𝙽𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝙴𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑

Twenty-Seven

Grayson

I stepped on board the boat, ignoring the bodies around me. His men died right in front of him, and he didn't care. I didn't know why this surprised me. I knew the sort of man Nikolai was. He didn't care about anyone around him. Just himself. As long as he got his way, people were expendable.

"Come down here with us. I've waited years to have this little chat." Nikolai pushed Jess down the stairs to the living area below deck, and I followed. Immediately my eyes swept the room for some sort of weapon I could use. It was a simple set-up, just a seating area with a table, a kitchen, a bedroom beyond that. There was a chance of a weapon stashed somewhere in the kitchen, but I didn't have the time to go through things. I couldn't search the drawers while he had a gun trained on Jess. I could only stand there and wait while he sat her down. The gun never pointed away from her at any moment. I thought he really might kill her. He would do it just to get back at me for whatever he thought I did to him.

"Now that we're all here, let me ask you a question that's plagued me for a long time. Why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?"

I couldn't answer in any quick, biting statement. "I don't know. I guess I didn't want your blood on my conscience. You weren't worth it."

"Like you have a conscience," he sneered.

"You would know all about that, wouldn't you?" I asked. "A man like you, who kills for sport. Who let your men die up there without doing anything to help them?"

"They were dead men, it was obvious. You're a good shot. Besides, I think your ex-wife can tell you from her short acquaintance with them that they weren't exactly the sharpest knives in the drawer." His words made me wonder. Were there knives in the drawer? I glanced at Jess, and she nodded just slightly enough to tell me she'd picked up on it, too. I wondered if I could distract him somehow while she went for a knife. I kept the idea in the back of my head while I stalled for time.

"I don't think anybody who does business with you is the smartest person, Nikolai. Why do you think Axel made it a point to try to wipe you out all those years ago?"

"Don't say that name to me," he hissed. His voice had changed. He sounded crazy. Jess shook her head, telling me to stop. What was it he had with Axel?

I needed to know. If Axel was the reason we were there, I deserved to know. "What is it with Axel? What's your beef with him? I didn't know you even knew him."

"I didn't," Nikolai said. His bald head gleamed in the overhead light, almost making it look like a spotlight shone down on him. I saw beads of sweat rolling over his skin.

"So what's the problem?"

"He was an evil man. He ruined many lives, including mine. My wife's. My daughter's. Did you know my daughter? Nina?"

I thought back. Nina. There were so many girls in and out of the clubhouse, I couldn't remember all of them. I shrugged.

"Of course, you wouldn't remember her. Your Axel ruined her life and made her kill herself. I killed him. He deserved it."

"You killed Axel?" I didn't remember it that way at all. I didn't know Nikolai had been there.

"Oh, yes. I was backing the Wolves at that time, and they were the ones who lured your men into a trap. I paid for their guns, even, and the warehouse the shoot-out took place in. It was a bloody night. A lot of men died. I knew you would take care of the Wolves-they never stood a chance. I didn't care. As long as I got my chance to kill that bastard. He was already shot in the leg, but he would have lived. He pulled himself behind a stack of crates and thought he would be safe. But I was watching. I went to him, and I was the one who shot him through the chest. I wanted him to look me in the eye as he died. And he did. It was the greatest moment of my life."

None of it made sense, but it didn't matter then. "So you killed him. Congratulations. Why wasn't that enough for you? Why do you have to make us suffer now? I was willing to let it go. I let you live. Why wasn't that enough, even? When will you stop?"

"When your entire fucking club is nothing but dust and a vague memory." He snarled the words, and I knew how deeply he meant them. His hatred of the club went beyond our taking his business. I finally understood him a little better.

"Really, I should thank you, since you're the one who made me go underground and change my business. Loan sharking has been more lucrative than anything else I've ever done, and that's saying something. You should thank me, too. Without me, you wouldn't be president of your bullshit club. I got him out of the way for you, and you stepped up. Power is good, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," I said. I held my hands at my sides, clenched into fists. I was tired of hearing his crazy thoughts. He was sweating like a pig, and his hand started to tremble. I watched the gun twitch. I didn't love what that meant for Jess. He was getting more and more unstable. It had to end, and fast.

"You'll see how it feels to watch someone you love die. I wanted to leave her in the water for you to find her there, just like I found my daughter in the water after Axel made her kill herself." My eyes widened. What had Axel done to his daughter? Nina, was it? I tried again to remember her. Was there a girl named Nina? Axel had so many women, and it was so long ago. I never kept track of them.

"Only you got here before I could take care of her. But that's all right. You can watch. It's the next best thing. I get to watch you when I kill her. I get to see your face. And then I'll see your face when I kill you. And I will finally have justice for my daughter when your club knows you're gone. There's nobody else to take your place, is there? Nobody who can stand up and take over. I've already funded the other clubs around town. They have the money and the muscle to take you over in a heartbeat. I can't wait to watch it."

"You'll never get the chance," I murmured, moving a single step closer to him.

"I would keep my distance if I were you," he said.

"And I would watch where I was pointing that gun if I were you," I said. I took another step. "All I have to do is get my men on board this boat, and they would make the rest of your life very short, but pretty painful. They'll take care of you. One word from me, and they'll be onboard. So watch yourself."

"Words, words," he said. "If you wanted to take me, if you were man enough, you would have done it years ago. The chance was there, and you pussed out. Just like the other fake heroes in your club."

"I won't make that mistake again." I lunged for him, pushing Jess down with one arm while driving my fist into his face. He grunted and fell against the wall. From the corner of my eye, I saw Jess scramble from her seat to the kitchen area.

I struggled with Nikolai. He was stronger than I would have expected from a man of his age, but insanity could do that to a person. And he was insane. He'd plotted this out for so long, and his obsession had driven him over the edge. He used all of his strength to push me away, but he wasn't successful enough.

We fought for the gun, with him trying his best to press it against my chest, then my stomach. I held his hand in both of mine while he repeatedly punched me anywhere he could reach. His punches meant nothing to me. All I cared about was getting the gun away from him and ending his miserable life.

I broke his grip, and he dropped the gun. We grappled using just our hands, and I head-butted him. He slumped against the wall like he saw stars.

"Grayson!" Jess used the opportunity to get my attention and slide a butcher knife across the counter. I knew it would come back to me at some point that my woman handed me a weapon to kill another person, but at the moment all it meant was I could kill him and come out alive.

He lunged for me, and I sank the knife deep in his gut. It only took a second, less than that. He froze, clutching me, gurgling. His eyes were open wide, like he couldn't believe I had bested him. I stared into his eyes-hadn't he talked about wanting to watch me die? Then I looked away. I wasn't sick like him. I wasn't that twisted.

It was over.