Page 1 of Ensnared
Chapter 1
Thegunshotpiercedtheair with a sharp crack.
It was amazing what a bullet could do, Dominic mused as he stared at the remaining living occupants in the room. It had the power to shatter the tense silence that had filled the massive room moments before while bringing down a wall of hushed silence immediately after.
The silence didn't last long. One of the four men tied to the chairs began to cry as he stared in wide-eyed horror at his friend's now lifeless body next to him.
"Okay," the blond man holding the gun began, a smile spreading across his face. "Let's try this again, shall we?"
Dominic studied his boss while the other two men who worked with Dominic did the same. Dimitri Zaretsky was a strange man with a mercurial temperament. His smiles were razor sharp, his laughter was a cold warning, and the man's touch was damning. With his Armani gray vest, matching slacks, and crisp white button-down to go along with his classical good looks, a regular person would never suspect they were dealing with a sociopath.
Dimitri walked past the crying man and stopped in front of the third chair and its bound occupant. The dark-haired man was sporting a bleeding lip and a rapidly swelling eye, but he still managed to look up at Dimitri with pure contempt.
"We already told you it's impossible now," the man said, his accent and bruised mouth making the words sound thick and choppy. "We got nothing from the-"
The man's words were cut off with a thud as Dimitri backhanded him with the butt of his gun. Slumping over in his chair, the man groaned in pain.
"No," Dimitri said, stepping back, his blue eyes narrowed on the man before sweeping across to the other three hostages.
Dominic did the same, his eyes stopping on the second man from the left. This one was obviously not like the rest. His light complexion and Asian features stood out from the other Armenian men. He was also much younger than the other men. Probably in his mid to late twenties, Dominic guessed. Staring at the ground, the kid almost appeared catatonic if it weren't for the occasional jolt of fear that made him flinch.
Dominic knew Dimitri noticed him too.
Honestly, Dominic would have thought they had picked up the wrong guy if he hadn't seen the kid for himself at the house; they pulled the rest of the men out earlier that morning. Filled with high-end computer equipment and blacked-out windows, the house had served as the group's base, just one of a dozen little places like it where the Armenian gang operated. A base that Dimitri was going to happily continue ignoring until three days ago when they cost him eight million dollars in revenue.
"See, I just don't believe that," Dimitri explained with a knowing smile as he walked down the line of hostages. "I just cannot believe you would come in and fuck up months of my preparation just to walk away with nothing. That I refuse to believe."
The man lifted his head and stared tiredly at Dimitri. "We were just told to disrupt your-
The sound of the gun cocking silenced the man.
"And what? Fuck it up for the sake of pissing us off? No, your boss, Ardem, might be a dumb piece of shit but he hasn't lost his goddamn mind," Dimitri snarled. Each word clipped with an edge as his anger grew.
Dominic knew Dimitri was thinking of his phone call with his boss, Vladimir. The scathing call had come from the highest position in their organization and from a man who already seemingly hated Dimitri. It left very little patience for—
Another gunshot pierced the air and Dominic blinked at the sight of the now dead man.
Dimitri turned and stared at the remaining two men and gave them a bright smile. "Somebody better start telling me what I want to hear."
By now the boy was visibly shaking while the remaining Armenian man began to chant something over and over again between his tears.
Ever since Dominic followed Dimitri to Vegas and initially cleared out the ruling Armenians, Dominic was forced to pick up bits and pieces of the language. And he knew the man was currently crying out to God to save him while cursing himself for not listening to his mother.
Too fucking late now.
Stopping in front of the kid, Dimitri touched the tip of his gun to the boy's chin. Whether it was the sting of the hot metal against his skin or just the proximity of the weapon the kid jerked his face up and stared wide-eyed at Dimitri.
Dimitri cocked his head to the side. "Are you going to tell me what I need to know? Or am I going to have to shoot you too?"
"I-I-I…" The young man's words just faded. Terror crumpled his face and he stared back at the ground.
Dimitri looked at the man next to the kid and pointed to the kid with his gun. "What's his name?"
The kid's head snapped up in horror and he looked to the man next to him in a silent plea not to say anything. The man looked at the kid and back to Dimitri, and Dominic could see his loyalty wavering. So could Dimitri.
A sly smile spread over his boss's lips and Dimitri gave the man a firm look. "Tell me and I'll drop you off in the desert."
The man gave him a skeptical look - rightfully so.
