Page 85 of Dark Deviant

“Lemme guess. You’re another prick enemy of my dad’s who has an axe to grind with my family. Well, fuck you if you think you’re getting out of here alive. You should have brought more than just a gun if that was your plan.”

“You really do take after Luka. He trained you well.” The guy lets out a deep chuckle. He pokes the barrel of his gun into Hadeon’s back and shoves him forward. “Move it, asshole. You’ve done your job. You led us straight to the prize.”

Hadeon stumbles over his feet and trips into a nearby coffee table. A set of empty wine glasses shudder at the impact before crashing to the floor.

But the guy, whoever he is, doesn’t blink. He sidesteps the shattered crystal, his hard gaze fixed on me.

“Your father never appreciated the potential of the Brotherhood, what we could become under the right leader. He wasn’t that leader. He had his own goals, and the rest of us were just along for the ride. He was happy to collect the cash from our work, but he never gave back. He was always out for himself, and should have taken a bullet to the head a very long time ago.”

My vision floods with red, lips twisting at his caustic words. “What do you want?”

The corners of his lips curl upward. “Everything, Danil. Your father took from us for so long, that now it’s payback time. So we want what we’re owed…the entire empire that we bled for.”

“What do I have to do with that?” Larysa’s voice quivers. “You threatened me a week ago, right here in the same place. Why? I have nothing to do with the Malikovs.”

“Yes, but your father did.”

“No, he didn’t. He told Danil he wouldn’t work with them—”

“I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase ‘ignorance is bliss?’” He smirks, flashing sparkling white teeth. “It no longer applies here. Ignorance is lethal, Larysa. You were so wrapped up in your career that you missed the signs. They way your father and Viktor Malikov were so closely entwined in their own secret dealings. That’s why the Brotherhood needed to kill him.” He looks at me, his eyes glazed over with malice. “To kill themboth.”

“Danil.” She murmurs my name. “Oh my God…”

“We needed a way to pit your families against each other at just the right time, to take blame and suspicion off of the Brotherhood.” He lifts a thick eyebrow at me. “You were the perfect scapegoat, at the murder scene, at exactly the right time, thanks to the help from your dearly departed brother, Dima.”

My heart thrashes around in my chest, blood rushing between my temples.

No, he fucking didn’t.

With the force of a hammer, my pulse slams against my throat, harder and faster with each second that passes.

“Dima,” I growl. “He set me up?”

“He handed you over on a silver platter. It couldn’t have been easier for us to frame you for Olek’s murder.”

My body crackles with rage. It flows through me, gathering force and breathing fire into every cell.

That vengeful bastard really did whatever he could to put us all under attack. Not that I should be surprised after he sabotaged me with that car wreck and killed my chances at playing in the NHL. Every move Dima made against our family over the years was in retaliation for a larger plan he’d been edged out of. My father kept him away from the Brotherhood 7 and because of it, he aligned himself with every enemy we have to destroy what he would never be part of.

We were all targets for his revenge schemes.

And we’ve been picking up the pieces of our shattered lives ever since.

Rot in hell, Dima.

“When he was no longer helpful, we disposed of him.” The guy smirks. “Dima was always such a power-hungry bastard anyway. Never learned how to be part of a team. He was too self-serving, and it landed him in an early grave.”

“So why the fuck are we here?” Hadeon yells. “If your beef is with those scumbag Malikovs?”

The guy stares at Hadeon, who struggles to his feet. “Your father rejected Danil’s bullshit business deal to save face with our partners. Viktor sent Danil to Ukraine for a meeting that was supposed to crash and burn, to prove Olek’s loyalty to our cause. He was working against us the whole time, two-faced bastard. Olek and Viktor were asshole buddies, plotting our collapse. But it didn’t work out for them. We silenced them both for good. Now, our plan is almost complete, but we’re missing one final piece. Larysa has the key, and you brought her right to me.”

He looks back at Larysa. “Say goodbye.”

“Fuck you. I’m not going anywhere.” All of the color drains from Larysa’s face. “You’re just going to kill me once you get what you want, anyway.”

“There is a whole lot at stake if you don’t cooperate. A lot of potential death. And your daughter is at the top of that list.”

A choked cry escapes Larysa’s lips.

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