29. Liam

What is it they say about best laid plans? Something about them going awry?

My plan actually has gone pretty well. But the one aspect that hasn”t is the one that”s going to get me killed, and as a result, the plan will fail spectacularly.

The problem isn”t that I am tied up and suffering torture and verbal indignities from Dimitri Babichev. That, in fact, was part of the plan. I’d set things up for him to capture me. The problem is that I was sure he’d take me either to the Brooklyn safehouse or the empty warehouse in Queens. That motherfucker brought me back to New Jersey into that same stinking room where Igor held me, Donovan, and Niko. The same building compound that Giovanni Fiore threatened to traffic Kate. And that means no one knows where I am.

By now, my men, Niko and Donovan, with their men, have been to the two locations. Not finding me, I know they’re working to figure out where I might be, but who knows how long it will take? Already, I’ve been with Babichev two days longer than I expected. And there is no reason for them to consider this place as it’s a former Fiori location.

”Igor should have killed you when he killed your uncle.” Babichev is sitting in a chair, gleefully taunting me.

”As it turns out, Igor was as dumb as a bag of rocks.”

Fury fills his face. His fist comes out, striking me in the jaw. This is not the first hit that I”ve taken. So far, the torture has been fairly light. A few punches, a couple of cigarette burns, and one dislocated pinky. Not that it doesn”t hurt like a motherfucker, but I know that before long, it”s going to get worse. All I can do is my best to hold out and wait for my men to figure out where the fuck I am.

”You think you”re better than all of us. The lost prince. You betrayed us all by going into the FBI and then helping those Mafia pricks.”

”How are you able to take over the Bratva without knowing that I saved your asses more than once?”

”You didn”t do shit for us.”

I shrug and try not to wince at the pain the movement causes. ”Maybe not so much for you and Igor. But let”s face it, you’re a usurper.”

”I”m the king now.”

I snort.

His eyes flare with wild rage. But then it morphs into a smug, menacing smirk. “I”m just trying to decide whether I’m going to make your woman my queen. She likes me, you know. She gave me her number. Agreed to go out with me.” He’s goading me, and it works. I jerk my restraints, wanting to reach out and choke the life out of him. He sits back and laughs, and I”m pissed at myself for not maintaining control.

”Of course, if she becomes my queen, there”s no way I can raise your bastard kid.” He leans forward with a satisfied gleam in his eye. ”I”m going to look forward to killing that baby. Maybe Kate will have an accident and she”ll lose it. Maybe we”ll wait till it”s born. Then I’ll fuck her and fill her with my seed.”

”You are one sick motherfucker.” I’m seething. I need to kill him.

He sits back and grins like he thinks I complimented him.

”You know that baby probably isn”t even mine.” I”m sure he doesn”t believe that, but I need to do something to protect Kate and her baby.

He shrugs. ”Your bastard or someone else”s doesn’t matter. He’s got to go.”

”You do know she”s under the protection of the Leone family and the Fiori-Ricci family. If you think you”re going to take them on, you really are dumber than Igor, and I didn”t think that was possible.”

This time, the back of Babichev’s hand catches me in the side of the head, jerking me enough that my chair tilts slightly before dropping back into place. I feel like my brain is detached from my head, and stars are spinning behind my eyes. I give my head a gentle shake to clear it, but I regret it.

”What is the point of all this?” I bite out with gritted teeth.

He just stares at me.

”I mean, why are you holding me here? Is it your goal to torture me before you kill me? Are you going to ransom me? Surely, you have some sort of plan. If you plan to take over the Bratva, you can”t just wing it.”

He leans forward and sneers. ”My plans are none of your fucking business.”

I roll my eyes. ”You’re going to have to watch your back, Babichev. It won’t be long before someone recognizes that you are not built to run this organization, and they’ll take you out.”

”You need to shut the fuck up.” He nods to someone behind me, and I know that I”m either dead or I”m going to be knocked out. When the explosion hits my head, I”m not quite sure whether I’ve been hit or shot, but I”m relieved when everything goes dark.

Pain and consciousness tell me I”m not dead. I”m slumped in the chair, and now the room is dim and quiet. The next time someone checks on me and sees that I”m awake, Babichev will return and very likely, the torture will increase in severity. I have to accept that the plan is a bust. I need to get free. If I can kill Babichev, I will. Even if it means that I die as well. Otherwise, I’ll escape and live to take him on another day.

I pull on my restraints. I wish they were zip ties because I could get out of those. Instead, my hands are handcuffed behind my back. They’re so tight that my fingers are beginning to go numb.

I look around the dim room but don”t see anything I might be able to use to get me out of the cuffs. My ankles are secured tied with zip ties, but fortunately, I’m not tied to the chair. Lucky for me, I”m always prepared for any inevitability. While Babichev’s men searched me for weapons, they didn”t find the smaller items I carry along just for situations like this. The only problem is I need to reach my shoe.

I maneuver myself forward in the seat and then push myself until I”m on my knees on the floor. Sitting back on my heels, my hands can now reach my shoes. My finger slides around the top edge of my shoe, seeking the small nail I slipped into it.

When I find it, I use my fingernail to loosen it and then pull it out. I go to work on the handcuffs and hope it”s not one with a double lock. It takes me some time because the cuffs are tight and my fingers are going numb. But finally, I”m able to unlatch the lock mechanism and the first cuff springs open.

I stand, trying to ignore the aches and pains in my body, simultaneously working my nail into the other handcuff. Once I break that free, I bend over, tightening the zip ties around my ankles to create more tension. Then with a slight jump and kicking my feet out when I land, the ties break open. I am free.

