Page 99 of The Darkness is Calling

“Because I don’t want to give her another trauma,” I explain, increasingly exhausted, feeling the blood trickle down my skin. “She already has a string of bad memories when it comes to her concerts.”

“And breaking her heart isn’t another trauma?” the youngest asks, baffled.

I exhale heavily.

He is right.

No matter what I had done, this situation could not have had a happy ending. But I knew I had to lose this battle.

I will not make the same mistake in the future.

I will win the war.

“We need to prepare,” I tell them, taking another drag from my cigarette. “Chaos will begin soon.”

“Before anything else, the doctor needs to see you,” Yar reminds me, still furious after everything that happened today.

I bring my hand to my shoulder, where the blood is sliding beneath the black fabric now soaked with crimson after the blows delivered by the woman of my soul. In the car, on the way home, I barely managed to press a bandage over the wound and change into a clean shirt, one meant to hide the injury I did not want Ekaterina to see.

Half an hour later, the doctor finishes stitching the wound in my office while I slowly drink from the glass of vodka Sasha poured for me.

Dima keeps me constantly updated on what is happening with the girls, who have arrived at the blonde’s place.

Her apartment is in a building downtown, but my men have spread throughout the area, enough to keep them safe.

“Try not to move it at least until the wound closes,” the doctor tells me, repeating the same tired line I have heard before, though even he knows I will ignore it. “And if you feel dizzy or the headache gets worse, call me. We’ll run more detailed tests immediately.”

I don’t bother answering him. My gaze is fixed on an empty point, where I see only her image.

Her pained face.

Her tears.

But most of all, her disappointment.

I disappointed her.

And that is exactly why I roared like a savage when I realized someone was standing in my way and I could no longer reach the woman waiting for me.

I close my eyes, and every moment of this evening returns, feeding the monsters inside me as they begin to gather for what I am about to do.

- Few hours ago

The platinum blonde approaches me with a fawning smile on her face, one I cannot stand. Lucky for her, those full lips make her suck cock like a pro, but otherwise, her mouth is good for nothing. I tested her once or twice about two years ago, but I got bored of her immediately and sent her to my men so she could relax them instead.

Tonight, she has more nerve and tries to touch me.

The voices demand I kill her because she dares put her hands on me. Only one woman is allowed to do that. And this blonde comes with her filthy hands to touch what does not belong to her. The simple fact that I belong to Ekaterina turns her into my limit. Into the only rule I respect. And this siliconed-up woman doesn’t even have the right to look at me.

“Move along,” I tell her coldly.

“Please, Pakhan... Don’t be cruel. I miss your thick cock. None of these soldiers have one as perfect as yours,” she purrs beside me.

Which makes me lean toward her and whisper in her ear with terrifying calm,

“I’m giving you three seconds to disappear from my side, or everyone will be dancing on the floor in your blood.”

Her face goes white, turning her into a wideeyed ghost, and then she quickly runs off through the crowd.