Page 79 of Volatile

Three words with a promise of destruction and the evilest fucking smile I’ve ever witnessed.

He loves me and I’m holding this over his head.

Val doesn’t like being left out and puffs his chest out as he takes out his lighter; if he starts burning people alive again, I’m going to throw up. The smell is repugnant, and it always sticks in my hair.

All the Vory are closer and they split their fear between my brothers as the pyromaniac runs his thumb over the zippo roller while staring at Borya. I’m sure Vlad isn’t even breathing and his knuckles bleach white around the crystal tumbler as he tucks his other hand into his pocket where he keeps his knife.

Yeah, they both definitely love me, fucking soft asses.

Borya’s finger shakes more at the thought of pulling the trigger on me than it did when he was aiming at himself, and I don’t let my smile drop. I hold my arms out to stop my brothers being controlling dickheads and ruin my game. The muzzle loses pressure against my skin, and I push my head forward into it so he can’t be a chicken shit.

I don’t even blink as Borya shakily pulls the trigger with a tremor working up his arm. The droplets that were clinging to his brows slip through the silver hairs as the dull click vibrates through the tense air, and I drop the drunk act as I extend my voice for the audience.

“My turn,” I smile widely.

His jaw goes slack as I rip the revolver from his disgusting hand, and I add one word only for his ears.

“Chuski.”

The sound of the bullet travelling through the barrel isn’t as satisfying, neither are his dead eyes or how his body slams into the floor.

I ignore the heat emanating from the muzzle as I tuck it back into my waistband and take out my knife. I have to touch the fucker and he’s still warm as I carve a word into each of his cheeks. No one utters a sound or even breathes while I finish up my writing, then I stand back proud of my work, reading it aloud.

BPA? HAPO?A

A whistle leaves me, and it doesn’t stop as I turn to go back inside. If my brothers want to baby me they can clean up my mess. One down and one to go, my girl is never going to be around these fucks again. If Stasi can’t block them out because of some fucked-up sense of loyalty, she’ll bury them. As though the universe is aware of my plan and sides with me, her cunt of a mother is watching me. She’s pale as fuck and presses into the wall like it could hide her.

I don’t look at her when I walk past and my hand whips out when I’m beside her. My fingers are harsh as I grab her hair and drag her to the back of the building with her heels scraping against the floor. The begging on her lips is funny as fuck. She didn’t scream, it would have raised attention and she’s so obsessed with how she’s perceived that she can’t allow it even when I’m going to kill her. Instead, she blames the faultless as she cries, “She’s a liar, we didn’t do anything.”

Stasi isn’t a liar; she bends truths and projects people’s shit back to them. My girl is fucking perfection despite this twat giving birth to her.

I abruptly let her go once we’re out of sight from anyone else. She hits her knees beside the trash where she belongs, and I pull her head back to press my knife to her throat. As soon as the bloody blade touches the front of her neck my attention is pulled away.

“Vitali,” Stasi barks my name, and I look up, smiling at her full of pride. She’s opposite me, an apparition of divine beauty, but she hasn’t removed my suit jacket. The door is propped open as she keeps one foot inside the building, looking from me to her mother.

She’s frozen to the spot and I’m still beaming at her.

“Hi, sweetness, did they cut the cake yet?”

She shakes her head, and I don’t know if it’s an answer or exasperation. Her face falls when she looks at my hand and I follow her gaze to see the blood soaking my sleeve. Fucking prick, the splash back of Borya’s brain matter is on me.

But my girl slowly steps forward, and she doesn’t look away from my sleeve. Her feet move faster at the sight of blood on my cuffs rather than me obviously in the middle of killing her mother. She comes to my side and lifts my cuffs, trying to find a wound and there’s nothing but care in her voice.

“Did she do that?”

I’m so fucking gone for this woman it’s unbelievable.

But her mother ruins it by spitting out her toxic shit. “You’ve killed us all because you couldn’t keep your legs closed.”

I grab her mouth to keep it shut, my fingers pressing into her teeth, and I flick the tip of the blade between the only people who matter.

“Weare talking, you stupid whore.”

Stasi’s lips twitch in my periphery at the one word that was always used against her being directed at the cunt.

Looking back at my girl now that her mother has shut the fuck up, she sighs and exercises her control over me.

“She’s not worth it, let her go, Tali.”