Page 14 of Bratva's Vow
The clipboard guy surged to his feet and ran, skidding on the slick floor, slipping and righting himself. He made it as far as the hallway before Viktor slammed him against the wall with a grunt, dragging him back by the collar.
“No, please!” the man shrieked. “Please, I didn’t know! I swear to god, I didn’t know what he was going to do!”
He kicked and thrashed, his clipboard clattering to the ground, papers spilling. “He said it was just to scare someone! I didn’t think he’d really—he said it wasn’t loaded.He said he just needed access. Please, I swear, I didn’t know!”
The sound grated against my skull. His panicked, blubbering voice. The high, nasal desperation.
I walked over calmly, slowly. The workers pressed themselves against the walls, a couple of them turning their faces away. The man was still crying, loud, wet sobs, words tumbling over each other in a useless flood.
“I didn’t mean to—I thought it was just a prank! He said no one would get hurt?—”
Crack.
My fist drove into his face so fast he didn’t even get to flinch. His head snapped to the side, a tooth flying out, blood splashing across the floor.
He made a broken, whimpering sound.
Crack.
Another punch. His nose crunched audibly under my knuckles. His body went slack in Viktor’s grip.
“Take him.” I shook my hand to take the sting out. “You know where. Keep him alive.”
Viktor nodded and hauled the man’s unconscious body toward the back, leaving a smeared red trail where his shoes dragged across the tile.
I turned back to the others, every inch of me thrumming with the need for more blood, more justice, more something to offset the image in my head of what could have happened. I exhaled slowly, letting the rage settle into its usual, manageable boil.
I faced the remaining workers, calm again.
“If any of you are still confused about how serious this is,” I said quietly, “let me make it clear. A bullet was fired in this building. Not a prop. Not a laser. A real bullet meant to kill me. But more importantly, it could have killed the one person I care about more than anyone.”
Silence settled over the room, heavy and charged. From the facial expressions they understood where I was going.
“You may not understand who I am. Some of you may think you’ve met dangerous men before. Gangsters. Thugs. Thieves. But I am not one of them.”
I took a step forward, and they shrank back instinctively.
“I am not just a man with money or power. I am a Bratva Pakhan, and there is no corner of this country where my reach does not extend. If I want someone found, they are found. If I want someone gone, they vanish.”
Casey’s hand flew to her mouth, her eyes wide.
“I do not harm the innocent. You do not need to fear me if you return to your lives and pretend this day never happened. If you don’t get involved in my business, I will never set foot in this building again.”
My voice was soft now, almost conversational.
“But if you so much as whisper about what happened here, if a single word reaches the wrong ear, if I get picked up by the police, even for a second, none of you will live long enough to regret it.”
I gave them a thin, cold smile.
“Not because I’ll send someone. But because they’ll already be watching. And they’ll be very eager to clean up the mess.”
Casey was shaking. I almost felt bad for her. Almost. But men who were afraid kept their mouths shut. Those who tried to be brave? I buried them.
Bravery wasn’t worth the cost. Some learned only too late that the philosophy of truth sounded noble until your tongue was in a box and your body nowhere to be found.
I looked at each of them, then exhaled, my shoulders settling a little.
“This was supposed to be a nice, relaxing afternoon.” I sighed. “A chance to have fun. To give the man I love a goodmemory. Instead, I have to go home and lie to him about why our day ended early. Because a coworker of yours decided to entertain a bit of fun at the expense of my life.”
