Before he can finish the sentence, I rear back and smash the crystal globe against the side of his head.
Sevastian drops to the floor without so much as a groan, knocked out cold.
I study the globe, and aside from a smear of blood over Europe, it’s as if nothing happened at all. I replace it on the side table and stand up, stepping over Sevastian’s body on my way out of the room.
I nod to Rurik as I pass. “Take him to the basement. Chain him up.”
My men get to work without hesitation.
The room is silent as I enter.
Sevastian is in the middle of the room—my personal gym—chained to the bench press. He can lift his arms a few inches, but otherwise, he’s immobilized.
“I’m not going to tell you anything,” he says, flinching away from me as I near him. “So you might as well kill—”
The wooden paddle cracks across his face before he can finish.
There’s already a lump where I hit him with the globe, and now I’ve added a split across his cheekbone. Blood pours from the wound.
“Who did you turn over?” I ask. “Which stash houses did you reveal?”
Sevastian spits blood at my feet and glares up at me. I bring my knee up hard and fast into his chin. I hear his teeth smash together.
“Which of your brothers did you rat on?” I growl.
“Brothers,” Sevastian laughs. “You were my brother once, too, Dmitry. What are we now?”
I bend down until we’re nose to nose and growl, “Whatever we are is your doing. Remember with every flash of pain that you are the one who turned your back on me.”
Sevastian looks away, and I see shame cross his face before he hides it with a scowl. He clenches his jaw and winces. I wouldn’t be surprised if I cracked one of his teeth. “I’m not going to talk.”
“You’re loyal to the feds now?” I hiss. “Remember when you said you only did what you had to do to survive? Well, your life is on the line again. Suddenly you aren’t so interested in begging?”
“Because it won’t do any good,” he said, lifting his chin like a petulant child. “You’ll kill me, either way. At least this way, I’ll take some of you down with me.”
The lieutenants around me bristle with anger. I know they want to tear into Sevastian. They want a piece of him. They want revenge.
I try to imagine stepping back and giving them free rein, but no matter how much Sevastian has changed, I still see the pale boy peeking out from the dark black hair. I see the friendly little ghost who existed next to me for most of my life. My best friend. My brother-in-arms.
The paddle clatters across the floor when I toss it aside and trade it for the gun at my hip. I lift my arm, the muzzle pointed at Sevastian’s mouth.
“Do you have anything left to say?” I ask.
Sevastian looks up at me, his eyes narrowed. “Yeah. Fuck—”
I pull the trigger and he slumps forward.
My ears are still ringing when I tell my men to clean up the mess. I don’t look at his body before I leave. I’ve shown my family I don’t stand for traitors, and I’ve maintained my authority. There is no need to carry the image of Sevastian’s dead body with me. My job here is done.
Up in my office, I make a few calls, announcing Sevastian’s actions and my sentencing, ensuring the news spreads quickly to the rest of the Bratva. When I’m done, I look down and realize there is blood spattered on my shirt.
The maid has washed enough of my bloody clothes that I know she could get the stains out, but I take it off and stuff it into my trash can. I have more than enough shirts that I don’t need to worry about saving this one. Plus, I’m not sure I’d ever want to wear it again.
I pull a new shirt from the closet behind my desk and slip into it just as my phone rings. I recognize the number as Amanda’s and answer.
“Any change?” I ask without saying so much as ‘hello.’
“Nothing,” she says.
I nod and take a deep breath.
“I’m sorry,” Amanda says quickly. “I was told you wanted nightly reports on Tati. Is that still true?”
“Yes. I want to know the second there is any change. No matter what time.”
Amanda agrees, and we hang up.
I stare in the mirror hanging behind the closet door and button my shirt with slow fingers. It’s late, and I should go to bed, but I can’t imagine sleeping. So, instead, I sit down at my desk and go through the list of collections I have to make the next day.
Usually, Sevastian and I collected together.
But tomorrow I will go alone.
Courtney
I stare at the page and widen my eyes, trying to keep my vision from going blurry. At this point, I can’t tell if it’s because I’m wired with caffeine or because I haven’t slept more than a few hours at a time for the last three days.
My highlighter has become a permanent fixture in my hand, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to put it down come test time.
Which is in one hour.
“Shit,” I whisper, hunching down over my textbook. My professor told us over and over again throughout the semester that the best thing any of us could do would be to study the material periodically throughout the semester rather than cramming right before tests, but what did she know?
Well, probably a lot, considering she teaches behavioral neuroscience.
That’s what I want to do. Not teach, but work in the behavioral neuroscience field. I want to be a clinical psychologist and help people.
But that won’t happen if I fail this test.
I close my eyes, focusing my mind for
