Page 8 of Collapsed

One of them laughs, and I’m fucking done. I grab my blade and slash it across the one’s throat before they can even blink. His partner gasps and holds his hands up in a surrender gesture. “I don’t want any trouble, man, go inside.”

“Pussy!” I spit and lunge at him, grabbing him by the throat and shoving him against the door before stabbing him in the chest three times repeatedly. He’s gargling and holding his chest as he falls over. Wiping my blade on my pants, I grab the door handle, when I hear a slow clap coming from behind me.

“I should have known I’d find you covered in blood,” the voice huffs with a laugh.

Rolling my eyes, I turn around and see Stryker standing behind me with a smug as fuck smirk on his face. “Don’t start, Stryker. I’m done waiting. I'm findingMalyshka. You can help me or you can go the fuck back to the hospital.”

“By all means, I’ll wait here in my car,” he coos, turning to go sit in his car. I smile, heading inside.

“It’s time to talk or die! Who knows where Ivan is?” I yell as the few people inside freeze in place, their icy stares watching my every move.

Stryker

I’vebeensittinginthe SUV for what seems like an eternity now, waiting for the crazy Russian to come back out of the building. In reality, it's only been about twenty-five minutes… I think. I know deep down he is getting as much information as possible, but taking his sweet-ass time with it. Torture is his favorite game.

About ten more minutes pass before I finally see some movement. Alexie comes walking down the alley off to the side of the building, covered head to toe in blood.Thank god, the seats in this thing are leather.

As he approaches, I roll down my window, shouting out to him. “I hope your crazy ass got some good information with the amount of blood you're wearing and the time I've been waiting for you to come out. Not to mention the cost of the bill to clean the SUV after you get in here,” I tease him.

“Ooohhh, don't you worry, my friend. I got information. Blew off a little frustration while I was at it, too.” He preens, rounding to the passenger side.

The door opens, causing me to shake my head as I take a closer look at him. He is dripping, literally dripping, blood off his clothes.What a fucking mess. “Dude, seriously, you're getting in here like that?”

He grunts in annoyance. “Fine, I won't get in here like THIS,” he gestures up and down his body with his hands. Before I know it, he is stripping down to nothing and shrugs at me. “Better?”

“Just get in the fucking car. You’re so dramatic,” I say to him in a slightly amused tone since he is standing there naked because he apparently goes commando regularly.

He tosses his clothes and shoes on the rubber floor mat, then slides into the passenger seat. “I’m dramatic? You're the one being a baby about a little bit of blood.” He laughs. “So, you must say, how did you find me so quickly, Boss-man?”

Starting the SUV, we pull away from the building. I make a quick call to get the building and bodies cleaned up before replying to Alexie. “Well, Conrad was just about to come to your room to tell you that we had a plan to come check this place out, based on a lead he found of different Bratva-affiliated locations in Chicago when the nurse walked in to bring us our discharge paperwork to get the fuck out of that damn hospital,” I start to tell him. “Then the cranky old lady started yelling at us, asking where you went.” I roll my eyes while still focusing on the road.

“Hummmmm, so I didn't get much lead time, it seems,” he butts in.

“We figured you would try some shit like this; escaping, then going after her on your own. When we got out to the car, Conrad told us he knew you came here, but we can't tell you all our tricks.” I laugh at his annoyed facial expression. “We went home, and I left the other two behind to get settled. I took off to find you and get your ass home. Now, we can start making plans to find our girl.”

“Yes, let's do that. Would you like to know what I found out? Or do you want to wait until we are with the others?” Alexie asks me.

“No, tell me what you got. We can catch everyone else up later, but I need to know now. Then we can start forming a plan,” I bark at him, harsher than I intend to, but I need to hear it all.

Alexie takes a deep breath, slowly blowing out all the air in his lungs, then he begins to tell me his story. “Those pieces of shit had no idea who they were dealing with. I mean, you saw those pussies outside, but the men inside, if you can even call them that, had what I needed. Some recognized me and begged for mercy, but I had none. I tortured them all until I had all the info they could give me. It was so easy. Papa must have been putting too much focus on the skin trade; he forgot to train his men adequately.”

I look over at him, giving a small fake cough and urging him to get on with the information he found. He just nods in understanding back at me.

“Okay, so Umbra has taken her from us… out of the state. I mean, they boarded a private plane, one of my papa’s, I have no doubt, and went back to New York. Based on what I was told and how people were talking in there, Ivan has laid claim to my throne as head of the Bratva.” He lets out a guttural groan. “Not going to fucking happen. He has taken my woman… my right to kill my papa. Over my dead body is he taking my birthright as the head of that family.” He stabs his knife into my dash with force after that statement.

It pisses me off that he is fucking with the SUV, but I know when to pick my battles, and this is not the time to bring this vehicle up again. “Your woman? You meanourfucking woman, Alexie!” I correct, aggravated.

“Yes, yes, you know what I mean. I am just so furious right now, and she was only mine for so long,” he vaguely apologizes.

“Back to what you said though, is that what you want, Alexie? Off of this team and back to your roots, the Volkov Bratva. You want to give this all up? You know we can’t support all the things your father used to do if you choose that, and what about our girl? You can’t leave her again, or take her from us,” I tell him swiftly, without even taking a breath as all of these thoughts come rushing to the front of my mind. I pull over into a parking lot and put the SUV in park, knowing this is about to be a much bigger conversation.

Turning to Alexie with a sigh, I ask, “What do you want, Russian?”

“I was the heir of that Bratva. It bears my last name, it will be me who runs it. I will not leave Natalia once we get her back, never again. Once I gain control back from Ivan’s fake claims, I have thought about it in much detail. I will bring the Bratva to Chicago so we can all stay together, but I will need to get to New York as soon as possible to not lose my edge. I need to make it known I am alive, well, and angry.”

“You have a lot of groundwork ahead of you to take over Ivan’s followers. It seems like he was scheming behind your father's back for a long time. Being his muscle, I’m sure many people already looked to him as a leader.” Looking at him, I can tell he is deep in thought.

“You are right, Boss-man. I have a lot of groundwork to lay out for my takeover. But, you forget, I have only been away from that life a short time. I was the golden boy, and everyone knew I was next in line for the throne. Most men are loyal to my papa and in turn to me as well. I have men I have stayed connected to while I was searching for the answers to Katia’s ‘death’, and thenMalyshkaonce she was sent here to Chicago. I know I can trust these men. They will help me, even if it means their lives. One thing about most of the men in the Bratva is that they are loyal to the very end. All I have to do is call upon them. First thing will be no more skin trade and going as legitimate as possible with our dealings.” There is a glint in his eyes, showing me how much this all means to him.

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