Page 114 of The Pakhan's Dangerous Secret
I'm faster. My shot catches him in the leg, and he goes down hard. I'm on him in seconds, my boot pressing against his chest as I aim my weapon at his head.
"This is for everyone you killed," I say quietly.
Then I pull the trigger.
The gunfire starts to die down as Roman's men realize they're losing. Some try to surrender, hands raised, weapons dropped. But there are no prisoners today. This isn't about justice or mercy. This is about eliminating a threat that's existed for too long.
Dmitri appears beside me, blood streaming from a cut above his eye. "The others?"
"Dead or dying." I scan the warehouse, counting bodies. "We got them all."
A sharp pain lances through my left arm, and I look down to see blood soaking through my sleeve. One of Roman's men must have caught me with a knife during the chaos. The wound isn't deep, just a long slice across my bicep that stings like hell.
"Boss!" one of my men calls out. "Matvey's hit."
Fuck. I move quickly to where Matvey is sitting against a crate, his hand pressed to his thigh. Blood seeps between his fingers,dark and steady. His face is pale, but his expression is calm and controlled.
"How bad?" I crouch beside him, already pulling off my belt to use as a tourniquet.
"Through and through." His voice is tight with pain. "I'll live."
I wrap the belt around his thigh, pulling it tight enough to slow the bleeding. "You'd better. Mariya will kill me if I let anything happen to you."
He manages a weak smile. "Can't have that."
Around us, my men are checking bodies, making sure there are no survivors. The warehouse floor is slick with blood, the air thick with smoke and the copper smell of death. It's brutal, ugly, and necessary.
Dmitri moves through the carnage, his expression grim as he confirms each kill. When he reaches Roman's body, he spits on it. "That's for my father, you piece of shit."
I stand, my arm throbbing but functional. We need to move fast now. Clean up the scene, dispose of the bodies, and make sure there's no evidence linking us to what happened here. The other Pakhans who helped us are already coordinating with their men, everyone working with practiced efficiency.
This isn't our first cleanup. It won't be our last. But it's the most important one.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out with my good hand and see a text from one of the scouts we positioned around the perimeter.All clear. No witnesses.
Relief floods through me. We did it. We actually fucking did it.
The families responsible for the massacre are dead. The conspiracy that's controlled the Bratva for twelve years is broken. And Mariya is safe.
That last thought makes my chest tight. I need to get home to her, need to see her face and feel her body against mine. I need to know that this is really over and we can finally move forward.
"Get Matvey to the doctor," I order one of my captains. "The rest of you, start the cleanup. I want this place spotless."
They move immediately, no questions asked. That's the kind of loyalty I've built over the years, the kind that makes operations like this possible.
I walk through the warehouse one last time, surveying the damage. Bodies are everywhere, blood pooling on concrete, and the acrid smell of gunpowder is still hanging in the air. It's a massacre, just like the one that started all of this.
But this time, it's justice.
Dmitri appears beside me, wiping blood from his face with his sleeve. "It's done."
"Yeah." I look at him, seeing the same exhaustion and relief I feel reflected in his gray eyes. "It's done."
We shake hands, a gesture that carries more weight than words. We've avenged our families, protected our futures, and eliminated a threat that's haunted us for decades.
The war is finally over.
I head for my SUV, my arm still bleeding, but the pain is distant compared to the satisfaction settling in my chest. Matvey isalready being loaded into another vehicle, his leg bandaged and his color better than it was a few minutes ago.
