Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 107407 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107407 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
“Doll Killer?” Rodion enquires, folding his ankle over his knee.
“A psychopath is dropping bodies. Dresses them up like dolls. Quite fascinating actually,” Viktor muses.
“Maybe Adam is this Doll Killer?” I offer.
“Different M.O. but we looked into it, trust me.” Stanton glances over at Viktor. “Jeremiah Cunningham killed the woman. We think she was probably a runaway. Case closed.”
We should have anticipated this scenario. Lucky for us, we thought he’d buy his way out of it and had already put a plan into action.
“How much did he pay you to help make this go away?” Rodion asks, giving zero fucks who this man is.
Tugging up the waist of his slacks, Stanton grumbles, “That’s highly illegal and an insulting accusation.”
“We would have paid you more to charge him,” I tell him, flexing my hands. I need to hit something.
“It’s done. If another body was to show up under similar circumstances, then who’s to say if he’ll be able to sweep that one under the rug, but for now, he’s a free man.” Saluting Viktor, he adds, “Now, I came here as a courtesy but it’s my day off and I have a rabbit to chase.”
When the front door closes behind Stanton, I turn my attention to Viktor. “What’s his deal?”
“Trust me,” he says, getting to his feet and rounding his desk to close his office door. “You don’t want to know the answer to that question.”
“It can’t be any darker than the shit you’re into,” I tease. But his face remains stoic.
“Believe me, I’m a kitten compared to that man.” He retakes his position at his desk.
Intriguing. No one would ever call Viktor a kitten, his bloodlust is more shark like.
“So, we go to plan B with Adam,” Rodion announces, fiddling with his phone.
“Plan B?” Viktor enquires.
“Business. We show him that he may be Billy Big Balls in his small circle, but we’re titans and our reach far outstretches his.”
“Do you think he will actually come after you? He couldn't possibly know that the body in his trunk is connected to you two.”
“He suspects that Alyona is involved in some way,” I reply. “He’s been calling her.”
Resting his chin on his hand he says, “He won’t appreciate you attacking his businesses.”
“And we give a shit, why?” Rodion growls.
“You misunderstand. I believe he will back down if you demonstrate how dominant the Vetrov name is in the circles where he’s trying to assert his influence. I’ll make some calls.”
“Z,” Rodion says my name with an urgency that makes the hairs stand up all over my body. He holds up his phone. “A car just pulled up at our gate.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Rodion
When we arrive, the sleek black car is still stationary in front of the security gate. We leap out of our vehicle, eager to see who the fuck it is, because it’s not Alyona. She knows the code. The car’s back window slides down silently, revealing our father’s familiar green eyes, peering through the narrow opening.
“I don’t like to be kept waiting,” he says with a playful smirk on his lips. He glances toward the house before continuing, “The lovely Mrs. Potts wouldn’t let us inside. Is she the housekeeper?”
“Not exactly.”
We held off on telling him about Roza until we resolved the issue with Yuri. You never know who might overhear and spread such information over there, and we couldn’t take that risk.
“You didn't call to say when you were arriving,” Z states while entering the code on the keypad for the gate and then saying to me over his shoulder, “I told you we could trust Mrs. Potts.”
“I enjoy surprising you,” our father replies as he lowers his window further, and Ven nods from beside him. “I'll meet you at the house.” As the window rolls back up, his car drives through the gate.
Yeah, we have a surprise for you, too, Grandpa.
As we pull up to the house, his driver steps out and opens the door for our father and returns to the driver's seat.
“You’ve only been here a matter of weeks, and you’re already causing trouble?” our father remarks, unfolding his tall frame from the car and swiping a hand down the lapels of his overcoat.
I can feel irritation bubbling up inside me as I respond, “Well, we would have been here two years ago if you hadn’t insisted that Abram keep Alyona’s whereabouts a secret.”
His eyes flash wide in surprise for a fleeting moment, a glimmer of something like regret flickering across his face. Just then, Ven strides around the car, his expression tense and wary. Z, just as pissed as me, pulls back his fist with a swift motion, and crashes it squarely into Ven’s jaw. The impact sends Ven stumbling sideways, his back slamming against the car’s hood.
A deep growl rumbles from Ven’s chest, his mouth flexing open and shut while his hand checks to make sure nothing dislodged, “What the fuck was that for?”