Page 126 of Lies He Told Me (Bratva Crime Syndicate 1)

“You just now figured it out?”

And just like that, I do. What an idiot I’ve been.

Of course. The mysterious Skull King leader. The ballsy one who had all the moves, all the insider knowledge. Of course he knew how to hit us where it hurt. Of course he knew the tactics to all but slaughter us. Of course.

“Yes, me,” he’s saying. “I know you hoped you’d seen the last of me, but: surprise! I have one more surprise for you, too.”

“Fuck you,” I snarl.

“Oh, I think you’ll be wanting to see this surprise.” A chuckle.

His voice sounds wrong, like he’d drank too much.

“Osip,” I say carefully, in the tone that used to work on the nights I found him stumbling drunk. “Let’s end this. Let’s talk.”

More chuckling. “Oh, so now you want to talk? Now that you’re losing pitifully? Now that I’m the one in power and not you? What a coincidence.”

“Osip—”

“Shut up and listen closely, brother, because I won’t say this twice. This is on my terms. I have something that you want, something that is very dear to you. Your little wife is here, wearing nothing but some nice jeans and a bra, but she may not be wearing that much for long, if you know what I’m saying.”

My fist squeezes the phone and I clench my teeth so hard I fear I might crack a molar. “You wouldn’t.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. You know I’ve always been impatient.”

My vision is red. Osip. Joy. He dares. He fucking dares.

I grind the words out. “What do you want?”

“You come here, now. You surrender. I give you your little wife, let the two of you live. In return, you give me… everything.”

Part of me wants to spit in his face. But another part of me—the part that’s been pulling the strings since the second I handed Joy a slice of pizza—knows what I’m going to say before the words even leave my mouth.

“Deal.”

Osip’s lying and will probably just kill both of us for revenge anyway. Still, I have to go. Have to try. Have to do whatever I can to get Joy back. Whatever it takes.

“You come here alone, or I hurt her. Anything sly or sneaky, anything other than what we agreed on, and I hurt her. Do you understand?”

I understand that you’re dead to me, brother.

“I understand.”

“Excellent. Now, you come here, to the old grain elevator, alone and ready to surrender, and we can have our happy reunion then. Ta ta.” He hangs up.

Ludmil is staring at me.

“Osip has Joy,” I tell him. “He wants me to surrender.” He starts to protest, but I raise a hand and cut him off. “Don’t. I’m going to meet him now. I can’t tell you where. This is me telling you to surrender. When I get there, I’ll tell Osip that you defied orders, cursed me out, whatever.”

“But, boss,” Ludmil protests, “Joy, she—”

“I know she left,” I say. “I’m going to get her back.”

I hop on my bike and head for the grain elevator that’s a good thirty minutes away. As I drive away I can still hear the far-off yells, the smattering of bullets. My grip on the accelerator tightens. I should be there. I should be there fighting and dying with my men.

And yet, this madness has gripped me.

It’s the only way.

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