Chapter 30

CHAPTER 30

O ne hour earlier

Nikolay

"You're doing great, Tanner," I said, even if I was losing patience. I shifted my head from one side to the other, the strain in my neck severe. Fortunately, we hadn't been at this long and it was obvious to me he'd been thinking about whatever details might help.

"Like hell I am. The soldiers were even masked when they pulled me from the trunk, tying me to a chair so things could be explained to me." Tanner was finally holding a whiskey in his hand. The intent was for him to relax.

"Okay. Who talked to you? One of them?"

"The first time, yeah."

"And the second?"

Tanner's hand was shaking as he took a gulp. "The one where I was promised the world?"

"Yeah, that one."

Time was running out. I felt it. It had only been an hour or so, the trucks arriving to take the various cargo boxes away. Vadim and I had been astounded by the number of boxes and the quality of merchandise inside. What we'd also gleaned was that a good portion had been stolen and if my instinct was right, from various syndicates.

Whoever was doing this was trying to be king of the hill.

But there was no way in the world it was a single syndicate. None. It would take coordination of at least two. We were running out of candidates there too.

"From a distance. A spotlight was placed on me and I could swear the voice was disguised," Tanner said.

"What was said?"

He recited the offer made, which included a top position within the organization that had been left unnamed. I believed he was telling me everything he knew, which sadly might not be enough to help. I would have recommended we simply wait at the warehouse and they'd come running but I knew better.

They would either try to hijack the trucks or follow them to where they were being taken,

"While the voice might have been disguised, are you certain you didn't hear anything that might have seemed… out of the ordinary?" Vadim asked.

"I don't think so, sir. The two guys were very cautious in how they spoke."

"Two guys," I repeated. "You're sure about that? Sometimes those voice boxes can really make you think you're hearing double."

"No offense, sir but we were trained in the military not to let a voice box like that fool us. I used to be the best at finding odd inflections even when the assholes spoke through them." Tanner looked from me to Vadim.

I tried a different tactic to refresh his mind. He knew more. I could feel it.

"The doctor came?"

He brightened up immediately. "Yes, sir. They're fine. Just dehydrated and exhausted. I can't tell you how much I appreciate what you did and I'm sorry. I know that will never be enough and you will never trust me. I understand, but to go this far to save my family is unheard of. You are someone I will admire and respect no matter what happens."

A retort was on the tip of my tongue, but he was doing his best and Chantel had been right. "You can thank the woman I hope to have in my life forever. She has an entirely different way of thinking and doing business. She allowed me to believe that yes, everyone deserves a second chance, especially given what the bastards did to you and your family. Just don't fuck it up. There won't be a third."

"Oh, no, sir. I think the other Russian Pakhan is behind this, at least to some degree."

"Why do you think that?" Vadim asked.

"I'm pretty sure I heard a couple of the guards speaking Russian. I did catch a couple words that I knew the meaning of. Shipment. Attack. Things like that."

"Very good," I told him. Thankfully, it was something. But if he was right and the Kaskov regime was working with someone, my bets were on Balian. They'd been sniffing around each other for years.

I wasn't certain right now we could get more and I started to stand when he jerked up his head quickly.

"What does ‘ skoro on uznayet, chto ya sil'neye i bystreye ' mean?"

I was shocked he'd done very well pronouncing Russian, which also made me a bit nervous.

"He will soon learn I'm stronger and faster," Vadim translated.

Shit.

Shit…

It had been a very long time since a chill had coursed through me but at this moment, I felt icy cold. I stood very slowly and turned to Vadim. Once again, we didn't need to talk.

"Just remember you guys can't leave the room. There will be a steady string of soldiers ensuring your safety. Okay?" I told Tanner.

"Thank you, sir."

A part of me wanted to take him with me back to the beach house. However, I wasn't a cruel bastard. He deserved to spend time with his family after what all of them had endured.

"What do you want to do?" Vadim asked.

"Bring hell onto earth."

Sins of the father…

I'd heard that line so many times over the years, but in this case, it was all about the sins of the brother. I'd been blindsided once in my life and I wasn't thinking about with Tanner. That had been a kick in the gut, but being blindsided was something else entirely.

There were no words that would soothe the ache or help me understand.

My own brother, the man I'd grown up with and looked up to had betrayed me in such an egregious way I couldn't think as clearly as I should.

Still, I'd insisted on driving, this time Vadim in the passenger seat beside me as I barreled my way toward the beach house. He'd tried to convince me that Vissarian wouldn't be there, but I knew better.

He was ready to finish the charade. Crippled but not down.

