Chapter Fourteen

Vladmir

Punching the fucker in the face, I grinned when a few of his teeth flew from his mouth. In my opinion, it was an improvement. However, when the bastard laughed, I hit him again, breaking his nose.

“You fucking pussy,” the Satan’s Angel sneered, spitting blood on the floor. “You fucking hit like a girl. Fucking typical of a Russian.”

“He ain’t gonna break like that,” Malice stated, sitting in a corner, eating an apple and watching me while I tried to get this piece of shit to talk. “Told ya, you’re gonna need to use the crowbar.”

“This isn’t my first interrogation, Malice,” I groaned, taking a step back.

“Just saying. It will be a lot more satisfying if you’d just let me do my job.”

“It wasn’t your woman he tried to rape,” I clipped.

Malice sighed but said nothing more.

“Don’t worry, Malice,” Payne said. “You can have the next one.”

Walking over to the table, I eyed all the instruments laid out before me and picked up the surgical blade. Turning back to the asshole on the Saint Andrew’s Cross, I asked, “Who sent you?”

“Fuck you, asshole.”

Holding the blade in my hand, I raised it up so the fucker could get a good look at it. “Do you know what this is? It’s a surgical blade. It’s rather sharp, but then again, it would need to be to cut through flesh. But you know what I really like about this particular blade? It allows me to do this.”

With precision accuracy, I stabbed the blade into the man’s stomach, right above his pelvic region. He grunted and winced, but didn’t cry out. Quickly removing the blade, I smiled. “In case you were wondering, I just severed the rectum muscle that leads to your anal canal. Which means within the next several hours, all the bile and fecal matter in your stomach and bowels will soon fill your stomach cavity, causing your stomach to swell and expand. During this time, all your organs will begin to shut down as your own body will rebel against you. It’s a rather slow and painful death as you vomit and drown in your own shit.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Malice grimace as he looked at the apple in his hand, before throwing it in the trash can.

Payne chuckled, shaking his head.

“Now, I’m going to ask you again. Who sent you?”

“Steele!” the biker shouted angrily.

“And where can I find Steele?”

“I don’t know!”

Sighing, my shoulders fell when I clearly said, “And you are full of shit. As to how much, we will soon find out.”

It was going to be a long day.

Sitting on a stool, I looked at the cards in my hands before discarding one when Montana and Maxim walked into the mailroom.

“What the hell are you fuckers doing?”

“Playing poker,” Payne clipped as he discarded three cards.

“Losing,” Malice growled, folding his hand.

Looking up at Payne, I said, “It’s your bet, Payne.”

The man grumbled, then bet two hundred.

Calling, I laid my hand down and smiled. “Three kings. Ace high.”

“Fucking cheating bastard,” Payne muttered, throwing his cards on the table. “No one wins every fucking hand.”

Smiling, I reached for the cash. “I do.”

Maxim laughed. “Never play poker with Vladmir. He never loses.”

“Why aren’t you three interrogating that asshole?” Montana asked, then frowned when he got a good look at the fucker but added, “We need to get whatever he knows to Pippen.”

Even from where I was sitting, I could see the biker looked a little green and very bloated.

“Ah.” Maxim smiled, looking at the bloated biker. “I see Vladmir was having fun again. It’s not very often he gets to play.”

Just then, the biker retched, his eyes bulging.

Payne gagged and Malice grimaced.

“What the fu—” Montana started as the biker coughed, spewing fecal matter and bile everywhere.

Taking my time, I got to my feet and stretched. Ignoring the smell, I walked over to the man and asked, “Would you like to speak now?”

He grunted but said nothing.

“If you cooperate, I can give you some water to get rid of the taste in your mouth.”

He nodded.

“Then tell me what I want to know.”

“Never wanted the woman. She was just a means to an end.”

“For what?”

“The kid.”

I stiffened, balling my fist tightly. “Explain.”

“Knows where she is,” the man carefully said, lifting his head to look me in the eye. “And you fell for it.”

Before I could blink, Malice shot the fucker in the head. I ran from the mailroom, as I clearly heard Maxim shout, “Dmitry, lock down the house! NOW!”

An hour later, I stormed into the main house to find the power out, as I knew it would be. The second Maxim ordered the house on lockdown, I knew Aleksandr would get Clara and the kids to the safe room and stay with them until the all clear was sounded. Dmitry and Nikandr would be the only ones roaming the house. Rurik was with Aksana in the car, with orders to leave immediately if he heard gunfire.

Gun in hand, I made my way deeper into Maxim’s home, searching every room as Maxim and several of the Soulless Sinners spread out, going from room to room.

Making my way upstairs, I slowed my approach when I saw a shadow move in Katiya’s room. Hugging the wall, I inched toward the room when I distinctly heard a man curse.

Rushing into the room, I blinked twice, unsure if I was seeing things. Because if I was, I needed to get my eyes checked soon, because standing before me was none other than Malice.

Only it wasn’t the Malice I knew.

“Who the fuck are you?”

The man, standing before Katiya’s crib, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, picked up a small stuffed bear and said, “Children are a blessing and a curse, Mr. Ivenok. Something you are familiar with.”

“Not going to ask you again,” I warned, aiming my gun at his head when Maxim, Montana and the rest of the Soulless Sinners rushed into the room.

“What the fuck!” Montana shouted.

“Holy shit,” Mercy gasped as Malice growled menacingly.

Putting the bear back where he found it, the man turned to me and sighed. “Who I am is no concern of yours. All you need to know is that my employer asked me to give you a message. Do better, Mr. Ivenok, or my employer will take them from you.”

“Who is your employer?” Maxim furiously demanded.

The man turned toward Maxim, taking a good look at my boss before saying, “You will find out soon enough, Mr. Fedorov. And before you even ask, Mr. Stone, since I know you hate being left out of anything. No, I am not telling you either.”

“Who the fuck are you?” Malice growled, stepping forward as he glared at his spitting image.

The man took his time, taking in Malice, looking at the man from head to toe before sighing and lightly shaking his head as if he didn’t like what he saw.

Malice growled when Montana, Mercy, and Payne jumped in front of the man to stop him from killing the fucker.

“Now, before my baby brother loses his shit, my employer is giving you forty-eight hours to rectify this matter, Mr. Ivenok. Miss the deadline and I will be back to collect the woman and child myself,” he stated firmly, taking a step toward the door, only to stop when everyone aimed their guns at him.

“You broke into my house. That was your first mistake,” Maxim sneered.

The man smiled at Maxim. “Mr. Fedorov, let me be very clear. I do not make mistakes. I will walk out of this house unharmed, or my men will open fire on your driver and take the child’s mother. If you don’t believe me, then please look for yourself.”

“Payne,” Montana growled. “Go look.”

The Soulless Sinner brother said nothing as he walked over to the window and looked out, his shoulders dropping. “There’s eight guys surrounding Aksana and Rurik, with semi-automatics, Prez. The fucker isn’t bluffing.”

Saying nothing more, the man stopped before Malice and whispered, “Tell our mother I will be seeing her soon.”

With that, he walked out of Katiya’s room with his head held high. Following closely, none of us said a word when the man walked down the stairs and exited the house, getting into a waiting black SUV. As soon as the vehicle pulled away, the men surrounding Rurik and Aksana all backed away, disappearing into the surrounding woods.

The second the men left, Aksana jumped from the Range Rover, running straight for me. “Where is Katiya?”