Page 53 of Scarred Ruin

I took another drag before pulling the cigarette free and spinning the filter to his mouth.

“Take a drag, Andrey.”

He did as I asked, which seemed to calm him down.

After that, I stood slowly, moving the chair out of my way. While rolling the cigarette in my fingers, I thought about how to handle the situation. Did I think he’d purposely betrayed me? Maybe not, but that didn’t mean I could allow his mistake to go unpunished. He’d had every opportunity to stop Sara from talking. In addition, I wasn’t one hundred percent certain he wasn’t covering for her.

Either way, a message had to be sent in the only way I knew for certain the responsible party would at least hear about.

I stubbed out the cigarette, realizing how nasty the taste was before removing my weapon from my jacket.

He was quivering, but before I walked around to the back of the chair, I could clearly see he was resigned to his fate.

As soon as I pressed the barrel of the weapon against the base of his skull, I glanced at my men. They were watching. They were absorbing. This unpleasant experience was a decent reminder.

“Please don’t hurt Sara. I love her.” Andrey’s plea hit me far too hard. What should I care that his last request on this earth was about the woman he’d fallen in love with?

“I know. You have my word she won’t be hurt.”

Pop!

The single bullet was the only one needed. I moved toward Mario. “As soon as you have information on Sara, send it to me. I don’t want her touched. At least not yet.”

“And Andrey?”

“Carve ‘traitor’ on his chest and drop the body off in a location just inside the neutral zone. Everyone needs to realize what happens to anyone who fucks with me.”

“Yes, Pakhan. I’ll take care of it.”

And I knew he would.

The ride back to the house wasn’t nearly as satisfying. Perhaps because all I could think about was how I felt about Isabel.

And I didn’t appreciate the feeling.

When I rolled into the driveway, it was just before five. I was wired when I should be exhausted. The last few sleepless nights had left me edgy as fuck.

All while my guardian angel had been hard at work, moving forward with the project.

After what we’d shared, I’d been prepared for a terse phone call from one of two owners of the company. The fact none had come meant she had no plans on sharing our experience with anyone.

Why was that exciting?

As soon as I rolled up to the garage, I noticed Sergei was seated on the front porch.

I didn’t bother stopping, hitting the garage door opener as I knew he’d follow. I was barely off the bike, yanking my helmet into my hand when he strolled into the four-bay location.

At first, he said nothing, merely standing behind me, but I could sense his scrutiny. Even his silence could be effective when so desired.

“Do you ever sleep?” I finally asked.

“I could ask you the same question. Did you not think I’d get a call from Mario?”

“As expected.” I secured my helmet and took a few seconds before turning to face him.

He was shaking his head, a clear admonishment and nothing he would do in front of others. But ours was an entirely different relationship. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Maxsim.”

“What would you have me do? A definitive statement had to be made, or our clients would begin to think we’ve lost our superiority.”