Chapter 43

43

NIKOLAI

T he rumble of the engine hums beneath us as the SUV cuts through the dark streets, headlights slicing through the night. I sit in the passenger seat, staring blankly out the window, my mind a chaotic mess of thoughts. The city blurs past, and all I can think about is Gwen. Her voice, the desperation in it, the warning she tried to give me before Boris cut her off. The fact that our children are sitting at home waiting for us.

Aleksandr is driving, his hands gripping the wheel with a controlled precision, eyes focused on the road ahead. He's always been the calm one, the methodical one. But even now, I can see the tension in his jaw, the way his knuckles whiten slightly as he steers.

In the backseat, Sho Matsumoto sits silently, his gaze flicking between Aleksandr and me. He knows exactly what's at stake, probably more than either of us. The Yakuza wants him, and we've promised to deliver him. But Gwen's words echo in my head— they don't care if Sho is dead —and that changes everything .

I turn to Aleksandr, my voice low, almost a whisper. "We need a new plan."

Aleksandr's eyes shift toward me for a split second before returning to the road. "You're saying we abandon the deal with the Yakuza?"

"No," I shake my head, trying to clear the fog of uncertainty. "But we can't just hand Sho over. If they don't care if he's dead or alive, they'll shoot us on sight."

Aleksandr is silent for a moment, considering. His mind is always working, always calculating. "Sho, you didn't tell me they wanted you dead or alive."

Sho leans forward, his voice calm, almost eerily so. "If your son killed all your trusted guards in an attempt to eradicate the family line, wouldn't you want me dead too?"

Sho's black hair is cut into a mullet-like style, loose waves framing his face and trailing down the nape of his neck, where a collage of black tattoos reside. The lazy smile that plays on his lips is a permanent fixture, but it's the kind of smile that never reaches his eyes. When he leans back in the truck, I follow his movements in the rearview mirror, getting flashes of him and Nadia from the headlights of passing cars.

Nadia sits across from Sho in the SUV and continues to sharpen her knife with an eyebrow lifted in interest. "All? You killed them all?"

"You always have to leave one alive to send a message." Sho smirks back.

Nadia sucks her teeth. "The murder is enough of a message. Leaving one alive is foolish. "

I stare at Sho through the rearview mirror, watching as his eyebrow piercing catches the light when he shifts, a small but sharp piece of metal that adds to his rugged appearance. There's always a look in his eyes—sometimes it's deadly, sometimes it's humorous, but it's always calculating, always aware. Even now, as he gazes at Nadia with that flirtatious glint, his eyes are sharp, taking in every detail, every flicker of emotion on her face. My blood rings and I curve my fingers into the palm of my hand, because if he even thinks about touching Nadia, he won't have to worry about the Yakuza killing him. I will kill him.

His broad shoulders are loose, and he leans back with a confident air, one arm draped casually over the back of the seat. "I'm not a ninja, Hime. I'm not in the business of being silently deadly."

"If they don't care if he's dead, why don't we kill him now?" Nadia leans towards him, her eyes narrowed on Sho's casual yet smug smile.

"You want to kill me, Hime?" He raises his eyebrows in a teasing manner, and Alek clears his throat.

"Sho, what's the new plan?" Alek deadpans.

"Let them shoot." He shrugs.

A muscle in my jaw twitches. "Let them shoot? That's all you got?"

"Aleksandr knows me. I have to want to die for them to kill me."

"I don't care if they kill you, Sho. I care if Boris kills Gwen," I growl, turning to look at his bored expression .

"Aw, I'm hurt Nik." Sho's tone is playful, his dark eyes bore into me. "I have something up my sleeve. We will get Gwen out safe. And then my debt to you is repaid, Alek."

"Not even close," Aleksandr says, his voice cold and certain. "But think–a huge dent if Gwen makes it out alive."

"If?" I growl.

"When," Nadia says with certainty.

I close my eyes for a moment, trying to steady my breathing. The thought of losing Gwen is enough to make my blood run cold. I can't let that happen. I won't.

"We'll need to be ready for anything," I say, opening my eyes, meeting Sho's in the rearview mirror.

Aleksandr nods, his expression unreadable. "Then let's get the weapons and make sure we're not the ones who end up in the ground."

The trade off is scheduled for dawn in Staten Island next to the floating barges of trash. Nadia leans against the SUV, her face twisted and hands tucked deeply in her leather jacket. "It fucking stinks."

