Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Killing the club off wouldn’t work. Not for me. I had a feeling I would need them down the road. Cutting off good men and potential alliances wasn’t good. Ivan knew that, and so did I. Even when my father beat me, I watched him work. He was a shrewd businessman and refused to take revenge if it would affect the Bratva.
The same goes here. Demon was one poisonous cog, but Rage would make a better prez. I just needed to remove the rusty cog.
“So, you know you wouldn’t win,” Rage said.
This made me smile. “They did say you were a dreamer. I would win. As you say, I can’t be killed.”
“Those are the scary stories people tell their kids to be afraid of you. I’m not afraid of you, Andrei. You’re a man just like me, and I have no interest in hearing your bullshit.”
He stands up, just as I knew he would, and I wait as he takes two steps. Picking up my whiskey, I mutter over the glass, “We have Lottie.”
I make sure to use the nickname he’s always used for her. The tension in his back rises. He’s pissed off. Good. So am I.
Rage turned and stormed back to me. His hand swiped the glass off the table. Cheap whiskey spilled to the floor.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Hasn’t Demon told you we’ve taken her? That’s a surprise because he does know she’s missing.”
Rage’s jaw clenched.
“I guess he sees her as collateral damage.” I tut. “I thought you liked her.” Not romantically. Rage cared about Lottie as if she was his own daughter.
“She is no part of the club. You have no right to take her.”
I drain the cheap-ass whiskey, swigging it back, hating the bitter taste as it slides down my throat. I’m not the kind of man who likes cheap things.
Standing up, I put my hands flat to the table, and glare right in his face. Both of us are hanging on by a thread, wanting to reach for our guns to take the other out, but we’re also prepared to see what happens next.
“We have taken her, and if you want to see her alive, then I suggest you come to a decision and fast. Demon doesn’t give a flying fuck about her. We’ve already reached out. Showed him what we know.”
“I don’t believe you. Demon wouldn’t allow that.”
Reaching into my pocket, I pull out the single photo we’d taken of Lottie, tied up, crying. We’d forced her to scream for this picture. Her face is scrunched up, and she looks very afraid. I almost feel sick about what we’d done, but it doesn’t last. This is part of the job. Lottie is another cog, one that will have a very good life, if this goes our way.
Throwing the picture on the table, I stand up. “When you realize what’s at stake, give me a call.”
This time I leave, but I don’t look back. Going straight to my car, I climb into the back and wait as Leo and Terrance climb into the main seats. My cell phone goes off and I see Ivan is calling me.
“How did it go?” Ivan asked.
“He’s got the picture. He’s loyal at the moment to Demon but he didn’t like that we have Lottie. He’ll call.”
“Good. So, now onto our next topic of business.”
“Nathan is getting close to Oleg. The fighting rings are proving to be his only way of building a reputation.” Which is already a violation of what Ivan wanted. The fighting rings had to go. Ivan hadn’t allowed them as they served as punishment, not as a way of earning money, at least not in Oleg’s territory.
Ivan had put in different rules for all his brigadiers. Some of us could have fighting rings, others could not. It was to stop certain competition between his men. Ivan had once said that he watched how other Bratvas fell. Men were pitted against each other, rather than rising as one.
“That is not what I was talking about. You and Adelaide need a honeymoon,” Ivan said.
This made me pause.
“There’s no time to take a honeymoon.”
“Every woman deserves to have one.”
“Now is not a good time.”
Ivan laughed. It sounded forced to me. “There is never any time, anywhere, to take a vacation, let alone a honeymoon. Don’t you realize our lives are all limited, Andrei? You need to learn to live a little.”
“I cannot leave. Not with Oleg or Ive, and especially not with Rage.”
“You can and you will. Rage made a quick decision and we’re going to make him pay for it. We will not be jumping through any Evil Savages MC hoops. Lottie is with Ive. At the moment she’s safe, but if they attack, her life will be over.”
This is news.
“They will attack my city,” I said.