What I still couldn't fathom was that he'd placed his own daughter in the middle of a war. Why? What had been the point?

There was only one guess in my mind. The only way the New York Bratva would allow my brother to step foot into the city and consider forming an alliance was if an alliance was locked firmly in place.

A marriage.

Kaskov had a son, a brutal jerk right around thirty. If Chantel was forced into marriage, the two families would in a sense become one.

Another of the old ways but one that had worked over the centuries.

I twisted my hand around the steering wheel, furious with myself for not seeing it. The clues were there. My guess was he'd tossed out his ideas to the other syndicates he'd met with, knowing what their reaction would be. But by then, he would have gleaned additional information regarding the illegal products he was prepared to steal.

It was brilliant really, more so than I'd seen coming.

Well thought out. Months of planning. And he'd sucked me into part of it. Brilliant indeed.

I would beat the man to death if he laid a finger on her.

Vadim got off the phone and hissed. "You were right about the shipment. The cargo ship is on fire."

I was almost ready to laugh. I felt like saying an eye for an eye, but the diamonds honestly didn't matter. Not now. "The bastard was making sure and covering every base."

"Yes, he was. Other bad news. The storm is getting worse. We may not be able to cross the bridge."

"Oh, we will cross that motherfucking bridge one way or another. Period."

The wind was rough, but the rain was horrific. Seeing the road was difficult but I was determined. As we approached the bridge, there were all kinds of warnings, flashing lights and signs forbidding anyone to cross.

As usual, I ignored all the rules, heading blindly onto the bridge.

"You are nuts," Vadim hissed.

"I'm in love. And that bastard isn't going to marry her off to Kaskov's son."

"Ah, fuck. I hadn't thought of that. Well, hurry or it's going to be washed out."

I did my best, the sports car certainly not the best in this weather but I persevered. The bridge was swinging, the rain blowing us from one side to the other, which made the two miles treacherous.

But we made it across as did the other men following us.

There was no stopping me now. What I knew in my gut was that someone else had betrayed me. Another blindsiding. If I had to guess, I'd say it was Maxim. It had to be. The use of Russian had cemented it. The why didn't matter.

When we approached the house, it was easy to tell the lights were out. Not possible. Another inside man had been used.

I raced out, finding the first dead soldier by tripping over him. The second was face down in the muck, the weapon still in his hand.

"What is the plan?" Vadim had to halfway yell.

"Vissarian will be inside with both Chantel and Damien. Take some men to the back entrance through the kitchen. We'll go in through the front. We need to flank him before he can do anything stupid."

"We'll do it but I hope you know what you're doing."

"So do I."

I was soaked but couldn't care less, making it to the front door without incident. I sensed there were enemy soldiers watching and some of my men had been instructed to pick them off. By the point I'd walked in, the shooting had begun.

Maxim appeared as if on cue, an assault rifle in his hand. "You're not welcome here."

He appeared entirely different, his shirt covered in blood. "How many did you kill?"

"Enough."

When I took a step closer, he pointed the weapon at me. "I wouldn't do that."

"Is my brother paying you well for the gig because I assure you that's all this is. You're untrustworthy, damaged goods that will be eliminated."

I'd hoped I would catch him just enough off guard. I'd been right, the man making the fatal mistake of very quickly glancing toward the direction where I knew Vissarian was located.

That was all the time I needed. I put a bullet between the man's eyes. As he fell, the tension on the trigger was enough a dozen shots were fired into the ceiling. The entire house would soon be a disaster. Who cared?

Huffing, we stepped over him. Another loss, but this one didn't hurt quite so badly.

I knew my brother couldn't care less about losing men. They were nothing more than collateral damage. He was more of a ruthless bastard than I'd originally believed.

The glow drew my attention, obviously coming from the fire. I walked in, men trailing behind me; I threw out my hand for them to stop. I certainly didn't want the asshole to have an itchy finger.

"It took you long enough, brother," Vissarian stated. "I was beginning to think the storm wiped you out."

"Not a chance." As suspected, he was lounging on the couch with a drink in his hand, both Chantel and Damien beside him. Damien had obviously been upset, starting to lurch forward when I walked in.

"Daddy!"

"Keep him quiet," my brother hissed.

"It's okay, little man," Chantel told him, pulling my son tightly against her.

"No. No. No!" Damien was close to throwing a tantrum until she whispered something in his ear and he calmed down. God love the woman.

I lowered the weapon and stood with it still in both hands a few feet away, grinning like some asshole. "I need to give you credit, bro. You perfected a damn good plan, including betraying me with a smile on your face. I was blindsided." The saying about being stronger and faster had been something I'd said to him when I'd won a race or a game.

