Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Arlo

N ot taking out Leonid just moments before, as he'd been far too close to Galina—as he'd looked at her as if he was undressing her with his eyes—had taken every single ounce of my fucking willpower.

I didn't want to leave her in the car, even though I knew she was safe. No one would fuck with her in this part of town. No one would dare even look in her direction, knowing she was with me. This part of Desolation was heavy Bratva territory. Which meant crime that didn't have to do with the Russians was damn near zero.

I stepped back into Vasyli's, seeing Akim speaking in a low voice with the bartender.

Akim glanced over his shoulder to see who'd entered, and at the look on my face, the silent command I gave him, he nodded slowly and walked over to the front doors, sliding the lock in place and tipping his chin toward the back, indicating to the bartender it was time to leave. Although he didn't know why I was here, I made my expression pretty fucking clear.

Shit was going down, and if he didn't want to be in the crosshairs, it was time to make himself scarce.

After meeting Dmitry and Nikolai at Butcher and Son and fully hearing their plan where their father was concerned, I hadn't needed to think about what had to be done. There was no choice in the matter. I'd planned on taking Leonid out even before speaking with his sons. The how just hadn't been planned yet.

Leonid had to be taken out in order to keep Galina safe. I didn't give a shit about the Petrov family's internal power struggle or what they had going on behind the scenes with the Italians. My only concern was making sure the woman who was mine, who I'd protect with my life, was never put in harm's way. Especially because of me.

Dmitry had told me his father came to Vasyli's every week at the same time and always took the private back room for his meal. After his meal—and a couple of forced sexual acts from the women he brought with him—he'd go back to his apartment, which was heavily guarded and had too many witnesses, and do unspeakable things to the females until they limped home the next morning, bruised and sore and destitute in ways they'd never imagined.

But here, at Vasyli's, he was unguarded, too arrogant in feeling he was safe in this part of the city. And that was true for the most part. But not tonight.

I hadn't wanted Galina to go anywhere near Leonid, because it would rack up my rage even higher. I hated having her near him, but this was the quickest, most convenient route to get this shit done with Leonid. I didn't want to wait, and neither did Dmitry or Nikolai. Waiting would just make the risk of Leonid finding out even greater… if he didn't already know. Not much got past the sadistic bastard.

At the thought of taking down Leonid, I felt a satisfaction fill me. I'd make sure it was the most bloody, brutal killing possible. He didn't deserve any less.

My anger rose so fast and high I was choking on it. The memory of Leonid looking at her, the fire in his eyes as he no doubt thought of all the ways he'd break Galina, had me curling my hands tightly into fists. I remembered the way she'd trusted me with the truth of her past—one I'd handle for her whether she wanted me to or not, one I'd take out once this was all said and done.

I'd hunt down the motherfuckers who thought to degrade and hurt her. I'd make them cry and beg for death before I gave them the final blow. I'd make sure Galina never had to live in fear again.

The bartender made himself fucking scarce like a fire had been lit under his ass. Akim disappeared as well. The heavy weight of silence was now the only thing that I let filter through my conscience. I had several guns strapped to my body, all concealed yet easily accessible. But that's not what I'd be using tonight.

Tonight, and just for Leonid, reserved for fuckers who personally wronged me, or in this case, the only important thing in my life that they wronged and threatened—Galina—I'd use my fucking hands. I'd make this intimate.

I wanted to see— feel —the blood flow out of Leonid's body as he looked into my eyes. I wanted my face to be the last thing he saw before he took his final breath. Just thinking about it got me off.

I could hear a few raised whispers coming from the kitchen, the clang and bang of pots and pans before total silence once again surrounded me. I made my way toward the back where the private room was, my heart a steady, calm beat in my chest, the thirst for blood surrounding me like a lover's caress.

The door Leonid was behind was shut, and I stopped in front of it, hearing the sound of a soft female cry on the other side, followed by the unmistakable clank of silverware hitting a plate. I knew the sick shit Leonid liked, how he got off on a woman's tears.

I unsheathed one of my knives and curled my fingers tightly around the hilt, the weight substantial, the blade sharp enough it would go through flesh seamlessly. With my other hand, I reached for the door handle and silently opened it, the hinges greased, everything still so silent aside from the unobstructed noises now coming from the room.

The interior had the same setup as the main restaurant with the Russian aesthetics, but there was only one white-linen-covered table set in the center topped with plates filled with different items. No one had heard the door open, not with the sound of one woman weeping and the other making the unmistakable sounds of giving head.

