Page 66 of Crimson Fury

A smile tugs at my lips as I think of her. She’s proven herself trustworthy, caring for Nikolai as if he were her own. The way they laugh together, her eyes alight with mischief as she teaches him her skills…skills that make me wonder about the past she continues to keep to herself. I’d ask more, but I have my own past to keep a secret. Still, knowing that she cares for him fills me with a warmth I haven’t felt in years. I feel at peace knowing they’re safe at home.

Which is why I must do this. To keep them safe.

The sedan slows as Luka pulls up outside a decrepit old building. A warehouse I recognize from the old days.

“This is it,” he says. “The last meet was in the office block down there,” he jerks his head, “but there’s been movement here too.”

“Good. Check out the buildings at the end of the block,” I tell him as I swing the door open and slide out of the car. “I’ll meet you back here once I’ve cleared this one.” He nods silently as he turns off the engine and climbs out of the driver’s seat.

I turn my attention back to the building in front of me. My heart pounds with each step as I approach the entrance.

This was once a place of business. Now, a den of thieves and cutthroats.

The door creaks open. A wave of stale air, sweat, and vodka assaults my senses. My fingers curl into fists, nails biting into my palms.

“Well, well. If it isn’t Anton Ulianov.” A shape emerges from the shadows, a face I know.

“Yuri Geiger,” I spit the name. The man’s a snake.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” A sneer twists his lips.

I stare at the man who was once my associate. The man who, like me, learned how to inflict pain, how to kill without remorse. It has only been two years, but he looks older now, his face creased with lines that speak of a hard life. A life filled with senseless waste…the lives of innocents sentenced to death by Volkov. His eyes remain as cruel and calculating as ever, though. Perhaps more now that he’s seen horrors that I refused to be a part of.

“I have questions,” I say, keeping my tone even.

“I don’t answer to you anymore.” Yuri waves a dismissive hand. “You left Volkov. You’re nothing now. Just a washed-up has-been trying to play family man.”

His words strike a chord, igniting anger in my gut. I take a step forward, fists clenching at my sides. “Watch your mouth, Yuri.”

He laughs, the sound grating. “Or what? You’ll beat me? Kill me?” He shakes his head, lip curling. “You don’t have the stomach for it anymore.” The glint of a blade flickers in the half-light and I realize he’s toying with a knife, waiting for me to strike.

Fine.

I’m not going to disappoint the fucker.

In two swift strides, I close the distance between us and slam him against the wall. “Try me, Geiger.”

Yuri gasps as the air leaves his lungs, but that cruel smirk remains in place. “Go ahead. Prove me wrong.” He’s twisted free in an instant, which doesn’t surprise me. I’d expect nothing less from a man with his skills. But when the tip of his blade skims past my face, I act fast – faster than he could.

Before he can react, my hand curls into a fist, knuckles connecting with the bridge of his nose. Cartilage crunches under the blow. Yuri grunts, head snapping back against the wall.

Blood starts gushing from his nose, dripping down his chin to stain his shirt. Still, the bastard laughs, the sound choked and wet. Defiance in the face of death. It’s a cheap trick I learned too.

“That the best you’ve got?” He staggers to his feet, feet braced, his fists curled in front of him as he prepares to charge me. He doesn’t make it very far. I hit him again, relishing the feel of bone giving way beneath my knuckles. Yuri falls back again.

“I can do this all day,” I mutter.

“Can you?” He spits a mouthful of blood at my feet. “Or will you roll over and die like the dog you are?”

The idiot’s asking for it. When he charges for the third time, my fists fly, battering his face and body until he hangs limp in my grasp, head lolling to the side as he struggles for breath. Even then, I can’t stop, pounding my anger into him until my knuckles ache and blood stains my skin. It’s been long since I felt this sensation.

Chest heaving, I take a step back and stare at the ruin of Yuri’s face. Not exactly pretty to begin with, it’s now swollen, bruised, and bleeding.

I close my eyes, drawing a deep breath to steady my racing pulse. I should kill the idiot now and get him out of my world. But he still has answers to give me. I need to know if they know where I live. I need to know who’s coming after me, threatening those I hold dear.

Nikolai’s face flashes in my mind, his smile bright as he plays with his toy cars. I think of the life I’m trying to build. The future I want for my son.

“Who was sent after me?” I demand, placing my elbows on Yuri’s throat, just ward enough to allow him to talk. He peers back at me through eyes that are swollen, almost shut. And then he grins, bloody teeth visible through cracked lips.

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