AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Yeah, this was a message all right.
Someone tried to hurt what’smine.
And may God have mercy on their souls when I find out who they are.
BecauseIsure as fuck won’t.
19
FREYA
Kir’s voicefills the library, his low, sharp commands cutting through the silence. I sit curled up in a high-backed chair, a glass of whiskey in my hand, the burn of the alcohol grounding me as I try to make sense of it all. The swift, brutal attack at the church was a sharp reminder of the danger lurking in the shadows of our world.
Across from me, Kir paces, his phone to his ear, his expression cold. His words are clipped, his tone businesslike as he barks orders to whomever is on the other end of the line, switching between English and Russian.
This is the Kir that most people see—the Bratva kingpin who’s always in control and one step ahead. But I know better. Underneath that cold, calculating exterior is a man who would cut his own heart out for those he considers family.
It’s a comforting feeling I’ve come to rely on, one that’s brought me out of some pretty dark places since I’vebecomeone of those people he considers family. When the rest of the world goes black and cold, I’ve always known Kir will be there for me.
I take another sip of whiskey, letting the warmth of it spread through my chest. I set the glass down and glance at my laptop. My fingers fly over the keys as I dig through various online databases I’ve found on the dark web, trying to find any shred of information about the attackers.
So far, there’s nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch.
Whoever orchestrated this was meticulously careful. Which only makes me more determined to uncover the truth.
Mercifully, no one died today. But that doesn’t mean we all emerged unscathed. Lev, one of Kir’s men, is in the hospital with a piece of the van that exploded still embedded in his stomach. There are also four other Nikolayev men who took shrapnel and will need time to recover.
A soft ping interrupts my focus, and I glance down to see that Anni’s replied to my first text. While I’m here on lockdown with Kir at his mansion, she’s at her new husband’s penthouse—at Kenzo’s insistence, actually.
Me
You’re SURE you’re good there??
Annika
Yeah. Tons of security. There are five of Kenzo’s guys watching the lobby, plus three of Kir’s.
Thankfuck.
Annika
Are you okay?
Me
I’m good. Kinda shaken. Like WTF
Me
U thinking Kenzo’s enemies or ours?
With so much Yakuza and Bratva power in one place, in hindsight, it would almost be more shocking if someonedidn’ttry and use the wedding as an opportunity to attack—if they were suicidal or stupid enough to try it.
Annika
No idea, honestly. It DOES seem more like a Bratva move than a Yakuza one.
She’s not wrong. It’s the Russians who are fans of direct, explosive attacks. The Yakuza is subtler. Like, if this was them, I’d expect the wedding cake to be poisoned or something.
