26. Mikhail

26

MIKHAIL

I was supposed to spend my wedding night worshiping my new wife, not sitting at her father's bedside as he fights for his life while we're both wearing blood-stained wedding clothes like some fucked up scene from a horror film.

This wasn't supposed to happen. The whole point of moving the wedding to Alexei's place was to avoid Igor's attack and yet, somehow, we still ended up in the hospital with Massimo barely clinging to life.

My phone vibrates constantly with incoming calls from my brothers, but I send them all to voicemail.

I know I should be focused on interrogating the fucker that put Massimo in the hospital, but I can't bring myself to leave Lucia's side when she's in such a state.

I have no idea how many hours it's been since we arrived, but the sun set a while ago.

" Solnyshka , you should try and get some sleep." I place a comforting hand on her shoulder as she watches over Massimo .

"I need to be here in case he wakes up." She clutches her father's hand.

She hasn't moved from his side since we were brought up to the ICU to see him, and she looks exhausted.

I want to remind her that the doctors will have to manually wake him up from his coma in a few days, but I don't want to squash the hope that she's desperately clinging on to.

"Will you at least try to eat something?"

"Not hungry."

I give her shoulder a squeeze, deciding not to push her further.

"Is everyone else okay?" She glances up at me, her brown eyes red-rimmed and swollen from crying. "Leo…a-and the twins?"

"They're all safe. A few of our guards were wounded but no casualties."

"That's good. If anything happened to your family because of me?—"

"Lucia, this is not your fault, do you hear me?" I crouch down beside her. "If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I'm the one who thought moving the wedding to Alexei's place would be the best option."

"You were trying to keep us safe."

And I failed.

A soft knock on the door has us both looking up to see Elle hovering in the doorway.

"I thought you might want to change." She holds up a duffle bag. "How is he?"

She steps inside, looking anxiously at Massimo.

"Stable." I get to my feet.

Elle's throat bobs as she drops the bag down on the small cot that was set up for Lucia so she could sleep .

"How are you doing, Lucia?" Elle moves to stand at the end of the bed.

"I'm okay."

"I'm just going to make some calls." I give the two girls some privacy. "I'll be right outside."

Lucia nods, offering me a watery smile as Elle moves to take my place beside her.

I take the chance to listen to my voicemails. There're a few from Alexei and Dimitri with updates on the status of some of our men who were wounded as well as the guy who took down Massimo.

"He bled out before we could get any information," Alexei says. "But I have no doubt it was Igor. I just want to know how he caught wind of the fact that the wedding was moved…"

I grind my teeth as I listen to his message again.

Of course, the fucker bled out before I could get my hands on him. I would have made him suffer a hell of a lot more if he ended up being responsible for Lucia losing her father.

I can only pray that we don't get to that point.

Finally, there is a voicemail from Anton letting me know about a drug shipment coming in tonight from one of Igor's suppliers.

I immediately call Anton back as an idea starts to form in my mind.

"What's this about a shipment?"

"Feliks got wind of an incoming shipment later tonight that Igor will be at in Harlem. I thought you should know."

"Have you told Alexei this?"

"Not yet. He's been focused on dealing with the aftermath of the attack. The guy who took down Massimo bled out almost instantly before they could get much information."

I run my fingers through my hair. "How long have we got until this shipment comes in?"

"It's set to arrive at midnight, so in…about an hour."

"Okay, that should give us enough time to organize a raid."

"A raid? You can't be serious."

"I'm deadly serious."

"You really want to do this now?"

I huff out a breath. "I don't have a choice. Massimo is hanging on for dear life, and if he dies and Igor is still breathing…"

I glance through the glass window as Lucia clings to her father.

"Shouldn't we consult Alexei?"

"And risk him saying no? Anton, we need to move, now ."

My cousin takes a deep breath down the phone. "Okay. I'll speak to my guys."

"Well, you better call them on your way here. We don't have any time to waste."

"Meet me outside in twenty."

Pocketing my phone, I head back into Massimo's room.

Lucia doesn't even glance up as I walk over to her side and gently stroke her cheek.

I look at Elle who's unpacking the bag she brought with her. "I have to go and take care of some business. Are you okay to stay here?"

"Of course."

Lucia frowns. "I don't need a babysitter."

I bend down to press a kiss to her hair. "I'll be back as soon as I can. "

There's a hollow ache in my chest as I leave Lucia's side. I know I can't let this opportunity to capture Igor go to waste, but I hate not being there to comfort her when she needs me the most.

I meet Anton and Feliks outside the hospital fifteen minutes later. I climb into the passenger seat of the blacked-out SUV and open up the glove compartment to start loading myself up with weapons.

