Page 104 of Gangster's Empire: Leeza & Havel

Adam released the body and it slide to the floor.

Panic gripped Leeza. She turned her back on Adam and ran towards the door. To her surprise it opened, but as she tried to launch herself out of the room, Adam grabbed her by the hair and dragged her into his body, pressing his nose to the side of her face.

She screamed and twisted in his grip, ignoring the shooting pain in her scalp as he pulled her hair out at the root. Slamming her elbow into his jaw, she forced him back a few steps, but his hand was still tangled in her hair and he dragged her with him. He recovered before she did, smashing his gun into the side of her head for the second time. Streaks of light exploded; her vision blurred and her legs collapsed beneath her.

Adam grabbed her before she fell, his expression severe. “Why are you fighting me?”

Black spots floated before her eyes and nausea swelled up inside her.

“Did you miss me, wife? Because I missed you.”

She felt his lips on her throat and a shudder rippled through her. “Why would I miss such a pathetic piece of shit?” she said hoarsely.

He stiffened against her. “He’s turned you against me.”

“I was against you from the moment I saw you.” She scanned the floor searching for anything she could use as a weapon. “You were always weak. I often wondered why Krystoff didn’t have you killed years ago.”

She felt his mood shift from jubilant to furious and braced herself.

He spun her around and punched her, his fist slamming into the side of her head. She was thrown to the ground, landing next to the broken mirror. Pain exploded through her skull, blurring her vision.

“I thought you’d be better at protecting yourself after all those self-defense classes you took.”

"Fuck off, you asshole," she said weakly. "I'm going to fucking kill you."

He laughed like the monster he was. “You always were a stupid bitch. This is why I have to do the thinking for both of us. I am Bratva. You will not win a fight with me.”

Leeza tried to drag herself off the floor, but a wave of dizziness washed over her. “Put the gun down and we’ll find out who would really win in a fight.”

He shook his head. “I have better things planned for you.”

Leeza scrambled backwards as he advanced on her. The wall stopped her retreat. “Please Adam.”

“I love it when you beg.” He crouched in front of her, using his gun to tilt her chin. “Do it again.”

Nausea and pain coalesced inside her until she couldn’t hold herself up anymore. She slid down the wall, the room disappearing as her eyes fluttered shut.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

“You have thirty seconds to get me an address,” Havel snarled into his phone.

Ali was desperately trying to give Havel any information to indicate where his wife might have been taken while the others were preparing for war.

Havel paced outside his Hummer, hand under his jacket resting on his gun. Never in his life had he felt this helpless.

“I think I have something…” Ali’s voice trailed off.

“Spit it out!” Havel shouted, startling a couple who were passing by on the sidewalk.

“There’s a building a few blocks from your location that was purchased eight years ago, the same year Adam came to live in Prague. The sale was cash and the title transferred to a numbered company tracing back to Russia. It’s not much to go on…”

“It’s enough.” Leaving Ali on speakerphone, Havel leapt into his Hummer while Simion climbed into the passenger seat. He glanced at the bodyguard. “You wearing a vest?”

Simion nodded.

They arrived at the building three minutes later, stopping at the mouth of an alleyway.

They sprinted toward the building’s entrance where Havel kicked the door in. It smashed into the wall and Havel and Simion moved through, guns out.

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