I make my way to the door, listening for Babichev and his men. Hearing nothing, I open the door a few inches, staying out of view of anyone who might be on the other side, ready to fire.

I hear movement coming toward me. Do I make a run for it? The building is a labyrinth and I don’t know how many people he has here. I decide to move so I can be behind the door when they enter. I have a better chance against two than I do an army of men. If Babichev is one of them, I can complete my mission to kill him, and then it doesn’t matter if I die.

”Left the fucking door open?” I recognize Babichev”s voice.

”I swear to God it was closed, Boss.”

”I work with a bunch of clowns. But not for long. Once Rostova is out of the way, I’ll be in charge. Are the men on alert?”

”Yes, Boss.”

”Good. When his men come, we take them out. No mercy. You got it?” Babichev sounds more like Bratva poser than a true leader. He won’t last long. What a fucking embarrassment that this guy has been able to fuck with me.

”Got it. What if his Mafia friends come?”

”Then we take them out too. Wouldn’t that be something? Taking over the Bratva and the Mafia.” Babichev laughs like a loon.

The door opens and they step in, switching on the light.

”Motherfucker, where is he?—”

I come from behind the door, wrapping my arm around Babichev’s neck as I pull his gun out and hold it to his head.

He flails around but has difficulty because I’m bigger and stronger and am choking the life out of him.

This man pulls his gun and holds it toward us. I move in close next to Babichev, making it so that if this man shoots, he’s more likely to kill Babichev than me.

I look at his man and notice that he”s young. I”d be shocked if he”s twenty. ”Put the gun down, son.”

The young man”s hand shakes, and I”m not sure if it”s because he”s never been in this situation before or maybe because he”s holding out on me, Liam Rostova, the head of Bratva.

”I don”t want to kill you. In fact, if you put your gun down, perhaps we can talk about your joining the real Bratva. You know who I am, don”t you?”

”Kill him,” Babichev hisses.

I tighten my hold on him. ”I”m going to kill this man, and if I have to, I will kill you too,” I say to the young man.

“I’ll get help.” The young man runs from the room.

I roll my eyes. ”Where did you find this kid?”

“You won’t get away, Rostova.”

“I don’t care whether I do or not, as long as you’re dead.” I take a moment to assess my situation. It won’t be long before his men swarm the area. Do I kill Babichev and then get killed by his men? Or do I use Babichev as my way to get out?

“You’re a dead man.” His fingers are digging into my arm. Annoyed by that, I move the gun to his lower back and pull the trigger.

He screams.

I put the gun back to his temple. “That’s for burning my cabin down.” And for making it so Kate shot me.

“You’ll die?—”

“Don’t you get it, Dimitri? We’re both dead. I’m not afraid to die. Are you?”

“If you want to be dead, I’m happy to help you.”

I laugh. “The only thing I want is for you to go straight to hell.”

The sound of feet running up the hall tells me my time is short. I pull Babichev out the door and up the hall away from his men. I’d rather be on the run than cornered and trapped.

“Will you tell your men to shoot me while I have you?” I’m curious how badly he wants me dead. Bad enough to die for?

“They’ll kill you and I’ll take your place.”

“Not sure how that will happen since they’ll have to go through you to kill me.”

“Fucking let me go.” He squirms, but I hold him tighter.

“I can break your neck, if you’d rather. That’s how I killed Igor.” I pull him into a larger room filled with boxes. It appears he’s taken over the building. I wonder what deal Fiori made with Igor that he had use of the building. Do Lucy and Donovan know? And why do I care now?

Babichev’s men rush in, guns up.

“Don’t shoot,” Babichev squeals like a pig.

I laugh. “Coward.” I look at his men. “Is this the man you want to follow? A man not willing to give his life for you?”

“You’re going to die today, Rostova.”

“So are you, Babichev. So are you.” We’re at a stalemate. If I want this man dead, I should just do it. I’ll die in a torrent of gunfire. It makes me think of an old movie my father used to watch about Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid. They too took on an army of men, going out in the proverbial blaze of glory.

“Any last words?” I ask Babichev.

“Fuck.” He sounds terrified. “You don’t have to do this. I’ll concede…”

I almost feel bad for him. “How the fuck did you get so far?” I can’t figure out how this pussy was able to elude me.

“I’m good at strategy. I can help you with that. Computer hacking. Deep fakes.”

I frown. “That’s how you had us running all over thinking you were somewhere you weren’t?”

“Yes.” He sounds hopeful now. “I can do it for you too.”

“Is that how you got the sonogram?”

“Yes. But I’ll leave her alone now. I promise.”

“Too late.” I press the barrel of the gun against his head.

His men step forward.

But I hesitate. I’m not afraid to die. But holy hell, I don’t want to.

“I’m beginning to think you’re afraid to kill me.” Babichev’s words shock me. “Igor always said you were soft, that you cared too much about people. Are you feeling bad for me?”

What the fuck? “You missed your calling. You could have been an actor, maybe even won an Oscar. I’ll admit, I was feeling a little bad that you ended up in over your head. But make no mistake, I’m going to kill you. You don’t fuck with what’s mine and live, even if you’re a dumbass pussy coward.”

We’re stalling. I take a minute to think of Niko and Donovan, two men, two brothers. They’re happy, and I know they’ll be fine without me. But Kate. God, how I’d love to have more time with her. To watch our child grow in her belly. Feel it kick. The image of her smiling at me like I’m a superhero fills my head. That’s the image I want to die with.

“It’s time.” I take a breath, preparing for his men to fire when I do.

I love you, Kate.

I pull the trigger.