Feliks pulls out of the parking lot and begins to drive toward the city. "Carlo, Reid, and Sergei are on route."

"Is that all?"

"They've been instructed to bring as much backup as possible, without arousing suspicion. Many of our guys are still at the house with Alexei."

"Fuck." I tuck a few more magazines into my jacket pocket.

Anton sits forward, his head coming between us from the back seat. "From what we know, there will likely only be half a dozen of Igor's men at the location."

"Including Igor?"

"Yes. What do you want to do with him?"

"I'm bringing him to Alexei, so no fatal shots. No matter how much he deserves it."

As we approach the warehouse, I spot four figures dressed in black loitering outside, but I suspect there're way more inside.

"Carlo is waiting around the back," Feliks informs me. "They're under instruction to ambush the delivery. Might as well make some profit from these fuckers while we're at it."

"Good." I click the safety off my gun. "Let's go and have some fun, boys."

I jump out of the SUV and press my body close to the brick wall of the neighboring warehouse, my eyes never leaving the four men hovering outside under the orange street lights. I signal to Anton and Feliks to follow close behind me, holding up my fingers to count us down.

Three.

Two.

One—

Shots are fired straight at the SUV, but the bullet proof glass stops the windshield from shattering.

I throw open the passenger door and crouch behind it, letting it shield me as I take aim. But as I peer around the door, the four men have turned into at least fifteen, all with guns aimed straight at us.

There's a groan behind me, and I whirl to see Feliks clutching his shoulder, blood seeping between his fingers.

"Feliks!"

He grits his teeth and yanks his gun free from his holster.

"It's a fucking ambush. Stay alert." He sprints straight into the line of fire.

"Fuck." I follow him.

All hell seems to break loose as I sprint toward the bi-folding doors of the warehouse as more and more bodies come out of the shadows.

I grab one man by the shirt and slam my head into his nose.

Blood spurts everywhere, and he crashes to his knees, giving me the perfect opportunity to put a bullet between his eyes.

"I thought there was only meant to be a dozen?" I yell at Anton as I fire at another man, landing a shot right to his chest.

"Do you see Igor?" he yells back, ducking just in time to dodge a shot to the head.

I glance around, but all the bodies seem to merge into one, and not one of them resembles Ivanov.

He fucking played us.

"He's not here, so all bets are off!"

My cousin gives me a feral grin as he takes out a second gun and opens fire on Igor's men.

It doesn't take long for bodies to start littering the floor like trash as I storm inside the warehouse and land blow after fatal blow.

I spot Carlo and Reid, both locked in hand-to-hand combat with Igor's men, their weapons long forgotten.

Crates and boxes are piled high across the warehouse floor, making it easy for me to keep hidden as I scan the dimly lit warehouse. I spot a few of my men lying bleeding on the concrete floor, minutes away from death.

This never should have happened. I should have predicted that Igor would pull a stunt like this, and my mistake has cost my men their lives.

"Oh no, you don't!" Feliks growls, snapping me back to the present.

My head turns his way, and I do a double take at the guy that Feliks has in a headlock.

"Don't fucking shoot!" I sprint toward Feliks who has the barrel of his gun pressed into the guy's temple.

Feliks looks at me as if I've lost my damned mind, but I hold up a hand to halt him.

"He's Igor's son." I look down into the gray eyes of Maxim Ivanov. "And he's coming with me."

"What a fucking shit show." Anton shakes his head as we take in Maxim's unconscious body tied to a chair in the middle of my family's warehouse in China Town.

There're still bloodstains on the concrete from where Dimitri and I tortured Giovanni Saconne because he was going after Dimitri's wife.

I never thought I would be standing here in that very same position.

I tuck my gun into the back of my pants and shrug out of my jacket. "Igor must have known we would show up."

Anton shakes his head. "Alexei's going to be pissed."

"What my brother thinks is not my fucking priority right now." I roll my shirt sleeves up to my elbows.

Despite a bullet to the shoulder, Feliks insisted on staying behind to tidy up the mess, including the multiple men that we lost, while Anton and I brought Maxim to a safer location.

Anton is right. My brother is going to pissed as hell, but I'm hoping that whatever information I can get out of Maxim will make up for my colossal fuck up.

Maxim starts to stir, his head hanging forward as he groans in pain.

The side of his head is caked in blood from where I slammed the barrel of my gun against it to knock him out, but that will be the least of his worries if he decides not to cooperate.

"So, Daddy thought he'd send you to do his dirty work?" I grip Maxim's dark hair, lifting his head up.

His lips are pulled back over his teeth as he glares at me.

"You walked right into that one, Koslov." He laughs.

