Page 88 of Sins He Taught Me (Bratva Crime Syndicate 3)

Victoria

The most chilling thing about Mr. Rogers isn’t the threats of murder or the gun I know is underneath his jacket. It’s not the fact that he’s been plotting this for months, or that he killed Dmitry and Brianne like it was nothing.

What’s most terrifying about this man is how calm he’s been since he forced me into his car.

He isn’t at all like I might have imagined a psychopath to be. He doesn’t talk to himself or hit himself or anything else like I’ve seen on TV and in movies. He’s calculated and composed, holding the steering wheel with hands at ten and two, eyes straight ahead and shoulders relaxed. Every now and then he’ll glance at me and smile, satisfied with himself. Like we’re going out on a fucking picnic.

Rogers isn’t some cartoonish villain going to tie me to a set of train tracks while he cackles and twists his mustache. No, he’s a methodical murderer who is going to make this painful and long.

The one silver lining is that, because he’s not currently losing his shit, I can talk to him rationally. “You can still leave the city, you know? Nobody is looking for me yet. You could just drop me off and get out of here. I wouldn’t even tell them where you went.”

His gaze slides over to me, and he narrows his eyes. “After all I’ve done to punish this family, you really think I’d just walk away now?” He laughs quietly. “No, Victoria, this is the grand finale. This is where I bring down you and Matvei and the entire Morozov empire.”

I can see the glimmer of righteousness in his eyes, and I know that I’ll probably never get through to him. He’s too far gone, too deep in his own delusions to even consider me.

But I can’t help but try.

“Please, I understand that you’re upset, but you don’t have to do this. If you just talk to Matvei and tell him the truth, I’m sure he’d understand. You could get DNA testing and we’d all see that you really are Nikolas’s father.”

I don’t believe a word I’m saying. I know Matvei more than anyone else. The moment Rogers tries to bring that up is the moment Matvei puts a bullet in his head. He’s wanted the vigilante dead for months now, and when he finds out that the man behind it all is supposedly Nikolas’s biological father and also the one who killed his brother, he’ll lose it.

“I would stop talking if I were you,” he warns.

But I can’t stop talking. “If you hurt any more people, you’ll never see Nikolas again,” I plead. “That boy will grow up having no connection to you, because you’ll be spending the rest of your life behind bars.”

For the briefest moment, this seems to crack his armor. He glances at me again, then tightens his grip around the steering wheel. “I won’t get caught.”

“But you will,” I insist. “You said it yourself. Matvei has so many people in his pocket. If he and I wind up dead, they’ll see that you were on the security tapes and they’ll arrest you. Nikolas will grow up without anybody in his life. Do you really want that for your son?”

His confidence is wavering the more I talk. “Do you believe in love, Victoria? Do you believe in doing anything for love?”

His question catches me off guard, and for a moment, I look out the window, unsure how to respond. “I … I think I do? I’m not sure.”

“How are you not sure?” he asks, glaring at me. “You of all people associated with that family must be the one to believe in it. I was there when Morozov’s man broke into your home and tried to assault you. You stayed with Morozov to protect your father. You sacrificed yourself for that man. What is that, if not love?”

“I suppose you’re right.” Had I not cared about Dad’s well-being I would’ve let him figure out his own problems. “Why do you ask?”

“I ask because I believe that love is the most valuable thing we as people have. Love controls all of us, even if we’re driven by a lack of it. People like you and Dmitry took love from me. You stole the woman of my dreams. And now you all have to pay for it. So, if you say another word, I promise to you that I will put this gun in your mouth and pull the trigger.”

I sit back in my chair and close my eyes, squeezing my knees hard. No more talking. There’s no talking my way out of this.

All I can do is think.

Think of how to outsmart this man.

Think of a way to escape.

The rest of the ride is silent, and after thirty minutes, we pull into the driveway of an abandoned house. My stomach sinks when I look around at the other houses scattered around. This whole place is a ghost town. There doesn’t seem to be anyone else around for miles. The weight of isolation settles down on my shoulders, and I realize that right now, there’s only me and this killer.

No one is coming to save me.

I have to do this myself.

Rogers parks and turns off the engine. He reaches into his jacket, and with the gun in his hand, he gestures for me to get out and head inside.

I swallow the lump in my throat and step out of the car, walking to the front door. When I twist the knob, it opens without resistance.

It’s clear that this place has been abandoned for years. The living room is filled with dusty furniture, each step I take creaks loudly, and it all smells severely of mothballs. I have no idea what happened to this neighborhood, but it’s clear that it was nothing good.

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