“Igor works for a Brigadier. So enjoy getting your balls stuffed down your throat when he finds out you fucking stole from him.”
Nicolai exhales loudly as the Torpedo rises abruptly, knocking the chair out from behind him. I don’t move.
“You come into my restaurant and threaten me?”
I pick up the napkin and refold it. “I’m not threatening you. I’m just giving you the facts and trying to help you out here.”
“We don’t give a shit about any Brigadier.” Bykd pipes up, and it shows he’s just a runner for the Torpedo. He has no idea who he’s messing with.
The Torpedo still clutches the fork in his large hand. He strikes quickly, embedding the fork into Bykd’s neck. I have no qualms with him killing the runner; he would have had to die, anyway. The Torpedo pulls the fork out before plunging it into Bykd’s neck again. He takes all his anger out on Bykd.
I glance at Nicolai and shrug, wondering how long this would take.
“He’s dead.” Nicolai snaps, and the Torpedo pulls out the fork as Bykd's dead body hits the floor. The Torpedo is still clinging to the fork. He smiles again as he picks up his overturned chair and sets it right before he sits down with blood splatter all over his white vest. He drops the fork onto the plate and starts to wipe his bloody hands on a napkin.
“Lucca is telling the truth. Igor works for a Brigadier.” Nicolai confirms.
The Torpedo drops the napkin and fixes his black suit jacket. “So Igor stole from a Brigadier?” He runs his tongue along his golden teeth.
“You stole from a Brigadier,” I say. He moves. He’s fast as he grips the fork and strikes out. I’m faster. I jump back, knocking my seat to the ground. The fork that would have embedded in my neck strikes air. Nicolai is quick as he moves too, his arm coming down on the Torpedo’s wrist. I hear the bone crack as the fork clangs on the floor. I don’t let the moment pass but lean in and grip the Torpedo’s head, pushing it into the table.
“Tell me where the girls are.”
“They’ve been sold.” His words are growled as he tries to force his head back up, and I slam it back down on the table. A nearby glass of liquid topples.
“What about Evie?” Had she been sold? My hand presses heavier on his face.
“No.” His roar is accompanied by the force of his body as he tries to get up again.
He screams in pain as Nicolai hits his broken wrist.
“Igor is keeping her.”
My gaze clashes with Nicolai.
Over my dead body.
Nicolai shakes his head. “Lucca, killing Igor isn’t an option.”
The Torpedo tries to get up again, and I allow his head to rise before slamming it back down.
“I’m not going to kill Igor. The Brigadier will.” I grin at Nicolai.
“How do you find out who he is?”
“I can find out.” The Torpedo offers up, and both Nicolai and I start to laugh.
A man in his position would offer up anything to live. That wasn’t going to happen. “I’ll tell you where the girls are.”
My laughter stops. “You said they were sold.”
“Yes, we have buyers, but they haven’t been transferred yet.”
“Why’s that?”
The Torpedo falls silent. Nicolai picks up a knife and pulls up the Torpedo’s damaged hand.
“I’ll tell you.” He’s trying to pull his hand back, but Nicolai doesn’t allow him.
The Torpedo's words are filled with pain as he tries to force them out. “I had instructions to find seven bodies and bring them to the warehouse where the girls are being held. Once the girls are gone, I’ll place the bodies in the warehouse and burn it. That was the job. Then I had to leave an anonymous tip with you so that you would find the warehouse and all the girls’ bodies. Case closed.”
That’s why Igor wasn’t selling the girls himself. No one would look to the Torpedo.
I remove my gun from the band of my trousers. “The address.”
He tries to shake his head. “If I do, you’ll kill me.”
“The address.” I cock the gun and press it to his temple.
It’s a good incentive as he recites the address off.
“If they aren’t there, I’ll come back,” I warn him.
He tries to look at me, and I see hope in his eyes. “I swear.”
He isn’t lying. I pull the trigger, and Nicolai curses as he moves away from the blood-splattered table.
He’s ready to say something.
I put the gun back in the holder. “He had to die. You knew that.”
My words cut off whatever Nicolai was going to say.
“What a mess.” Nicolai moves toward the back rooms. We need to destroy any footage. We had plenty of cops paid off, but that didn’t mean we needed to be sloppy.
Nicolai returns and gives me a nod.
All I needed to do was find out who the Brigadier is, and he would end Igor’s life, so I wouldn’t have to.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
EVIE
Hope mixed with fear swells and dies in my stomach. I’m still in the room, still pacing, still waiting. Time moves, but it’s slow and painful. Each time I open the door, Pavel is there. He doesn’t tell me to go back in, but I slam the door before returning to my pacing. I can’t fight the surge of hope that I know is dangerous.
I stop pacing as the door opens. My heart rate climbs to a frightening height before it drops as Pavel fills the doorway.
“You can leave the room, Evie.” Is that pity I hear in his voice?
“Is Lucca back?” I ask
