Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 125368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 627(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 627(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
“Nobody harms the Queen,” Nikolay said into the now silent room.
The three of us stared at what was left of Abram.
Alessio released a long breath, as if he were finally relieved. He clasped me on the back. “Let’s go home.”
Chapter 10
You’d think after Alessio had watched Abram suffer and writhe in agony, he would now be satisfied. But Death was far from satisfied.
He was itching for more. His thirst for vengeance could not be subdued. It reminded me of a time when Alessio Ivanshov had annihilated a whole family. It had been fun to watch as Alberto took his last breath.
The Abandonatos were not the only Italians that were part of the underground business, the world of the Mafia. Alberto had only been a small branch. There were more families, two more bosses. But Alessio made his message clear when he had butchered Alberto.
Stay the fuck away from my family.
Nobody came forward to avenge the Abandonato. I chose to think it was because Alberto had been an asshole and had alienated himself from his own people. His thirst for power had driven the others away, creating a wedge and making him the enemy between his own blood.
I liked to believe we did the others a favor by ending that bastard.
One asshole dead. A few more to go.
From the corner of my eye, I watched Alessio walk up the stairs. His face was impassive and so cold. His jaw was steeled, and I noticed the muscles tick. There was a smudge of blood there. He must have missed it after wiping some of Abram’s blood away which had splattered on him.
Alessio’s silence sometimes was alarming. Like the rest of us, his thoughts were too dark to speak out loud. He was always planning in silence, so right now, I knew there was something on his mind.
That reminded me of the look he gave me when we were at Red Night. When I didn’t let the girl touch me, Alessio had raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t seemed overly surprised. His look…he was almost mocking me in a way.
Like he was sharing a secret, an inside joke with himself.
He had given me the same look when he attended the party where I had danced with Valerie. His face had been impassive, hard and steeled. But his eyes, fuck…they held the darkest secrets.
Alessio Ivanshov was not a man to be trusted. As much as he liked to look into your eyes as your life faded away, he was also the type of man who wouldn’t shy away from striking you in the back if he had the opportunity. For the first time, I started wondering if I could really trust him.
Or maybe…I was just another pawn?
I spared him another glance as we made our way to the office. Nikolay had long left us, and we were now alone. I refused to believe that Alessio would play games with me. We both had been through too much together, as brothers, for me to be just another puppet to him.
Lost in my thoughts, I hadn’t realized that we were already in his office. Not until Alessio finally spoke. “Are you going to sit?”
I blinked, looking at Alessio as he sat behind his huge desk. He threw his legs on it, crossed his ankles, and settled back. He rubbed the back of his neck, as if he were trying to massage the tensed muscles. Alessio jerked at his tie agitatedly while nodding at the chair beside me.
I took a set and reached for the bottle of Cutty Sark Scotch he always had on his coffee table. I filled myself a glass, and when I offered it to Alessio, he only shook his head. Shrugging, I chugged down half the glass.
“I don’t drink when I’m living in Valentin’s estate. Only on very rare occasions,” I offered when Alessio kept staring at me. “Always have to be on high alert. Can’t trust that fucker one bit.”
I raised my glass to him. “Let me drink and stop giving me that judgmental look. I’m not going to get drunk from just a couple of drinks.”
I could handle my liquor and he damn well knew that.
Alessio gestured toward the full bottle, chuckling warmly. “It’s yours.”
“Wasn’t asking for your permission,” I mumbled under my breath. “You got a cigarette?”
He reached for the drawer into the side of his desk and pulled out a small box, throwing it at me. I caught it easily and took one out, placing it between my lips, and then took my lighter out. I lit the end and watched as the little flame flickered before I took a pull.
“Carlos is a closer associate of Valentin than we first thought,” I started when the silence grew heavier between us.
Alessio hummed and then nodded his head. “I figured.”
“It won’t be easy to destroy a whole Empire. We can’t afford to anger Carlos. Not when he’s the biggest dealer of the black market.”