Page 63 of Brutal Reign (Bratva Kings #3)

CHAPTER

FIFTY-ONE

PAVEL

I stand in the aircraft doorway. Blood coats my hands and face, but none of it is mine. It’s all from the bastards who thought they could steal my family. Behind me on the tarmac, Chen’s corpse lies twisted in a crimson pool.

“Did you really think I’d be that easy to kill?” I ask Simon, my tone dark with the promise of agony. Before he can respond, I put a bullet in his shoulder, watching his weapon clatter uselessly to the floor.

Simon screams, clutching his shoulder as red gushes between his fingers, staining his expensive shirt.

“Pavel.” Her voice cracks, disbelief bleeding through. She drags herself upright against the seat, eyes wide and bloodshot. “I heard the gunshots… I thought…”

“Not a chance.” My gaze never leaves Simon. “Kin’s safe with Maxim. Now stay down, angel moy, and let me finish off this disgusting piece of garbage.”

She sags in relief, tipping her head back and closing her eyes.

“Backup! Where’s my fucking backup?” he screams into his radio, calling for help that won’t come.

“It’s funny you think there’s anyone left to save you,” I remark, slowly walking toward him.

He turns to me, his face twisted with pain and rage. “You think you’ve won? I have men positioned?—”

My fist connects with his jaw, cutting him off. “The only thing you have left is seconds to breathe. My men eliminated everyone. When you radioed your men… that was us.”

Simon lunges at me, and we collide in the narrow aisle. He’s badly injured, but it doesn’t stop him. When he swings wildly, I deflect the blow, burying my knee in his ribs. Bones crack under the impact, and he doubles over, gasping for air.

“This is for what you did to my wife,” I snarl, slamming him against the cabin wall. My next punch lands square in his solar plexus, doubling him over. “This is for threatening my son’s life. Did you hear that, you piece of shit? My son.”

The revelation still rocks me. That sweet, brilliant boy belongs to me. The knowledge makes my love for him even fiercer, if that’s possible.

I slam my fist into Simon’s face—a single, brutal blow, releasing only a fraction of my rage.

A red stream sprays out of his nose, and Simon tries to fight back, but his injured arm makes him clumsy. I could end him right now, but he deserves to suffer.

“Hope, look away,” I call over my shoulder. “This won’t be pretty.”

I glance back, expecting her eyes to be closed, but she watches every blow with stoic resolve.

I’m methodical, each strike designed to cause maximum pain without ending him too quickly. Simon manages to land a wild punch to my ribs. He’s trained, I’ll give him that, but his pain makes him sloppy.

“Want to know how your father died?” I growl. “I shot him in both feet and made him crawl through his own blood until he collapsed, all life drained from him.”

“Fuck you,” Simon gasps, staggering backward.

I laugh, driving my fist into his kidneys. “It was one thing when you came after the Syndicate, but the moment you threatened my family, you signed your death warrant. Your sins have earned you a place in hell.”

Simon rallies for one final assault, throwing everything he has left at me. He’s frantic, cornered, fighting for his life, but his panic makes him reckless. I sidestep his charge and drive my elbow into his spine, dropping him to his knees.

The cabin falls silent except for Simon’s labored breathing. I grab him by the throat and drag his broken body across the aisle toward Hope.

“Angel moy,” I say, pulling my knife to cut through her restraints. “Do you want to finish him? His death is yours if you want it.”

Hope looks down at Simon, broken and bleeding at her feet, and slowly shakes her head. “He’s not worth getting my hands dirty.”

Simon’s eyes crack open, and he spits blood. “Still the Russian’s whore, I see. Your father would be ashamed.”

“Don’t you dare bring up my father,” she snaps, venom dripping from her words. “I’d rather be Pavel’s whore than your wife.” With that, her gaze flicks to mine. “Actually, I’ve changed my mind. Let me finish him.”

I step back and hand her my knife. This kill belongs to her. “Go for the jugular,” I instruct.

“This is for my father, you fucking parasite.” She draws the blade across his throat in one swift motion.

Simon’s eyes go wide before the life fades from them completely.

I step over his body and pull Hope into my arms, feeling her heartbeat against me. For the first time since this nightmare began, I can finally breathe.

“I thought you were dead,” she whispers. “When I heard those gunshots, when I believed he’d killed you and Kin, it was the worst moment of my life.”

The thought of her believing, even for a moment, that anything could separate us makes something possessive surge in my chest. I cup her face in my bloodied hands.

“Never,” I say fiercely. “He never had a chance against me. But I had to get our son somewhere safe before I could make Simon pay. I’m sorry I scared you like that.”

She nods. “As long as you’re both alive and breathing, nothing else matters. Is everyone else okay? The compound?—”

“Everyone is fine. That breach should never have happened, but it’s a lesson learned. All I care about is that you’re safe.”

Her mouth falls into a thin line as she searches my face. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Kin before. I was going to. I didn’t want you to find out like this.”

I smile, brushing the tears from her cheeks. “I suspected early on, but Dinara found Kin’s birth certificate and Lukas Viklund wasn’t listed as the father. Daniel Ross was.”

Hope blinks a few times before giving me a sad smile. “Daniel was a friend from school, one of the few who knew about my family. I named him so that if anything ever happened to me, Simon wouldn’t get custody. Daniel would be very confused if he ever got that call, but I hope he’d figure it out.”

“Glad I didn’t kill him in that case.”

“What?”

“Kidding… sort of.” My throat goes tight, the weight of my failure crushing me.

“I should never have let you go to that meeting. I thought I could control every variable, but I was fucking wrong. It was a disaster. The worst feeling in the world was knowing you were in danger and not being able to help you.”

“Stop.” She rests her hand on my arm. “This nightmare is over. Worst eight hours of my life, and that’s saying something, but it’s behind us and I want to move on. I love you, Pavel, so fucking much.”

I don’t give a fuck that Simon’s corpse bleeds out on the floor between us; nothing can keep me from soaking in this perfect moment.

My hands shake as they cup her face. “You’re not just my wife. You’re my soul. You and Kin are my light in the darkness. I would rip through hell itself to get you back. Nothing in this world could keep me away from either of you.”

When I kiss her, it’s with the desperate hunger of a man who almost lost his reason for living, and she kisses me back with equal fervor.

“Now we go home to our boy,” I say, my voice rough with emotion. “He’s been through a lot. He’s going to need both of us, need the reassurance that we’re safe.”

“He’ll be okay because he has us.”

Her words soothe a part of my soul I didn’t realize was broken. But with her, I feel whole again. Ready to live, not just survive.