Page 83 of Of Murder and Matrimony

Neretti men were already at work with sprayers, dousing each of the four apartments on every floor with accelerant. I took the stairs to the top, where Filippo and Stefano branched off to do the same.

I pulled out a gold lighter and held it before my face, watching the light gleam off the engraved words. For Olesya. At any cost.

It wasn’t fancy. I’d stared at that lighter for the past week, reminding myself why I was plotting every move. It was all to get my wife back.

I slid my phone from my pocket, glancing down at the all-clear message as my men sprayed a trail of accelerant down the hall to the elevator, and I hit the call button, waiting for the car to rise. I flicked the lighter on, kissing my wife’s name on the metal, and lowered it to the wet trail of flammable fluid, watching as the accelerant caught blue with a whoosh.

My eyes remained rooted to the spreading flames, even as the elevator door closed, and we stopped on the ninth floor, repeating the same ritual. It only took a minute or so to start fires on each level, but by the time we reached the entry, smoke filled the air, pumping through the building's vents and seeping down the stairwell and elevator shaft. I covered a cough and breathed deeply as I stepped outside, taking in the fresh air.

I took in the first stages of destruction when we crossed the street. Flames flickered against the curtains on the top floors, looking like a strange holiday house with fake candles behind the windows. The Neretti men dispersed, their tasks complete for the evening. A lone figure in black walked out of the underground lot and strode to where I stood with Stefano and Filippo.

“Everything went well?” I asked Cosimo as he removed his black ski mask.

He grinned, his teeth gleaming in the streetlight. “Perfect.”

“Good.” I reached for my phone and dialed Adrik’s personal cell number. One of our tech experts finally dug deep enough behind firewalls to find it. I tapped my fingers against my thigh as the phone rang.

Just as I thought it would go to voicemail, ruining my fun, I heard the Russian’s sleep-graveled voice. “Zolotov.”

“Rapture looks beautiful all lit up,” I purred proudly.

“The fuck did you do, Neretti?” Adrik’s smooth demeanor dropped, perhaps because I’d woken him from a dead sleep. I heard his breathing quicken, and I could practically see him running to his office to see what was happening.

“Don’t bother checking the cameras,” I said flippantly. “They’re offline. I can send you a picture if you’d like.”

“I swear, if you’ve—”

“Shh, don’t get all worked up, Adrik.” I grinned as I opened my camera app and snapped a photo of the building, sending it to his number. “I’m sure you have insurance.”

“The girls,” he growled.

I scoffed. “Do you really think I’d let them burn?”

Silence. A breath. “No.”

“They’re safely out,” I assured him. I still wanted to fuck with him, so I added, “Your men are a different story. I think I’ll give them to Cosimo. You know how he likes to play.”

Angry muffled voices drifted through the phone, and I chuckled. Adrik and Yuri couldn’t stay away from a building on fire.

“You’d better hurry if you want to see it while it still stands,” I taunted. “Have a lovely night, Adrik. Give my love to Olesya.”

“You fucker,” he hissed. “You’ll never touch—”

I ended the call, tired of listening to his useless rants. Cosimo lifted a brow in question.

“I think it went rather well,” I smirked. “I give them fifteen minutes. He was probably rushing out of the building while he had me on the line.”

We stood silently on the sidewalk, watching the building ignite slowly. The neighbors wouldn’t dare alert the authorities of a fire in a Bratva building. They were probably happy to let it burn to the ground.

Right on time, a black SUV came careening around the corner, screeching to a halt down the street from the building, followed by a second vehicle. Shit, I hadn’t expected Adrik to bring men to fight. Bratva soldiers exited the first vehicle, taking defensive positions around the second SUV as Adrik and Yuri stepped out.

“Want to see something fun?” Cosimo asked in a voice that sent chills down my spine. “We should probably step around the corner.”

Unwilling to take any chances, I rushed around the corner as Cosimo pulled out his phone, that gleeful grin on his face. A deafening roar filled the air without warning, echoing against the buildings. Fire and debris erupted from the garage entrance, and the burning building shuddered on its foundation. The Zolotov men dove for cover behind the vehicles as glass rained down.

“What the fuck did you do?” I asked accusingly, my eyes wide as I looked at my brother. The entire street was aglow, and I could feel the heat from our position.

“I know how fond the Russians are of explosives,” he answered, his face twisting with cold rage. “I thought I’d take a play from their book. It’s rather poetic, don’t you think?”

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