He'd wanted to become top dog. And so, he'd forged his way into the position.

His smile reflected his happiness. He stood, moving around the edge of the coffee table, taking careful steps toward me. "I didn't expect you to figure it out so soon but I'll take the win. Now, you're going to turn over all your assets and your territory to me," he started, "and I'll let you live."

"And Chantel?"

He laughed. "You probably already guessed. She's been promised in marriage. It will solidify a new generation of power."

"How could you do that to your own daughter?" I asked.

"Because he's a killer. A murdering cheat. He was having an affair with Ginger Lee." Hearing Chantel spouting it off pissed my brother off. "And it will be a cold day in hell before I marry anyone you want me to. How could you? How?"

He snarled and turned toward her. The news hit me, but I couldn't react.

"That's not going to happen. You're not going to hurt her and you are certainly not going to farm her off in marriage."

"And why is that, brother?" he growled, snapping his head back in my direction.

I hoped this would shock him. "Because she belongs to me."

It took a few seconds for the news to settle. When it did, he roared and was about to use his weapon when Vadim appeared behind him from the shadows, pressing the barrel of his weapon against the back of Vissarian's head.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Vadim said with a bright tone.

"You'll kill me in front of the boy?"

I nodded to my soldiers, including Danny who scooped her and Damien up, whisking them from the room.

"Not exactly, Vissarian. You are outnumbered. We can handle this like men, or I can shoot you. Up to you."

"What do you want?" He hissed his question.

"A good old-fashioned fight like we used to do when we were kids. It pissed you off I was younger and won every time. Why not?"

He was taken aback and the first to lay his weapon down on the coffee table. "Why the fuck not?"

I placed mine on the table as well, enjoying the moment of preparing. I yanked off my wet jacket, rolling up my sleeves. He did the same. The other men backed away, Vadim shaking his head.

I could see another renovation was in order but that was fine. I moved to the less cluttered space, waiting for him to approach. He wasted no time, without hesitation throwing the first punch. I was hit with enough force, I was pummeled backward, almost knocking over a lamp.

He took advantage, lunging forward and trying to place his hands around my throat. It took a few seconds, but I managed to shove him off, also using a good deal of force. I wasn't in the mood to allow this to go on, issuing two jabs under his jaw and one to the gut.

Vissarian went down hard, thudding against another table. But he got up throwing himself at me, getting in two punches of his own. He was muscular as fuck, which he hadn't been before. In the next few seconds, blood spewed from both our mouths, sweat stinging my right eye.

I managed to drive him to the floor with four more brutal punches, hearing his ribs crack. He was on his back, his breathing labored.

"This is over," I hissed. "Finished. You are not taking anything. In fact, you are going to be arrested."

I knew Vadim would make that happen.

He wiped his jaw, his right eye puffy. I suspected mine would be later.

"Fuck you, brother. I always hated you."

"Why?" I asked, licking blood from my lip.

"You were always better at everything. But I found a way." He laughed almost maniacally and I was disgusted. Families were supposed to give a damn about each other. As I took a step backwards, there was a strange crackle in the air and I knew instantaneously what he was about to do.

He had another weapon, yanking it from under his trousers' leg. It happened so fast, even Vadim couldn't react quickly enough.

But I did. I lunged for my weapon, my training kicking in. I swung around and without any hesitation whatsoever, pulled the trigger.

The sound was deafening.

As my brother was pitched back to the floor, the bullet catching him between the eyes, I dropped to my knees. I'd never intended on killing Vissarian, even though he'd deserved to die.

As the echo of the gunshot lingered in my ears, Vadim walked closer, crouching down. He waited to say anything, taking several deep breaths instead.

"You know. You did what was necessary to protect you and your family. He couldn't care less about family."

His voice was more soothing than normal. "Yeah, I know. That doesn't mean it doesn't ache." I didn't waste much time standing. "I'm going to see my little family now."

He clapped me on the back and I shook my head. Not a word was said by anyone else.

I found my beautiful Chantel creating watercolors with Damien in his room. As soon as I walked into the room, Damien came rushing over.

"Daddy. I was scared. You're bweeding."

My laugh was fake but the best I could do. "Oh, my brother and I sometimes play rough. It was unexpected but that's how we roll. Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Chantie took care of me."

I glanced at the woman I loved and she had tears in her eyes, which she wiped away frantically before rushing toward me.

With her arms thrown around me, she pushed her face into my neck, but I could hear her broken whisper.

"Don't you ever do that again."

I hugged them both tight, thankful that I'd been given my own second chance.

And I had no intention of fucking it up.