Leonid sat facing the door—never presenting his back and being vulnerable. His head was tipped toward the ceiling, his eyes closed, and one hand tangled in the hair of the woman giving him the blowjob. His hold was so tight in the strands that his knuckles were white, and there was no doubt the female had to feel that pain all the way down her spine.

I turned my attention to the other woman, who sat at the other end of the table, her wide eyes trained on me, her face tear-streaked, a bruise already marring her cheek. Blood had trickled out of her nose, and she hadn't bothered wiping it away, a crimson trail, a visual of the kind of pleasure Leonid got off on.

"Sosi eto, gryaznaya shlyukha." Suck it, dirty whore. To emphasize what he wanted, he lifted his hips with enough force the girl gagged, clawing at his thighs. She pulled back enough to suck in a lungful of air before she was right back to sucking his dick.

Leonid opened his eyes and righted his head, and our gazes locked. He wasn't surprised to see me here; that much was clear by the lack of emotion on his face, but then again, that's what I wanted. I wouldn't kill him unknowingly. I wanted him to know his life was ending tonight. It would give me even more pleasure.

He grinned slowly and pushed the woman away, her small body becoming unsteady before she righted herself and hurried to the other side of the room. He tucked his cock back into his pants and zipped it up, all the while staring at me.

In Russian, he said, "She's a poor substitute to the mouth I really want sucking my dick." He reached out and picked up an olive, popping it into his mouth before chewing it and washing it down with a swig of vodka straight from the bottle. He made a show of looking behind me. "I don't see that sweet piece of virgin ass to give me that visual, but"—he lifted his hand and tapped his finger on his temple—"I have her image seared right here. Makes fucking these sluts more fun."

I kept myself calm, didn't show any reaction. I didn't need to let my rage—which was paramount and tangible right now—control me. That's what he wanted. Leonid wanted me to let unused emotions make me sloppy.

" Ubiraysya ." The girls scurried fast as fuck out of the room, and once we were alone, I reached behind me and closed the door with a soft click , never taking my focus off him.

"Care to join me for a drink?" He picked up the vodka bottle and tipped it in my direction. "Seeing as one of us is going to die tonight…"

"I didn't come here for a drink."

He took a long swig and watched me before swallowing and setting the bottle back down. "No, you didn't." A long, terse moment of silence passed, one where I felt things start to escalate. "My sons think I don't know betrayal when I can smell it like a hound chasing a rabbit."

I kept my face emotionless.

"The little bastards were always a disappointment. I blame their weak whore of a mother." His smile was like the flash of a shark's teeth. "You came here because of the girl." He didn't phrase it like a question. He leaned back in his chair, the wood creaking from the shift of his weight. "Yeah, you came here because of the girl." He chuckled low and deep, and I knew I'd let my mask slip by the way he laughed harder and tipped the vodka bottle in my direction. "Not the sharing type, huh?" He shrugged. "I was never one to get attached. I like to keep my options open, and with so much willing pussy available, it's a buyer's market."

"Trafficking, forcing women to fuck you, or the fact that they are too afraid of your wrath to say no isn't willing pussy." I took a step closer, thoughts of Leonid forcing Galina to do anything rushing through my head in disgusting, vile clarity.

Leonid didn't speak, just kept that stupid fucking grin on his face. He held his arms out, his three-piece suit stretching wide over his chest. "Do you think you can take me down?" He slowly pushed himself up to his full height. His gaze flickered down to the knife in my grasp. "Hand to hand, eh?"

I kept completely still and at ease. I was ready for this. I pushed Galina out of my mind, the very thought of her having no place for what was about to happen. Without taking his gaze off me, Leonid started to unbutton his jacket before removing it and hanging it over the back of his chair. He moved around the table and took several steps toward me, stopping when he was an arm's length away.

For long moments we didn't speak, just held each other's gazes, the aggression and testosterone, the suffocating thickness filling the air. And then he struck like a cobra, his hand reaching for my neck. I had no doubt he planned to crush my windpipe, tear my trachea right from my throat.

I ducked and dodged right before he could wrap his thick fingers around my neck. I thrust my arm his way, trying to lodge the blade into one of his kidneys, but he moved out of the way quickly, the knife grazing his shirt. I heard him hiss and knew I'd at least nicked the motherfucker.

We both stumbled back before I charged forward, my body crashing into his. I used momentum to push him backward and against the table. Plates and cups fell to the ground, glasses breaking, my boots crunching on the debris. We grappled for supremacy, with me trying to stab him, but the fucker was stronger than he looked, his arms corded with muscle, so he was able to block any hits.

"I'm going to have fun fucking the innocence out of Galina."

