Page 57 of Cruel Juliet

“You know why I’m here,” I begin.

The older one shakes his head too fast. “No, Petyr, of course not. We’ve been loyal?—”

“Don’t waste my time.” My voice is flat. “You go to me for protection, then you meet with the Danilos behind my back. That doesn’t make you loyal—that makes you rats.”

The younger one sputters. “Lies. Rumors. You can’t believe?—”

I draw my gun and put a bullet through his chest. He slumps forward onto the table.

Glass shatters. His brother screams.

The bodyguards start to move. Mikhael is faster. He empties his clip into them before they can even raise their guns.

The whole thing is over in seconds. Smoke hangs in the air, blood squelches on the floor, chairs lie where they toppled.

I turn my eyes back to the last Sidorov brother. He’s shaking, staring at the hole in his brother’s chest.

“You had one chance to keep your family alive,” I tell him. “You chose wrong.”

He starts to beg. His words tumble out fast. “Please, Petyr, we can fix this. You have my word. Just let me live?—”

I put a bullet in his head and end it.

Silence follows.

I stand. “Burn this place down. I don’t want a brick left standing.”

Mikhael nods. “What about their turf?”

“Take it. Move in before dawn. Grab every corner; don’t let anyone go. By tomorrow, Sidorov territory belongs to me.”

When I finally turn toward the exit, I already know where I’m headed next.

Home.

Back to Sima.

Back to my daughter.

Back to my wife.

25

PETYR

The drive back is long, and all I can think about is her.

I picture walking into the room and finding her waiting in my bed. I think about stripping her down, spreading her open, fucking her until she’s crying my name again.

The wheel is steady under my hands, but my mind isn’t. Every mile closer makes me harder. I want her naked. On her knees. Pinned under me until she remembers exactly who she belongs to.

By the time I pull through the gates, I’m ready to throw everyone else in the house out just to have her to myself. The business is done. The war can wait.

All I want is her.

But when I get upstairs, I can feel it. It’s mypakhaninstinct, prickling at the back of my neck.

Something’s wrong.