Page 27 of Kneel for Me

I leaned against the wall, crossing my arms over my chest as I watched Adrian prowl toward a wall with all sorts of equipment hanging from it—baseball bats, cordless saws, handsaws, pliers… He grabbed a simple knife before walking back to stand in front of Crane. I cocked my head to the side, trying to figure him out. A knife was an interesting choice of a weapon compared to all the other options he had.

“Alright, Crane. We’re going to play a little game,” Adrian said, all emotion bleeding from his voice. My dick thickened so fucking fast, if I hadn’t been leaning against the wall, I’d have fallen on my ass for sure.Christ, I had not expected Adrian to sound so goddamnhotwhen he let his humanity slip away.

“A game?” Crane rasped.

“Mhm,” Adrian hummed, twirling the knife between his fingers. “I’m going to ask you a question. If you tell me the truth, I won’t make you bleedtoobadly. If you beat around the bush, I’ll make it hurt. And if you absolutely refuse to answer, I’ll start cutting off appendages.”

“What—what the fuck,” Crane spluttered. “That’s not even fair!”

“It’s not?” Adrian asked. I moved to the other wall so I could see my man’s face. Just as I thought, it was flat. There wasnothingin his eyes as he stared down at Crane. “I think it’s plenty fair, Crane. You did, after all, make an attempt on James’s life. I don’t give a fuck that you did it to save your mommy either, Crane. You had two choices, and you made the wrong fucking one. So now, we playmygame, and we play it bymyrules. Got it?”

Crane stared at him like he was crazy. When Adrian’s eyes widened and his brows arched with impatience, Crane began to nod. “Okay,” he choked out.

“Not so hard, was it?” Adrian taunted. “Now, let’s see. Who threatened your mother’s life if you didn’t comply with what they wanted?”

“Inessa’s uncle,” he choked out. “Boris.”

He gritted his teeth when Adrian nicked his neck. But Adrian had kept his word to not make him bleed too badly. “Okay. Where did he meet up with you at?”

Crane shook his head. “He didn’t. He called me on my burner phone.” Adrian arched a brow—his only show of surprise. Even I was surprised. No one but family should know those numbers, and they were untraceable. How the fuck had Boris gotten his burner number?

“That’s interesting,” Adrian murmured, nicking the other side of his neck. Crane was already sweating. Fucking pussy. “Tell me—how did he get that number?”

“I don’t know,” Crane rushed out. “I swear I don’t. When I asked, he said he just had his connections.”

“You’re doing well,” Adrian praised as he put a little slice in Crane’s cheek. Crane hissed as sweat dripped into the wound. “I assumed you received some form of payment for the job you did?”

Crane shook his head. “No. He wouldn’t pay until he was certain James was dead. He’s waiting on some kind of news.”

A nick in his other cheek had him hissing again. “Was his call traceable?” Adrian asked, patting the young man’s pockets. He slipped out a flip phone a moment later and tossed it to me. Immediately, I pulled my own phone out to call Igor, knowing what Adrian wanted without him having to say a word to me.

“If it is, I couldn’t figure it out. He has it all scrambled.”

Crane clenched his jaw when Adrian sliced his eyebrow. Blood leaked from the small wound, mixing with the sweat staining his skin. Igor answered on the third ring, and I put my focus on the phone call. “I’ve got a phone number I need you to trace,” I told him before he could greet me with some smart-ass remark like he was known for doing.

“Hit me,” he said.

I read the phone number off to him. He made a small noise of affirmative. “I’ll reach out once I have something—if anything.” Then, he was gone. Slipping both phones into my pockets, I focused back on Adrian and Crane. Adrian was truly in his element here, and it was a fucking beautiful thing to witness.

“Did he ever mention working with someone else?” Adrian asked Crane.

“No,” Crane gritted. “Just said he needed the Jacksons wiped out. Said it would weaken Ivan enough so he could take what rightfully belonged to him.”

I barked out a laugh as I pushed off the wall. “He’s sorely mistaken.Allof Russia is under my fucking control. The government doesn’t even make a move without me approving it first, Mr. Westbrooke.” I grabbed the knife from Adrian. “We done here? I doubt he knows anything else useful. He was just a pawn Boris and Ninel used in their scheme.”

Adrian nodded. “We’re done.”

Crane’s eyes widened in horror. “My mother?—”

“Not my concern,” I told him with a shrug as I crouched in front of him. “She shouldn’t have bred a fuckingpredatel,” I spat, calling him a traitor. I didn’t normally speak in my native tongue, but sometimes, the goddamn English language just didn’t do it for me.

“Wait, please?—”

I shoved the knife into his throat, a cold smile pulling at my lips as his blood leaked over my skin. When the life left his eyes, I straightened and turned to face Adrian. He stepped forward and gripped my hips, pressing his mouth to mine. With a snarl, I wrapped my bloody hand around his throat and forced my tongue down his throat. He moaned, softening for me immediately, letting me control him.

“You did so fucking well for me,kotik,” I growled into his mouth. “When we have time, I’ll reward you for it.”

He opened his eyes, locking them on mine. Then, surprising me, he dropped to his knees and began to work open the fly on my slacks. I moaned and slid my fingers into his hair. Who the fuck was I to deny him if he wantedthisto be his reward?

---