive, ahead of Mikhail who followed closely. Popov and Misha’s second are meeting in an abandoned garage, off the beaten track of the national road. The metal structure hidden behind the lush forest is a sore spot in the middle of the bucolic green landscape, only interrupted by clusters of villages made of picturesque stone-houses. The ugly grey fits their rotten souls perfectly.
“What did you get?” I ask Dan who doesn’t look up from his task to answer.
“Recon didn’t give much. You were right though. Jivko’s with them. Eight men in total. No cargo.”
I wince at his careless language, but it’s a relief to know this will be all about annihilation. There’s no one to protect.
Dante’s car slowly makes its way towards our hiding place and my breath hitches when Irina gets out from the passenger’s side.
“Where are Tino and Lorenzo? And what is she doing here?” I ask Dante and the bastard shrugs.
It’s my headache of a step-sister who answers, a leader in her own right. “Tino and Lorenzo are occupied with finding Dante’s nemesis. I don’t need to remind you that I have the same training as you do,kozyol. And I’m a better shot.”
She flips her long ponytail and takes a black bag out of the car trunk, assembling a sniper rifle in just a few minutes under themesmerised gaze of my right-hand-man, chief of security and the ex-MI6 officer who whistles under his breath.
“She’s hot when she’s blood-thirsty,” Dante says as he adjusts his dick.
They’re going to get us killed. I don’t see any other outcome. The horny hunk of a man trails after Irina who asks Dan what he knows and I just watch, stunned at how easily she inserted herself into business and how everyone else gravitates around her.
I’ve always protected her. It’s as easy as breathing and I wouldn’t know what else to do. But it seems she might not need it.
It’s not like I think Irina needs saving. It’s just that we’ve faced a monster I wasn’t sure she would survive before. Or maybe that’s what I told myself so I could keep her at bay.
This version of Irina… She’s stunning all in black safety gear that moulds to her athletic frame, a fierce expression on her face and weapons strapped all across her thighs. She ties the strands of her hair into a tight chignon, giving her angular features a deadly edge.
Plants rustle behind us and we all whirl back as one.
“If it were anyone else, you’d be dead,” the Angel of Death says.
Andrea Capaldi’s brother, Nico, is an assassin, and a deadly one. I’ve used his service a few times. He’s silent, organised to a fault and with him at our sides, we are maximising the chances of destroying the people who thought they could claim what is mine. Misha’s second entering the country is an act of war. Popov and Jivko meeting with him without my knowledge, treason. Both will swiftly be punished.
Equipped with earpieces, protective gear and weapons, we move as one towards the two-story building, spreading around it. Only the rustling sound of trees disturbs our silent progress.
I peek through one of the dirty windows. The space is empty, thin metal poles holding the structure together offering no cover; the tools are long gone with the owner of the place. Popov smiles at Barychev, Misha’s second-in-command. I don’t recognise any of the other men, foot soldiers with no name.
And dead men without graves.
After inspection of the building and its perimeter, it’s clear that we can only come in one way, and it’s through the main door. Breaking the two windows, one at the side and one at the rear, is too risky. But we have the element of surprise on our side.
When we are all ready, I give the signal.
“Go!”
We storm the building.
Shouts and bullets fly.
