Page 32 of Brutal Loyalty

“I hear you.”

“But you know, I thought of you after all this time because I ran into one of our old friends, Mikhail Gorbov.”

“Gorbov?” Maksim snorted. “God, I haven’t heard that name in ages. The last time I saw him, he’d just been released from prison here in the US and was excited about a new job offer. How is he doing?”

“He looked good. Just as strong as ever. I didn’t get a chance to find out where he was working, though. We exchanged a few words in passing but that was it. Do you by chance remember who hired him?”

“I’ve no idea if he’s still working for him, but evidently Anatoly Popov had secured an early release for him. I remember him bragging about how it only took a couple phone calls to the right people.”

“That’s…good to know. I hadn’t realized.” Roman’s stomach dropped. He eased away from the window and sat at the side of his bed. “How have you been doing, Maksim? It’s been a while. Fill me in.”

While Maksim spoke of his ventures in security, Roman broke down internally. It couldn’t be a coincidence that Elena had gone to see Mikhail. If he was working for the Svodnik, then Mikhail’d come for her…and she’d gone to him, freely. All this time, she’d insisted that she was a defector, but now Roman knew the truth. After her breakdown in the car after visiting her mother, combined with this morning’s meeting with Mikhail? There was no doubt in Roman’s mind that Elena was still loyal to the Svodnik.

She’d been using them all along.

“You’re awfully quiet,” Maksim remarked.

“You have my apologies. Something just came up, and I’ve got to go tend to it. I’ll call you later and we can catch up some more. How does that sound?”

“Perfect. I look forward to hearing all about your recent adventures in driving. Lots of rush hour stories to share, I imagine.”

“You don’t know the half of it.” Roman’s lips pinched in at the corners. “I’ll talk to you again soon.”

“Later.”

Roman set down the phone. He took a deep breath in, then let it out slowly through his nostrils.

Elena was still loyal to her father, which made her a danger to both Viktor and Alexandra. And that meant she had to die. He should apprehend her on the way back inside and dispose of her himself. Anything less would be a betrayal of Viktor and the proud Russian family who’d taken him in when he’d had nowhere else to go. But Roman’s own heart betrayed him. The thought of putting a bullet in Elena’s head turned his stomach and sucked the strength from his body.

He couldn’t kill her because he loved her.

Roman needed to find another solution. Preferably one that wouldn’t get him, her, Viktor, or Alexandra killed.

CHAPTER24

Elena

“Why isn’t it done?” Mikhail’s gaze was hardened on her, and his question demanded a proper response. Elena pinched her shoulder blades together and wished she could take a step back, but she knew better—Mikhail was trying to intimidate her, and if she let him see her fear, he would know he’d won. She had to remain stoic.

“It’s just…not.” She lifted her head a little higher, hiding her anxiety behind the ditzy façade she put on so well and hoping he didn’t see through her BS. “It takes time to do something as delicate as infiltrating a mob family, Mikhail. You know this. It’s even harder since they know full well that the Svodnik was the one who poisoned the previous pakhan, so they’re decidedly cautious around me, which you shouldalsoknow. In fact, you’re damn lucky they even let me in the mansion instead of putting a bullet to my skull.”

“It was supposed to be done by now.” Mikhail’s voice was unrelenting steel. He grabbed her wrist, digging his fingers in. Elena bit back a squeak. She scowled instead and wrenched her wrist away from him. “You had one job, Lena,” he growled.

“Donotcall me that,” she hissed. Hearing her childhood nickname come out of his mouth stung. “My name is Elena, and you will do well to remember that. And also, what the hell are you doing here? Are you crazy? If anyone recognizes you as working for my father, they’ll kill you and not bother to ask any questions first. You really are all brawn and no brain, aren’t you?”

Mikhail scowled, raising his hand as if he was going to strike her but he put it down when she scowled at him. “The risk was considered to be necessary. Of all the enforcers, the Sokolovs are least likely to recognize me. If you had done your job as you were instructed, I wouldn’t have had to take the risk, and you would already be out of there by now.”

Elena’s scowl intensified. “I don’t like your tone.”

“And I don’t like that I have to come onto hostile territory to follow up with your lagging ass.” Mikhail grabbed her by the front of the shirt and yanked her forward. Elena broke her composure and let loose with a startled gasp. She struggled to regain her footing, trying to pull away from his grip. Mikhail had brought her behind a garden shed on the edge of the Sokolov estate, and she knew no one would see them out here. If he wanted to, Mikhail could hurt her. And if she didn’t follow through with her father’s wishes, she realized, there was no telling what he might do to her when they next met.

“Let me go!” Elena hissed. She tried to pull back from Mikhail again, but his grip was too strong. “I’m getting it done! Let me go!” she insisted, digging her nails into his wrists to no avail.

Mikhail reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Thumbing it on, he pulled something up, turned the phone around, and shoved it in her face. Elena pulled her head back so she could see what he was showing her and froze. It was a picture of her trying to talk to her mother. It had to have been taken by that bitch in the pink scrubs. She opened her mouth to say something but before she could figure out what that would be, he leaned in close and whispered in her ear. His breath rolled hot against her earlobe. “Playtime is over, little girl. Daddy wants him dead, or he’ll send someone else to handle it—and if he does, then mommy dearest will be next.”

Elena’s lungs squeezed themselves shut. Her stomach flipped. This wasn’t happening! If she hadn’t gone to see her mother, her father wouldn’t know she knew she was alive. She should have thought of that.

“You have twenty-four hours,Lena.” He shoved her away then, letting go of her shirt as he did. She stumbled backward, barely catching herself on the shed before she fell. “If Viktor Sokolov is not dead in twenty-four hours, then you will be pulled from the estate by any means necessary and brought back to answer to your father. Personally, I hope you don’t succeed. He promised I could help take you apart after you watch your mother die.”

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