Page 36 of Sins and Virtue

“Are you certain? No betrayed business partners? No unpaid debts?”

“I’ve paid my debts by rotting away in that damn cell. I gave up everything. I have nothing left to give.”

My chest cinched, seeing only the surface of sacrifice and pain lay over his eyes. “Alright, I believe you.”

Kon sardonically let out a chuckle. “You sure as hell don’t look at it.”

“Look, I’m sorry, I just… a lot of people have hurt me… or the ones I’ve loved, and I can’t bear the thought of—” My voice choked, and saltiness burned in the back of my eyes.

“I won’t hurt you.”

Somehow, I knew he was being truthful. “I know.”

His touch softened as his fingers let go of my arms, leaving behind its residue. He walked over to the window. “Once I get out of here, I’ll kill those who hurt you. Believe in that, Blair.”

There was no doubt in his words. No hesitation.

As easily as he could take a life, he could restore justice to many who were scared to seek their own.

He may not be half as bad as I thought.

Chapter 5

Konstantin

In my life, there were a few moments I felt scared of the unknown, but then again, there was only one time where I knew an imminent catastrophe awaited after the discovery of something that should have stayed buried.

Many years ago on that fateful night in Dargaus, a place warned that any man who walked in wouldn’t walk back out.

Claimed as “The City of the Dead” in Russia, the ancient necropolis had only the dead as its residents.

The locals feared going near it.

Yet the greed of man, the inherent selfish need and ambition to own the world, ignored the tales of dead men.

Because we thought we could control fate, but that night we learned no one can.

“Kostya! Do you have eyes on the target?” The heavy timbre of Mikhail’s voice entered my earpiece.

Tentatively, observing the surroundings of the abandoned village. A long valley surrounded by snow-capped mountains,thousands of acres of land covered by falling snow— containing more than one hundred crypts, the place appeared soulless, the tombs the only reminiscence of life.

“Yes, Pahkan,” I confirmed, piercing my gaze through the lens of my AR-47.

The drift of the cold wind carried whispers of the barren place. At least that’s what I heard.

Having another voice in your head was nothing new to me, but in the outside world it was different.

And as a man who didn’t believe in myths or tales, there was some skepticism about these lands. After all, the most telling warnings were those from dead men.

“There’s not a soul in sight.” I repeated, my sight filled with only three figures dressed in black. The Pakhan, The Underboss, The Strategist, and The Enforcer. The only ones Mikhail trusted were commanded to join him in this witch hunt.

“Well, who would even come to hell like this?” Mikhail released a bitter chuckle, scratching his chin with his thumb.

“There are certain psychos…” I began, eying him directly.

He turned his head to me, his tongue edging around his teeth. “Oh please, this isn’t psychotic. If anything, it’s productive therapy, you know, helping the environment or some shit.”

“Since when do you go to therapy?” I questioned the act so unlike him. Ever since we were children, he embraced his dark, ruthless nature and didn’t care who liked him or not. Yet his methodical nature was so uncanny, I didn’t understand it.