Page 19

His lips curled with disgust as he growled, "Adamn casino?Are you kidding me?"

Marissa stepped back, and I could see from her pale face that she was terrified. I, on the other hand, was angry. This was my sons’ place, and they had no business coming in here bad-mouthing them. “You’re trespassing.”

"Oh,I’mtrespassing?" He let out a sharp laugh, shaking his head. His voice dripped with venom. "On what used to be my land? Where my business used to be? Where my home used to be? Before those lowlife assholes stole it from me and bulldozed it to the fucking ground?"

His words settled like stones in my chest.

I knew what Sergei and his brothers had done to get this property. I hadn’t been part of it, but I wasn’t naïve to the weight of it either. They’d hurt a lot of people, and they all held grudges. Some more than others. Some felt the betrayal deep in their bones, and they wanted vengeance—just like the man standing in front of me.

I tried to keep my tone soft and nonthreatening as I told him, "I understand that you’re upset, but this isn’t the time or the place for this.”

"Don’ttalk down to me," he hissed. “I go where I wanna go when I wanna go, and you aren’t gonna do a fucking thing about it!”

His friend, a wiry man with nervous eyes, hovered just behind him, and I could tell by his expression that he didn’t like how things were going. The other guy had already stepped back, and I could barely see his face. I knew I was on shaky ground when I told him, “This is private property. You need to leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere!”

The slight shift of his jacket revealed a flash of metal at his hip.

He had a gun.

Damn.

His whole body tensed, and rage poured off him as he shouted, “I’m done having people run over me!”

“I don’t know what you plan to accomplish here.”

“I plan to make those assholes pay for what they did!”

Clearly nervous and wanting to leave, his friend shifted behind him. "Come on, man. Let’s just get out of here.”

"I’m not leaving!” the man snapped, his hand hovering near his waist. "These people didn’t give a fuck when they stole my land. Maybe I should take something fromyouand see how you like it."

Panic set in.

I wasn’t stupid.

He was angry and desperate, and that was a dangerous combination.

I had no idea what I was going to do when the doors behind me burst open. Sergei stormed into the room with Viktor and Nikolai.

Behind them were three men in leather vests, and each one looked more menacing than the next. I knew right away who they were. They were the men Sergei and Nikolai were fighting over the night before. I had no idea why they had come here tonight, but it was clear they were a force to be reckoned with.

The older man with silver hair and beautiful dark eyes took in the scene with a scowl. The other two stood protectively at his side, watching and assessing every move that was made.

Sergei charged toward us as he roared, “Get the fuck away from her! Right fucking now!”

“It’s you!” the man shouted. “You’re the lowlife fucker who stole my land!”

“That’s right.” Sergei took a step towards him. “I’m the one you want. Now, get the fuck away from her.”

The man didn’t budge.

Instead, his anger flared hotter, and before anyone could react, hedrew his weapon. My gasp echoed through the room as he aimed it at my oldest son and snarled, "Youand that piece of shit lawyer of yoursstoleeverything from me! You left me with nothing!”

“We didn’t steal anything,” Sergei scoffed. "We bought this land and the properties around it fair and square."

"This land has been in my family for years, and you think you can just take it, and we’re just gonna let you get away with it!"