I felt this beast awaken further inside me when I heard Leonid say her full name. I shouldn't have been enraged that he'd dug up information on her, should have known the bastard would have wanted to cover all angles where she was concerned. His obsession wouldn't have let it be any other way.

I rammed my elbow into the side of his face hard enough his head cocked back and blood sprayed out. I used that moment to stab him in the side, his grunt of pain driving my bloodlust higher. Just as I was about to jerk the knife upward all the way to the motherfucker's heart, he slammed his fist into my gut with so much force the air left me and gave him the opportunity to push me back a step.

"You could have been my best soldier, could have been my right hand," he roared as he charged forward, but I tensed, waiting to absorb the hit, my fingers twitching on the handle that was covered with his blood. "What a fucking waste." His face twisted in rage, and I slowly grinned, letting him see the pleasure and darkness that consumed me.

This was why he wanted me as his weapon for the Bratva… because he knew I'd kill anything that stood in my way, and now, that was him .

Right before he rammed his shoulder into me, I turned and lifted my knee, connecting with his side and spinning around to wrap my arm around his throat. I shoved him forward so hard that when he crashed into the wall, a picture shook and then fell to the ground.

"You'll never hurt another woman again," I seethed, my mouth right by his ear. He jerked his head back, his skull connecting with my cheek. Fire raced along the side of my face, but I paid it no mind. The pain felt fucking good.

He bucked backward and was able to spin around, but I delivered a knee kick, causing him to howl in pain before he fell to the ground. I was on him in the next second, one hand wrapped around his throat, the other still holding my knife. I grinned wider as I delivered an elbow to his head. I watched the haze cover his eyes from the pain and disorientation, and I took that moment to lean in so our faces were close enough I could have given him a kiss of death before I ended this.

"Galina is mine , and I'll bring down anyone and anything who tries to take her from me." I bared my teeth in what I knew was a frightening display of the demon in me. "That even means you, you sick fucking bastard. I'm going to get off on slicing your throat open ear to ear." He struggled, but the hit to the head still settled, the glossy look in his eyes present. Blood trickled out of one of his ears, but the bastard had the balls to still grin, red covering his teeth.

"I would have fucked her until she was a broken?—"

I brought my knife to the soft spot right below his ear and dragged it slow and deep all the way around until I reached his other ear, his skin opening up like a ribbon being pulled away from a gift. Blood sprayed across my chest and covered my hands, droplets splashing on my neck.

I straddled his waist and stared down at him, right into his eyes, watching as life faded from him as he struggled. His hands were at his throat like he could seal the wound up, as if it'd staunch the blood flow and save him. I kept my grin in place, because even though Leonid knew he was dying, even if he tried to use the last of his strength to push me off, everything he'd worked for was now nothing.

"Your legacy ends here and now, Leonid. Your sons will move in the opposite direction of what you wanted." I leaned in close so his blood was the only thing I smelled, that metallic scent that filled my nose and had adrenaline rushing through me. "Did you know they're forming an alliance with the Cosa Nostra?" Leonid's eyes widened, and he feebly struggled against the news. "Yeah, it seems like Nikolai is marrying a little Italian to bring the two families together." I laughed low at the look on Leonid's ashen face. "I bet that just skins you alive, doesn't it?"

His eyes narrowed in one last rush of aggression, and he grated out in a barely audible hiss, "Fuck. You."

I laughed darkly and cupped the side of his face before saying, "No. Looks like you're the one being fucked."

He started gasping, his mouth opening and closing, the blood flow from his neck slowing. And then he looked at something over my shoulder just as anything and everything that used to be Leonid Petrov faded away.

I stayed where I was as I stared down at him, this heaviness in my chest lifting marginally knowing Galina was safe from this fucker. I stood and walked a few steps back, and while keeping my eyes on the dead bastard, I grabbed my phone from my pocket and dialed the number that would handle the rest of this.

As soon as I heard the deep voice on the other end, I said, "I need to book a travel ticket for one. Yes, I need assistance with extra baggage." I stared at Leonid's now lifeless form as I put the cleanup in motion.

Once it was all set and my phone was back in my coat pocket, I reached over and grabbed a white linen napkin, rubbing it over my hands while I stared down at the fabric as it changed to red and pink. The blood of my enemy smeared across that strip of cloth, the stickiness of it covering my fingers and palms.

I let the napkin drop as I left the room, shutting the door behind me. If the women were smart, they were long gone by now. I walked down the hall and saw Akim standing in the kitchen entrance. His gaze took in the blood covering my clothing and hands. I gave him a nod, and he gave me one in return.

I left the restaurant and headed back to Galina. Moy svet.

My light.