Dangerous Husbands, Broken Wives [18+]

FORTY SEVEN: JUST YOU WAIT

[IVAN]

"Here goes the last one," Dimitri says, tucking his gun back into the holster and watching his handiwork with dark amusement in his eyes.

And Ana calls me sick. I scoff. The things this man could do to a human being are beyond imagination. Even I can't match his barbarity sometimes. Not that there's some sort of competition.

On the ground, before his feet, two dead men are crumpled, the bullet wounds in their heads and over their hearts. A halo of blood beneath their lifeless bodies.

I huff out a smoky breath and look up at the gloomy sky. It's been a quiet and cold night for the most part, but then I get a call from Dimitri, saying I'm welcome to watch if I fancy seeing the last mole in our organization go down. I was more than thrilled to accept it. With this piece of shit gone, the gang finally got rid of any loopholes that my so-called mother could take advantage of.

I should have done this years ago, but I naively thought that after our last face-off, she would know better and back the fuck off. She didn't, of course. In fact, the moment I brought back Ana, my mother was back to stirring trouble between us.

I wish she valued self-preservation more because, if she did, she would know when to count her blessings and take permanent retirement.

With a last glance at the bodies on the concrete floor, I turn around, more than satisfied. "Come see me in my office when you're done with the bodies. There's one last thing I need you to do before we get back to routine business."

I leave, not waiting for him to respond. One of the men guarding the back door of the nightclub opens the door for me to get through.

"Make the final sweep when they're done. I don't want cops lingering around and asking questions." I say to the guard and he nods.

"Yes, boss!"

The music pulses from the club to my right, and the chefs in the kitchen are yelling to my left. I choose to ignore the chaos and head straight up the stairs. Outside my office door, Igor Fedorov, the head of security, stands with his back against the wall. His head is bent downward, eyes focused on something on the screen of his phone.

He straightens up as he hears me approaching, quickly tucking the phone back into his pocket.

"I hope you're here because the job is done and not because you failed," I walk into the office, Igor following right behind me.

"Pozhaluysta!" he scoffs and stops in the middle of the room. "This was the easiest thing I've done in a while."

[Please!]

I take my seat behind the table and raise a brow. "If the job was easy, then there isn't any reason to be smug now, is there?"

He promptly tightens his lips. "Right, boss."

"Good. Now speak. How many men were you able to recruit?"

"Twenty for now," he replies, scratching his scruff. "But I have more coming tomorrow."

"And the background checks?"

"All clear."

"Just to be sure, send their files to me before they show up for training."

"Sure," he begins to leave, but I call him back.

"Anatoly Sidorov. Bring me his file too."

He looks confused yet cautious before asking. "Anything to worry about?"

"Nea!" I shrug and lean back in my chair. "Just curious."

After Igor is out of my office, Dimitri arrives. His overcoat hangs lazily on one of his shoulders while he straightens the sleeves of his shirt.