Page 138 of Emerald Vices

“Face it, Viktor. Try as you might, you will always be a loser. Second to your brother in everything.”

His hand tightens around my neck. “You stupid whore, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“No woman would ever choose you. Mila chose Leonty over you. Katya chose Shura over you?—"

His fingers leave my neck and he slams his hand over my mouth. His palms taste like sweat and ash and blood. “If Katya chose Shura, why the fuck did she come crawling back to me?”

“She was playing you, you moron. She only wanted to get information out of you!”

He releases me as though I’ve suddenly caught on fire. I try to get out from under his arms, but with a cry of rage, he flings me back against the wall.

My head bounces off the wood and stars dance in my eyes, but I refuse to drop. Grigory’s startled cry gives me the strength I need to stay standing.

Viktor, on the other hand, looks like he doesn’t hear a thing. “I’m going to kill you first,” he spews. “Then I’m going to hunt Katya down. I’ll save Mila for last. I want to savor her death.”

The gun is several feet away, shining in the shadows like a beacon of hope. But Viktor is far closer to Grigory than I am to the gun. I can’t risk it.

“Viktor!” a harsh voice snaps. His perfectly formed shadow creeps into the shed first. “What the fuck are you?—”

My eyes snap to Nikolai at the same time he notices me.

The grimace on his face twists into a sinister smile. “Well, well… What a surprise.”

His hair is matted with sweat and blood soaks the front of his shirt. It’s clear he’s abandoned the fight to cash in his little insurance policy.

I’d make a run for Grigory, but there’s a gun hanging casually in Nikolai’s grasp. Viktor stands between us, his body hunched inward like he wants to disappear.

“I see you came for your son,” Nikolai observes. “I thought we made ourselves clear: an heir for an heir.”

“You have no heir, Nikolai,” I goad.

He raises his eyebrows. “You’re not aware then? The boy Andrey took months ago—Misha?—”

“You’re referring to my son.”

Confusion flashes across his face, trailed by understanding. He suppresses his surprise in favor of a weak smile. “How touching. You’ve taken the boy in as your own?”

“He had no one else.”

“Except that he does,” Nikolai counters, striding further into the shed. He passes right by Viktor as though he doesn’t exist. “He has me. I’m his father.”

“We can’t choose who we’re born to, but Misha chose his family.” I raise my hand to my heart. “We are his parents.”

The gleam of my ring catches the miniscule light in the shed. No one can miss it. Nikolai stares at the diamond with his teeth bared.

“One big, happy family,” he snarls sarcastically. “Except for one thing: some loyalties can’t be bought. Not with money or with kindness.”

My arms prickle with goosebumps. “What are you trying to say?”

He licks his lips, his eyes narrowing. “My boy played his part well, but Misha’s loyalties have always been to me. He’s been fooling you from the start.”

58

ANDREY

“Where the fuck is Nikolai?” I roar through the pandemonium raging around us.

Leonty and Shura both reload as they back towards me, our tight circle drawing in even tighter as enemies press in around us. Leonty is bleeding and Shura is limping, but they look as feral as Remi.