Page 7 of Seductive Sadist
Maybe karma is coming back to bitemein the ass.
Chapter2
Zak
PRESENT DAY
Asharp pang assaults my chest. I walk down the hallway, picking up speed. Gunshots explode, petrified screams echo in the massive front hall. Wedding guests dive to the floor, the polished marble tile now streaked with blood of the people who couldn’t get out of the line of fire fast enough.
Just like Dad and Dima.
I tug at the collar of my black dress shirt, the fabric choking me harder and harder as the seconds pass. The top button is open because I’m so claustrophobic that I can’t have anything too close to my throat, but still it chokes me, just like the memories of that day.
Val’s almost wedding.
Of course my jackass clients had to pick The Surf Club for this meeting tonight. Like I need more stress right now.
A low din of voices is like white noise between my ears. I walk toward the dining room, my mind plagued with what-ifs. It’s been a few years since Val disappeared from here on the day of her wedding and even though she’s made contact with me a few times since, we both know she can never come back for good.
She made that choice when she agreed to marry Dmitri Stepanov.
Since my dad was really good at keeping secrets, none of us knew just how much of a snake Stepanov was and why the fuck Dad was handing Val over on a silver platter.
I could have stopped it all, but by the time I connected all the dots, it was too late. She was gone.
Now Mom is gone, too. And for all we know, the future of our family rests in a safety deposit box somewhere in the Bahamas.
I stand outside the dining room for a second, my hand on the brass door handle.
What I did to connect the dots around Val’s mysterious disappearance… fuck. I’m convinced it’s why my life crumbled to ashes around me. Except there’s no phoenix in this story.
Just me in the center of my own personal hell with a bum leg and a hell of a lot of rage.
In the few years since Val left, my family has been chasing enemies down to figure out where she went and why. Turns out it was way bigger than Stepanov. And the list of enemies just keeps getting longer and longer.
Seems like someone is always out to get us, and when we snuff out one threat, there are five more in its place, thirsty for revenge and ready to attack.
So instead of living out my life as a rich as sin pro football player, I’ve become an expert in gun trafficking, money laundering, and killing anyone who tries to fuck with my family.
All because of the decisions I made that one night.
One night that changed the entire trajectory of my fucking life.
“Can I help you, sir?”
I twist around to see a tall, lanky waiter lift an eyebrow at me. “You were staring so hard at that door, I was pretty sure you were trying to open it with your mind.”
“Looks like The Force isn’t working for me tonight.” I yank it open with a grimace. Hesitating even for a second can get you killed. And the guys waiting for me in the dining room are like vultures circling, waiting for their prey to appear so they can sink their teeth into it.
They stand up when they see me approach. After some glad-handing, we sit.
“Zak, we’re really happy you were able to meet us tonight.” One of the men, Igor Resnick, sits back in his chair and lifts a glass full of clear liquid to his lips. He takes a long gulp and hails over the waiter who places a glass in front of me.
I wait for him to continue. I may not be the boss of my family, but as my brother Luka’s representative, I command respect, even at the age of twenty-two.
“We’re very interested in building out one of the properties we’ve just bought on Pine Island.” Another guy jumps in and Igor holds his hand out in front of him. “And we want to have ZIM Construction handle the job.”
“I apologize for my brother Vasily’s eagerness,” Igor says with a trace of an accent. “He needs to learn control.”