"Perhaps." I shrug. "But I guess it turned out in my favor, considering you're the one tied to a fucking chair. "

I land a swift kick to his shin, and a smile tugs at my lips as he winces.

I'm going to have some fun with this.

"You're wasting your time." Maxim pants, his tongue darting out to wet his cracked lips.

"Maybe. But maybe not. Because, trust me, I have no issue slitting your throat regardless of whether or not you talk, so you might as well make your death mean something." I let go of his hair and step back.

"The only person my father trusts is himself."

I don't miss the sour tone in his voice.

"You want me to believe that Igor didn't disclose any information to you?" Yeah, right.

"You're his oldest son. You're set to inherit his empire, so don't fucking play me with that bullshit."

"I don't know anything."

"So, I guess we are done here." I turn my back on Maxim. "Anton, hand me your blade."

Anton reaches inside his jacket and pulls out a six-inch knife, his face grim as he turns it handle first toward me.

"Wait!" Maxim yells. "I know about the affair."

I pause, my fingers hovering over the handle of the blade.

"What do you know?" I glance over my shoulder.

"I-I know that there was a son."

I glance at Anton whose face pales. I snatch the knife off him and stalk back over to Maxim as my heart rate begins to quicken.

"Was?" I press the tip of the blade into Maxim's throat.

His face pales as he looks between Anton and me.

"There is a son. His name is Lev. He only recently learnt that Igor isn't his real father." A thin sheen of sweat breaks out over Maxim's top lip as he glances at the blade. "Though it shouldn't have been a surprise to him."

My eyes narrow. "Why?"

Maxim pulls against the restraints but winces as the rope burns his skin.

"Igor used him as his very own punching bag, and Lev never understood why. The poor bastard had to take the brunt of our father's rage."

"That information isn't worth your life." I press the knife in deep enough to cut the skin slightly. "So, I suggest you keep talking."

"What do you want to know?"

"What do you know about Alfonzo Morano?"

"He works for my father."

I bite back a curse as I lower the blade and turn to face Anton.

"You want to kill him now?" Anton asks but I shake my head, pocketing the knife as I think about what to do.

"That will only enrage Igor more." I rub at my jaw. "I suggest we lock him up in one of the cells. He's more useful to us if he's alive and from the looks of it, I reckon he'll be willing to spill a lot more information on his father if it means keeping his life?—"

"You're marrying her, right?" Maxim calls out. "Lucia?"

My body tenses at the sound of Lucia's name on his lips.

I turn around to face Maxim. "That's none of your fucking business."

"Oh, I beg to differ, Koslov." His lips pull back in a sneer. "You should be fucking thanking me, by the way."

"Why the fuck would I thank you?" I step toward him.

"Because I shaped her into the woman she is today." Maxim smirks. "She likes it rough, huh? "

It takes a second for me to register what he's talking about.

"It was you? You're the one who locked her up in that room and fucking threatened to rape her?" I want to end this fucker.

Anton steps slightly in front of me, but I won't let anything get in my way now I know that Maxim Ivanov is the reason for Lucia's nightmares.

"She's still talking about me?" Maxim has on a sly grin that has me seeing red.

"Mikhail!" Anton yells, but I barely hear him over the roaring in my head.

Before he has a chance to stop me, my fist smashes into Maxim's jaw.

He cries out in pain as a bone cracks with the impact, but that is just the beginning.

I land a few more punches to his face, splitting the skin over my knuckles before Anton locks his arms around me and tries to pull me away, but I fight him off.

"He fucking touched her." I slam my fist into Maxim's nose.

"We need him alive."

I'm barely listening.

Reaching for my knife, I slice through the ropes binding his ankles and wrists and haul Maxim to his feet.

"Mikhail—" Anton starts, but I ignore him as I start to drag Maxim back outside toward the SUV. "Mikhail!"

I throw Maxim to the ground before opening up the trunk.

"Where the fuck are you taking him?" Anton yells.

"Straight to Alexei. The sooner I can put a bullet through his head the better. "

The sound of a gun safety clicking off catches my attention.

I whirl around to find Maxim pointing my gun straight at my head.

The fucker must have pulled it free when my back was turned, and I was too lost in my own rage to notice.

"Mikhail!" Anton yells.

I lunge for Maxim, grabbing hold of his wrists to try and dislodge his aim, but he's strong despite his injuries.

Sending a knee into his abdomen, I get Maxim to stumble forward, and I glance down to find the gun now aimed straight for my chest.

A shot is fired, and I brace for the pain.

But it never comes.

Maxim's body jolts, and then falls to the floor with a thump, revealing a panting Anton lowering his gun.

I stare down into the unseeing eyes of Maxim Ivanov. "What the fuck are we supposed to do now?"