Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 127249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
“Got it all on camera, including the necklace I recovered from the pakhan.”
The tracker signal was strong. It led us straight to one of the bratva’s secret meeting places where they were gathered.
Sav sent his men. Together with mine, those motherfuckers didn’t stand a chance. We took them out before they had time to realize what was happening. As for Viktor Skripchenko, I aimed for his balls instead of his brains. It didn’t take him long to tell me he’d made a deal with Leander Teszner.
Teszner owed him money, money he’d never be able to pay, so he offered Skripchenko the necklace not to only wipe away his debt but also to put him back in power once they’d killed me and taken over my territory.
The plan suited Skripchenko just fine. He’d never forgiven me for using an RPG rocket of Russian origin to blow up Pawel Teszner’s convoy, which made it seem as if the bratva was responsible for the attack. Even though the investigation had been closed due to a lack of evidence, as I knew it would be, the pakhan probably decided it was a good opportunity to take revenge.
Skripchenko himself was behind Tatiana’s kidnapping. Teszner had realized the necklace was gone when he’d emptied the safe after the death of his parents. The logical assumption was that Tatiana had taken it before going on the run. No one else had had access to the house.
After Teszner had told Skripchenko of his suspicion that Tatiana had hidden the necklace, the pakhan looked for a rat in my outfit he could bribe. Kent took the bait. He thought I was going soft and losing focus because of Tatiana. He told the Russians he no longer respected me. The bratva promised him a neat fifty percent of the profit they’d make from selling the diamonds.
Kent waited for the right opportunity before tipping off the pakhan. They’d already chosen a location. All he had to do was drive us there. A text message with a single code word informed Skripchenko that we were on our way. The pakhan ambushed my convoy and had Tatiana kidnapped, starved, and locked in a fucking trunk. For that, I skinned him alive. It wasn’t pretty.
“How did he know where to find you?” Sav asks.
It takes me a second to realize he’s referring to the dead man hanging upside down from the ceiling beam.
“He didn’t trail you to the church,” Sav continues. “If you were being followed, you would’ve known it.”
“That hooker, Oxo, gave Tatiana a drug. When she was too high to realize what was happening, the bitch injected a chip under her skin. They tagged her like a fucking animal. It was above her hairline, so it was difficult to see. The doctor didn’t find it when he examined her.”
Sav scrubs a hand over his face. “Fuck.”
I’m still debating whether I should kill the doctor or not. “The surgeon removed the chip yesterday. It was there, all right, exactly where the fuckers had said it would be.”
“How’s she doing?” he asks. “When Anya called earlier, the nurse said she was stable.”
“Stable,” I confirm.
“If you or Tatiana need anything, you know where to find me.”
Always grateful for his support, I nod.
He rides on the balls of his feet. “Can I see it?”
I motion for the cleanup team to get to work. “Just give me a minute to wash my hands.”
Sav chuckles. “I think you should make that ten and have a shower.”
Ten minutes later, Sav and I sit facing one another across from the desk in the office at the back, each with a glass of scotch in our hands. The necklace is laid out on a black velvet pillow, the stones catching the overhead light and throwing it back like brilliant shards of stardust bursting through the room.
Sav whistles. “That’s quite a piece.”
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
He sips his drink. “Exquisite.”
Exactly the word I used.
“What about Teszner?” He measures me carefully. “Has word gotten to him yet?”
“By now, he should’ve heard. The so-called drug war that claimed seven victims was all over the news. He has no allies left. I expect him to go on the run soon, although it may be a bit difficult to disappear without resources.” My laugh is wry. “He can try to escape, but he won’t get far.”
“Are you bringing him here?”
“No.” I put down my glass. “He sent men after Tatiana when she ran to save our baby.” He didn’t care if Noah got killed in the process. I’m certain he would’ve ordered them to kill my son so there wouldn’t be any heirs from my side to threaten his inheritance. I have no doubt he would’ve treated his sister worse than her father to get the location of the necklace out of her. “He insulted her on our wedding day. He merits a bit more creativity than a meat hook and a vegetable scraper.”