Page 55 of Claimed By the Pakhan

“Either way, it reveals the gaps. And when you notice gaps, you become ambitious, wanting to fill them.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Every man who works for the Bratva joins, hoping they’ll rise the ranks and take the business for themselves one day.”

“Perhaps they just want the money.”

“Money loses its meaning when you start making enough, causing you to want other things.”

“Like power?”

“Power is a slippery slope. Just when you think you have it, it vanishes the very next day.”

I watch Emil carefully. “Does it matter if Ivan and Alexander are collaborating to take you down? Leading a Bratva sounds more like a burden.”

“Maybe, but being the leader is how I stay winning,” says Emil, his mouth curling up at the end. “We’ve had similar conversations before, and I always tell you the same thing.”

“Which is…?”

“The Bratva is how I protect you.”

“All you need is a knife and your bare fists. Do you really need to take it to the extreme by going around, scamming and killing people?”

“Yes,” says Emil. “Because it’s the only way you stay in control. You can be a good person and lose or become a villain and survive. And in a world full of selfishness and greed, I know which option I’m choosing.”

19

EMIL

Two days later,I’m finishing deep inside of Fia, floating through the clouds, when Luka rains on my parade with a text message.

LUKA: Get yourself down to the docks.

This is what happens when you relinquish control, even for a few seconds.

Karma calls your name, reminding you of its power.

I step on the gas, cruising through the forest until I’m arriving at the docks, swerving through the gates.

“Bylat,”I cuss, popping open the car door and seeing the mess myself. Luka wasn’t reacting when he said my dockyard looked like a bloodbath.

Dawn brings gray clouds, a dull weather forecast and new surprises. Thirty-two men lie dead across my dockyard, all of them stark naked, stripped of life and dignity all in one night.

I rub my face, walking through the graveyard as I take in the very bleak surroundings. Blood has been smeared across the floor,up the sides of nearby shipping containers, like the Kuzmins brought paintbrushes with them and made it their mission to cover the entire yard red.

Some of it is still fresh, dripping down shipping containers. I walk over, examining the blood as it drops onto my finger, wiping it away on my pants

“At least this place has some color for once,” I joke, stepping over the night shift crew.

The men are scattered all over the place, left to perish between columns of containers. Looking into the distance, I see a more slung over the bow of a ship that was in the process of being unloaded, like figureheads, there for symbolic value.

“Did you see any of the men?”

“No,” answers Luka, walking beside me. “I received a call from Ivan. He was on watch overnight.”

I flash Luka a glare, clenching my jaw. “Where is Ivan now?”

“He should be around somewhere.”