Cruel Paradise - A Mafia Romance Chapter 179

“Listen, I didn’t know the bastard was gonna get so… so fucking scary once I agreed to everything,” Ben stammers. “I didn’t exactly know what his plan was.”

“But you agreed to it anyway?”

“I was upset!”

It takes all my self-control not to wring his freaking neck. But there’s a little voice in the back of my head that’s saying, Use him. You can kill him later.

“Ben, you can still make this right. You can still try to redeem yourself in your children’s eyes.”

He swivels toward me in alarm. “Are you insane? He would literally fuckin’ gut me.”

I grit my teeth. “Maybe that’s the risk you’ll have to take to make sure your kids are gonna be alright.”

“I’m not going up against that psychopath out there. He’s got a gun. And he’s got armed men everywhere.” He clears his throat miserably. “I’m just one man.”

“One man… who knows this house. Who knows where we are. Maybe you can just—”

“I’m not getting involved, Emma.”

“I’ve got news for you, Ben: you already are involved.” I push myself off the table and spin around to face him. “And here’s another reality check for you: if Adrik doesn’t kill you, Ruslan definitely fucking will.”

“So I’m dead either way?”

“You made your own bed.”

His eyes glaze over for a moment. I’d like to think it’s reality hitting him at last, but this is Ben we’re talking about. Who the hell knows what’s going on in that self-absorbed mind of his? I’m certainly not gonna waste my time trying to decipher him. I’ve long since stopped trying to hope he’ll change.

“Just fucking go, Ben. You don’t deserve to breathe the same air as those children.”

He doesn’t argue. Just leaves the room without a word. Fuck you, I want to scream, but the words are lodged in my throat, weighed down by fear.

That was our last option walking out the door.

What am I going to do now?

57

RUSLAN

I don’t waste any time. We don’t even brake the caravan as we approach.

“Faster,” I bark into the radio linking me to the rest of the units fanning out across the road. “I don’t want to give this mudak a single breath to contemplate what’s about to happen to him.”

The explosives team leads the way, lobbing bombs around the perimeter to take out any circulating patrols.

Shit goes boom. The world shakes.

No points will be awarded for subtlety today.

As soon as we’re in range, the full might of the Oryolov Bratva comes pouring out of vehicles with me at the front. Kirill is at my side the entire time. Mikael, Arkady, and Nikolai fan out alongside me, each taking a contingent of men with them.

We’ve got the house surrounded in no time. Adrik has men, but they’re nowhere near enough to stop the shitstorm I’ve brought with me. Every motherfucker who sticks so much as a toe out gets mowed down instantly.

For a few chaotic minutes, bullets scythe through the air, screaming as they bring death down on the heads of the bastards who took my family.

Then the deluge dies down. Only a few sporadic reports of gunfire here and there as Adrik’s men retreat up the stairs. That means Adrik is up there.

And where Adrik is…

That’s where I’ll find my family.

I aim carefully, taking out two of the men on the staircase. Seeing their comrades die seems to send a message to the remaining fighters.

They’re next.

“We’ll stand down!” one screams. “We’ll stand down. Just don’t shoot.”

To show me he means it, he drops his gun and puts his hands in the air. The three other men beside him on the staircase seem skeptical as they watch him descend the staircase.

“I surrender,” he repeats.

“Good. Then I’ll spare your life.” I turn to the remaining three men on the staircase. “What about you three?”

There’s a moment of hesitation before two of the three men drop their weapons and come down behind the first. Maybe this will be easier than I thought it would be.

I glare at the last man standing. “Are you prepared to die for your leader?”

He rises to his feet, his eyes looking over the three men who just surrendered their weapons. Don’t say it, you stupid mudak. Don’t you say—

“I’m no fuckin’ coward.”

He raises his gun fast. But I’m faster. I shoot him right in the face and he stumbles back, painting the wall with his blood.

“No, but you are a fucking idiot.” I turn to the remaining three men. “And as for you, I appreciate your cooperation. But I learned a long time ago: never accept a surrender that’s been given after the battle is lost.”

I don’t have to raise my gun this time. From behind them, Mikael, Kirill, and Arkady take aim and shoot the poor bastards in the backs of their heads. In unison, all three collapse at my feet and I glower at their bodies with disgust.

“My uncle taught me that,” I add quietly.

I don’t have long to admire the blood of my enemies before a terrified little girl’s scream sends panic surging in my veins.

Reagan.

I bound up the staircase three steps at a time. One last cluster of Adrik’s men stands at the ready outside the final room at the end of the corridor. I don’t bother breaking stride—I just mow them all down with ruthless efficiency. Truth be told, they were dead long before I arrived.

They just didn’t know it yet.

I leap over the pile of still-warm bodies. It takes only one strong kick to send the door they were guarding flying off its hinges. I hear a collection of gasps and screams but it’s all music to my ears.

Emma. Reagan. Caroline. Josh.

They’re all here, crowded behind the mattress flipped on its side.

But someone else is in here, too.

Adrik is standing in the middle of the room, his face twisted with a scowl. He makes a show of waving his gun in the air.

“Cut the shit, Adrik,” I snarl. “It’s over. You’ve got nothing left. No men, no resources. And no more Daddy to bail you out.”

Adrik’s eyes narrow. “You killed him.”

“No, you killed him. By pulling this shit. Put down the gun and be sensible.”

“Sensible?” he repeats furiously. “Sensible?! Being ‘sensible’ is what forced my father into a life of servitude.”

My eyes roll with contempt. “He lived in a seven-bedroom penthouse in New York City. He ate caviar for breakfast and traveled in a private jet all around the world. If it was a life of servitude he had, most men alive would slaughter everyone they know for just one day of it.”

Adrik is unconvinced. “He should have been the pahkan.”

“What you’re saying is that you want to be pahkan.”

He turns his weapon to the side, pointing it at Emma and the kids. I freeze immediately. They all do. Reagan is buried under Emma’s arm while Caroline is hiding behind her back. Josh is the only one who’s not ducking behind the bed, despite Emma’s best efforts to pull him down beside her.

Adrik shakes his head. “You always did think you were better than me.”

“Prove me wrong then,” I say. “Stop waving a gun at children. Fight me like a man and take what you think you deserve.”