AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But…” He started speaking, then paused. He was cautious of how to bring the topic up. “You’ve had that information for seven years. You could’ve killed him, but you didn’t.”
I grimaced. “Not exactly. I had the opportunity, but the timing was off. The day I take his head is the day the world will know who killed him. But to do that, I need a lot of influence and power. And I began to build that a while ago, but it will take some time. I want to be able to kill him in the middle of the street, with many watching eyes, but remain untouchable. It’s not something I can acquire overnight.”
Adrik didn’t miss a beat. “I’ll get you the power. All of the power that you crave. Everything in this world will be at your feet.”
There wasn’t a response I could’ve given him. There were a lot of things I needed to tell him, but today wasn’t the day. For now, I enjoyed the calm ride with some soft music. Soon enough, everything we knew would change, and we needed to prepare.
“Just a head’s up,” I said with an innocent grin. “You’ll be the one to tell Aleksei and Dominik about all of this. I have no intention of repeating it. It’s tiring.”
A low laugh slipped from him. “Don’t worry. I’ll get it done.”
He was quiet for a while, processing the information. It was a lot at once, and I decided against telling him the bigger part of the story. The one that would likely change the course of our relationship. Eventually, he would be the first person to know, but there was still time. I wanted to cherish what we had before dropping the bomb.
“There’s something I don’t understand.” He broke the silence. “Why didn’t he kill you as soon as he was certain you sent his lover to her death and found out about his illegitimate children?”
I paused. “To be honest, at first, he was just in shock that anyone found out. By the time he collected himself, I was already in the States. He tried a few times, but I had De Luca’s protection. Though I’m not sure if he would actually be able to protect me, but I went with that card. Over the past few years, Bogdan sent a lot of people to get my head. Some were intercepted by Antonio’s people, and I took care of the rest. He even tried to get me back home, but it didn’t work. My best guess is that he was afraid Aleksei and Dominik would go ballistic if he killed me, so he postponed it to gather more power. And all of the assassins were… not trained well. So it was mainly just a threat to keep my mouth shut. But now he’s about to declare a war that my brothers have no intention of losing.”
“That’s right,” he confirmed. “I’ll do everything in my power and beyond to ensure you get to take his head.”
TEN
DAVORIN
Not in a million years would I have thought that the reason Bogdan Kalashnik wanted Ekaterina dead was to cover up his tracks, and it wasn’t from abusing her for years. The moment Aleksei took over and people failed to take his head, time after time, it was evident that he was a much better fit than Bogdan.
However, the previous generation was split. Half wanted nothing to do with Bogdan after Aleksei’s succession, whereas the other half still claimed to be loyal to him.
The more I thought about it, the more irritating it got. That kind of power—not even one child, but two—born from two of the most powerful criminal organizations in the world, was insane. Almost too insane to grasp.
It didn’t feel real. Another two of Bogdan’s offspring were wandering the Earth. The only consolation was that they weren’t a part of either of the families, mentality-wise. To overthrow Aleksei and Antonio, it would take immense knowledge, allies across the world, and a lot of strength. I was certain those kids had no knowledge of how the business operated.
I was surprised she’d kept it a secret for as long as she had. Aleksei and Dominik would’ve resolved that issue a lot quicker back then, given how Antonio had to give a lot in order to get on Aleksei’s good side.
“I’ll go upstairs and take a shower,” Ekaterina announced and hopped off.
This was anything but a temporary residence. I’d seen the slums Kaya had spent her time in ever since she left New York. Some places barely had a bathroom, but this one? This was a mansion with a big garden that was being taken care of frequently.
It was enormous. Four cars were parked in the driveway, and all of them suited Kaya’s taste. Did she plan to settle in New Orleans? Why this place, out of every single city in the world?
Whilst Kaya was busy showering on the upper floor, I took a quick glance around the house. The kitchen was big enough to fit four master bedrooms, and the size of the living room was indescribable. There wasn’t a single speck of dust anywhere.
The next stop was going upstairs; however, something caught my eye.
Slowly, I took a step back and looked to the side. Above the fireplace that matched the interior was a painting. Alarms went off in my head, and, for a while, I stood there, unmoving, barely breathing or blinking.
Why the fuck was it here?
It was the painting of the forest on a rainy day, with gloomy clouds that had faces. The painting one of The Rapscallion’s men fought me to win. What were the chances of Ekaterina owning a fake one? The Rapscallion definitely wasn’t the man to be tricked into purchasing a fake. Either this one was fake, or she got it from him.
A vile taste rose in my throat. My heart beat loudly against my ribcage, the anger overwhelming my other senses.
I returned to my car quickly and opened the trunk. I took out the box carefully and returned to the house, walking up the long stairs. Damn it, why were they so fucking long? Something about Kaya’s relationship with this man pissed me off, especially since he was one of the rare people who I had little to no information on.
Fucking hell.
The only door that was open was the room Ekaterina occupied. She was dressed in nothing but an oversized shirt, and it was hard to remain angry and not fuck her then and there. Self-control was something I lacked, especially when it came to her.
Her hair was wet, falling down her shoulders, her face bare of any makeup, and yet she was perfect. Like a Barbie doll with her plump lips, a small nose, and pretty blue eyes.
