PURPLE HEART - Soliders Of Fortune [BOOK TWO]

Chapter TWENTY THREE

Maksimillian 'Max' Angeloff

A thick cloud of steam engulfs me as a fiery rain beats down on my back to bead over the hypertrophic scars that emblazon each of my shoulder blades.. The scalding needle-like jets of the shower soothe my aching muscles, but ignite a flood of discomfort as the water kisses those painful reminders of betrayal that marr my torn and weathered flesh..

Tipping my forehead against the cool marble tile and letting my eyes drift close, the reel of memories begin to spin before I am sucked into the reverie of a miserable regression.. Forcing myself to recall the genesis of my terminally idiotic vendetta and all it is I am still fighting for;

...eight years ago...

Turning up the collar of my thick leather jacket to stave off the brisk fall chill, I kill the purring engine of my sleek black Kawasaki Ninja, before I kick it into a stand.. As the headlights dim and darkness falls over the deserted street, something uneasy gnaws at my intestines.. I've walked through war zones with less eerie energy than this place, and the intuitive suspicion that oozes from the marrow of my bones tells me something about this isn't right..

Tugging off the suffocating carbon brain-bucket, I reach up to muss my ebony high and tight back into place.. Looking around the old apartment block of boarded up windows and graffitied brick walls, I see no signs of Sofiya anywhere, or anybody else for that matter.. The building has long stood abandoned judging by the overgrown weeds and unkempt exterior..

Why would Sofi come over to this side of town?

She knows how dangerous The Bratva are, and I can't for the life of me understand what would possess her to take the risks of venturing into the 818 district alone.. Not to mention the wrath she will most definitely earn from the MC, since everybody knows the Darkport Pakhan Nikolai Kalashnik and Outlaw President Sasha Angeloff have only the baddest of blood between them.. Their feud had only escalated when my brother Luka turned his back on the Outlaws and crossed the line to join the Russian Mafia, enlisted by a hellhound hitman known in sinister circles as The Red Reaper who had taken my brother beneath his wing.. Something that never would have happened if I hadn't abandoned my family to enlist in the corps..

Sure, I hate Konstantin Ivanov for inviting Luka into The Brotherhood.. But I hate myself more for leaving and allowing it to happen.. For making the selfish mistake of thinking I could escape first and come back for my siblings second, once I'd found my footing outside the criminal world..

The guilt of my choices eats at me each and every day.. Instead of making a better life for them, I had only driven them deeper into the seedy underbelly of Darkport's most notorious organised crime syndicates.

God, I was naive to think I would ever be free of Sasha's reach..

Something Sofiya had said to me, years ago, rings truer today than ever before;
The only way out, is down..