Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79087 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79087 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
This made me turn to look at her. “What?”
“All the women that are now wives to the Brigadiers share something in common. They were unwanted or even abused by their families. Ivan took them away from all of that. He made a home for them, a life. That is what makes him a good guy.”
“Is that why ... you ... want to help him?”
The Butcher was silent for many seconds, maybe even minutes, and I figured we were done talking. She tended to just go silent on me from time to time.
“I’ve dealt with a lot of men in my time—monsters, the true scum that walks the earth—and in all that time, I have only known a handful of men that have my respect. Ivan Volkov is one of them.”
“You guys have a history?” I asked. I’m pretty sure I was asking too many questions.
“Ivan and I had run-ins a couple of times before he opened up the possibility of becoming a Brigadier. We tend to have a give-and-take relationship. It is how it has always been, and it is how it will always be.”
She stopped talking.
“One of the jobs I was given was to exterminate the entire Volkov Bratva. This was before Ivan took over. I believe it was a task given to me on purpose, expecting me to fail. As I went to do the job, I encountered Ivan. I’m younger than him, but when you’ve been training your whole life, age means nothing. He knew what I was supposed to do, and he told me what he planned to do. At first, I was not going to listen to him. The Volkov Bratva were a pest, but Ivan’s vision was flawless. So, I gave him a short time to accomplish it, and accomplish it he did. What Ivan doesn’t know, was that people wanted the Volkov completely annihilated. I stuck around to see him working, knowing he was one of these good bad guys, so I took care of every single person they sent to kill him. I made sure he lived to see his vision.”
I was shocked she had told me so much.
“Does Ivan know?”
“Probably. I finally got to see him when he didn’t know something. You were a shock to him.”
“I didn’t mean to be.”
The Butcher laughed. “I know that, and I believe he knows that as well. Anyway, it pissed him off.”
“Who wanted Volkov gone?” I asked.
She took a deep breath. “The Grid.”
I frowned. “But I thought The Grid didn’t back down. It’s why I’m here now.”
“Yes, but in order to remove a contract, someone has to be willing to stake their own life on it.”
I lifted up in the sand and looked over at her. “You pledged yours?” I asked.
She nodded her head.
“Does Ivan know?”
“I don’t know. He knows I’m connected to The Grid. There is no turning back, there is only death.”
“That’s why you want it gone?”
“Yes. The Grid has gotten too powerful. It needs to be stopped, and now we know Harris is one of the members. It’s why there will be no negotiation for you,” The Butcher said. “The only solution is to bring it down once and for all.”
“You need to tell Ivan what you did,” I said.
“I don’t need to tell him anything.”
“This isn’t right, Butcher. He needs to know the sacrifices you made.”
“Bethany,” she said.
“What?”
“That’s my name, Freya. My name is Bethany, and that is all I am ever going to tell you. You now know more about The Butcher than any other living person.”
And with that, she got to her feet and made her way inside the house.
Why had she told me this? This didn’t make any sense.
I didn’t have time to ask any more questions as a rumble of thunder came across the clouds. The weather kept changing. I didn’t know how viable it was going to be for us to stay here. Storms were happening more regularly. Although, Ivan’s home was locked down tight. I didn’t like the storms, and attempting to sleep through one was a damn nightmare.
I hated storms at night. Throughout the day, it was fine, I could handle that. Nighttime, they did, in fact, scare the crap out of me.
Chapter Thirteen
Victor
“I’m going to have to swap her from one cage to another,” I said, looking toward Ivan.
The Beast didn’t have any ideas, nor did Rage. Slavik didn’t have anything either, other than have her move from territory to territory, only staying long enough for The Grid to be alerted. Andrei had the same idea. The only way to stay under The Grid was to keep moving.
“Harris has this tied,” Ivan said. “Until we find him, her life is in danger. But time is running out. Storms are building up, and it’s fine, as long as we give you supplies long enough to last. But, if you run out, we can’t get them to you.”