"It smells like New York." Aleksandr rolls his eyes, an AK 47 lazily draped across his lap as he hangs out of the side door of his truck. It smells like rotten fish and vomit, but with the sweet tinge of vanilla. I can't tell if the vanilla is true or if my mind is playing tricks on me because Gwen is so close to being back in my arms.

Sho is tucked in the backseat of the SUV, sliding doors wide open, tossing a grenade in the air and catching it despite Nadia telling him to stop four times around. She clicks her jaw and the fifth time is coming. "Sho, you're going to get us all killed, stop fucking throwing that grenade."

"Hime, I told you if the pin is released I have about fifteen second to through it into the ocean. We'll be fine." He yawns, tossing the grenade once again.

Nadia steps up into the SUV. Aleksandr lets out a low whistle as she leans over him with fire in her eyes. I smirk, popping the gum in my mouth. Twenty minutes until I see Gwen, might as well have a show first. Nadia rips the grenade out of Sho's hand, pulls the pin and tosses it into the Alantic.

No one flinches when the explosion causes some of the water to splash the floor around us, and Sho smiles in Nadia's face like he just won the fucking lottery. It makes me want to punch him in the face. "Nadia, if you wanted to get my attention, you didn't need an explosion, just sit in my lap next time."

His tattooed fingers curls around her right hip, but before I can say anything, Aleksandr growls and Nadia pushes one knee into Sho's crotch. Nadia flashes him a sickening sweet smile as she pushes her knee deeper until Sho winces in pain. "Milyy," she purrs, leaning so she is a breath away from his lips. "The next time I am in your lap, I will be making you a eunuch."

His grip on Nadia's hip loosens as she shoots him a venomous glare before swiftly extracting herself from his grasp.

Sho coughs and leans forward out of the SUV, looking at me with a foolish smile. "I think I may be in love with your sister."

I bristle, a growl escaping my lips as I look him over. "You really have a death wish, don't you, pridurok? "

Sho flashes me a toothy smile that makes me growl, but before I can punch him in the face, three black SUVs pull up to the dock and my heart stops beating.

Sho leans in close to my ear, that same smile on his face and says, "Well, let the fun begin."

The car barely comes to a complete stop before Boris is flinging his door open, bearing his yellow teeth with the flourish of an executioner. Sho dips back into the SUV, probably to find himself another grenade. Aleksandr straightens his backs with the AK 47 hanging on his shoulder pointed at Boris's car. Nadia plays with her signature knife and has three guns attached to her body. And as a sign of fake good faith, I have one gun tucked in my waistband. Everyone has on bullet proof vests and if I didn't know that there were probably twenty men waiting to kill me, hidden all around this dock, I would have more faith in us.

"Nikolai," Boris whistles. "What a ragtag crew you got here."

"Only the best to kill you, Boris!" I give him a shining smile and open my arms like I was showcasing a glorious event and not the downfall of the three other killers next to me.

"So that's your plan, Nikolai. No deals or negotiations?" He shrugs, looking back at the members of the Yakuza slinking out of their cars. "You just want me dead?"

"I couldn't care less if you live or die, Boris. Where's my girl?" I snarl, looking towards the car.

Boris laughs to himself as he slides the door open to his black car and Gwen is kicked out onto the ground, followed by a colorfully inked man grinding his teeth. Guilt crashes through me, sharp as a blade to the gut, the second I lay eyes on her. Gwen's barely recognizable—just a shadow of herself, battered and broken because I wasn't there to stop this. I want to tear my own heart out for letting her get to this point.

Her hoodie hangs loose, like it's been through hell with her. The sight of her—on her knees, wrists bound, bruises darkening every inch of her skin—makes the blood roar in my ears. My fists clench so tight my nails cut into my palms, but I welcome the pain. It's nothing compared to what she's been through.

Her lip is swollen, split, and the corner of her mouth trembles as she breathes. The bruises around her eye have turned deep shades of purple, her skin marred with the evidence of every blow she took because of me. Blood, dried and flaking, stains her cheek, and I can't stop staring at it, my mind replaying the endless ways I'll make them pay.

Sho stiffens beside me, but he's already gone from my mind. All I see is her—on her knees on that cold, filthy concrete dock. And that man…the one who kicked her out of the car like she's nothing. He's going to die first. That's the only thing I'm sure of now.

The murderous fury that bubbles inside me won't let me move. My hands itch for a blade. For blood. To make every one of them suffer, and yet the guilt sits heavy in my chest, knowing this is all on me. I failed her.

The sound of her shallow breaths drags me back to reality. Nadia takes a step forward but I curl my hands around her upper arm and hold her back. The plan is still in play even if that means I have to wait a week for DNA results before I kill Boris. His head, his soul, his pleas for life will be mine.

Boris's yellow smile spreads as he scans over Gwen's sagging body. "Sorry for the injuries, Nik. Your girl has quite a mouth on her. You should put it to better use. "

My jaw clenches and without thinking, I take a step forward, my eyes burning with fury. With a steely gaze, I meet Boris's malicious grin and calmly respond, "Funny you should mention that, Boris. Because after I'm done with you, the only thing your mouth will be good for is begging for mercy."

Boris laughs and I wonder if that gurgle chuckle he has is similar to him choking on his blood.

"I want to make an amendment to our deal." Boris smiles.

"No," Aleksandr spits.

"Yes, but I want to speak to the king, not the lackey," Boris snarls. Aleksandr seethes, clicking his gun so the red dot shines in the middle of Boris's chest. Boris doesn't flinch, snapping his finger so twenty more dots beat violently on my chest. Bullet-proof vests can't withstand repeated shots to the same location. Twenty shots to my chest and I'm a fucking goner.

With a wicked smirk, I bring my hands up to chest level. "What's the deal?" I ask, trying to hide the growing unease in my gut.

"Gwen for the Bratva," Boris declares, his words sending a surge of fear through my veins.

My blood runs cold as Nadia growls her opposition, "Absolutely fucking not."

"That's not a good deal, Boris. A girl for the crown to the Russian Mafia, real uneven," I counter, narrowing my eyes on the confident click of Boris's jaw.

"I raised him well, didn't I?" he sneers, gesturing to the colorful man who kicked Gwen out of the car. She cowers on the ground, refusing to meet my gaze. Every fiber of my being screams to protect her, to hold her, and tell her for the first time that despite everything, I love her. But she just hunches over her knees on the floor, forcing her knotted black curls to cover her face.

But then Boris speaks again, his voice smooth and calculated. "Let's sweeten the deal, shall we? Leave town with your precious girl and your kids, and I won't kill you as long as you never step foot in New York again."

My body freezes at the mention of my children. Did he just say my kids? Panic rises in my chest as I steal a glance at Nadia, her face drained of color. Aleksandr cocks his gun once more, finger tightening on the trigger.

I turn to look at Gwen, only to see her staring back at me with wide eyes filled with terror. And then it all comes crashing down on me. Boris pulls out his own gun and presses it against the back of Gwen's head, a sickening click echoing through across the dock and clashing against the constant sound of the waves.

"Say no and I'll blow her brains out," he snarls, his grip on the trigger unyielding. "And then I'll hunt down your children and do the same."

My blood boils at Boris's offer, his smug grin taunting me as he dangles the lives of Gwen and my children like a carrot in front of a starving animal. My fists ball up in frustration, my eyes narrowing into slits as I glare at him.

Sho's hand grips my shoulder with a fierce snarl, his eyes blazing with anger and desperation. "If you give him the Bratva, the Yakuza will use him to regain control over both mobs. Nik, you can't-"

I turn to look at him, anger pulsing underneath my skin, but when I speak, I don't address him or Boris. "Mr. Matsumoto, will you change the deal if I break your son's hand?"

A sinister chuckle echoes from the shadowy figure emerging from behind Sho, the sun slowly rising behind him casting an eerie glow on his features. My skin prickles at the sight of Yasou Matsumoto, head of the Yakuza. He gives me a kind smile. Despite the kindness in his eyes and that his first name Yasou means peaceful man, my stomach drops, and my skin pricks at the mere sight of him. The minute I called him, I knew if I was a demon, then Mr. Matsumoto was the devil.

Sho stiffens beside me, realizing the gravity of our situation. He turns accusingly towards Aleksandr, who stands nonchalantly nearby, gun still trained on Boris. "You betrayed me," Sho seethes.

But Aleksandr merely shrugs, as if bored with the entire situation. "I saved your life," he retorts coolly. "You owe me one now."

For a moment, it seems like Sho has accepted his fate. I watch as he closes his eyes and perhaps says a silent prayer. But then, with lightning speed, he pulls out a grenade and pulls the pin out with his teeth.

In a quick flick of his wrist, he hurls it towards Boris and Gwen before anyone can react. The explosion is deafening and fills the air with smoke and chaos. All I can hear is Gwen's scream.