Redemption (The Volkov Mafia Series Book 4) Read online

  My suspicions are confirmed; it’s definitely the guy Alek wants me to get to his cabin. I just hope he is ready because once that door shuts, I won’t have a choice but to obey. It’s been beaten into me to please anyone that wants my body.

  “Now follow me, my little pet. We have lots to do and so little time.”

  I simply nod. Everything inside me is screaming not to go with him, to shout for help. The noise of the string quartet is loud and no one would hear me anyway. He leads the way to his cabin on the next floor up. We walk through the stunning yacht, and I notice the sheer opulence of this magnificent vessel. Everything is pristine. He opens the door and gestures for me to step inside. I do. My body wants me to turn around, knee him in the balls and get the hell out of here, but I know that’s not an option. I have to play it cool. Alek will come.

  “You do scrub up very nice. You could almost pass for a woman, not some cheap two-bit whore.” He stalks towards me, gripping my hair and dragging me towards the huge bed in the centre of the cabin. He pushes me down on the bed and whips his belt off his trousers, bringing it down harshly across my thighs. The pain is excruciating, but one thing I do know about Mr Brown, I mean Jonny, is that showing fear feeds his need to have you submit, to take all of your power completely. He tugs me up by my hair and slams his mouth against mine. I fight the kiss, trying to push him away from me. I know it’s no use, but I don’t give up hope of Alek getting here. The thought of Jonny’s venomous body coming anywhere near me makes me feel nauseous. I hear the loud clang of the door being forced open.

  “GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF MY WOMAN!”

  I let out a huge breath, knowing that Alek has come for me.

  “Well hello, Alek. This is a turn up for the books, don’t you think?”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Alekzander

  I see red; his voice and the fucking hold he has on Emma guts me. I just want to rip him apart piece by piece.

  What does he mean by, ‘This is a turn up for the books’? He knew I was coming? He told me to be here. So the point of his outburst was a moot point really.

  I raise the gun in my hands, pointing it directly at him. He still hasn’t moved from the bed. You would think with a gun pointed at your fucking skull you would spring into action.

  Emma is laying with her legs spread wide open with a look of absolute relief on her face.

  “Fucking back away from her, Jonny, or you are going to feel this bullet a lot sooner than I wanted you to,” I demand.

  The only thing stopping me from pulling this trigger right here is the fact that Emma is underneath him, and she doesn’t need another man shot on top of her again.

  “You and what army, Alek? You are a sniveling piece of shit that owes me money. One shout from me, and my men will be in this room quicker than you can blink to take you out. Then I will get to fuck your girl again. From what I remember she was always very good, knew exactly what I wanted.”

  My hands shake at his words. What the hell is he on about? Before tonight he has never set eyes on Emma before. It’s all bullshit to get inside my head. To make me weak and drop my gun so that he can have the upper hand. That isn’t going to happen.

  “You think your BULLSHIT bothers me? I’m not who you think I am. I may have been weak once, but never again. This is what’s going to happen, and you best listen or I will start putting holes in your body.”

  How I keep my voice strong is beyond me, because all I can see is him between my woman’s legs and I fucking hate it. Hate that I have caused this. I didn’t think he would get down to it this quick with her. What happened to the art of seduction?

  “You think I’m talking bullshit? Did you ask her about Russia? Go on, let’s see how strong you are when you hear all of the details. I can still feel her cunt wrapped around me now.”

  I flash a look to Emma and she looks away from me. Shit, this isn’t what I need right now. Why didn’t she tell me she knew him when I told her what I needed her to do tonight? Unless she is working with my enemy to bring me down, that all of this has been staged since she got here.

  “Do you know him, Emma?” I ask her. I need to hear what she has to say for herself. I need her to tell me it’s not true, that the paranoia is all in my head. That she hasn’t sold me down the river to get what she wants. Is it revenge for taking out her lover in Russia, the man that forced her into this world?

  “Yes, he came to the compound I was in in Russia a couple of times. I was his treat when he would conclude business with Ivan.” She looks sick with every word she is saying to me. Disgusted with herself.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you knew him?” I have to know the reason. I have to know if I’m being played or if it’s an honest fuck up.

  “I didn’t know it was Jonny until I heard his voice tonight. He always went by Mr. Brown to us whores.”

  Her voice takes on a cold edge, like she is pissed off at me for asking. What did she expect me to think? I barge in here to kill him, then I find out that my girl already knows him, even fucked him on a couple of occasions before. It doesn’t bode well, does it?

  I don’t answer her. I don’t need to; I just give her a small nod.

  “Like I said, you need to back the fuck away. Fasten your pants or you’re going to find a bullet in your arse first.”

  I watch as he slowly leans up off the bed. Finally, we have some fucking progress. I watch him with rapt attention as he slowly pulls his pants up. Then he stands straighter, putting his hand up in the air in surrender.

  “Good, now the next thing you are going to do is tell me where you’re keeping those girls you plan on having as tonight’s main attraction.”

  “You can get fucked if you think that this little plan of yours is going to work. I’m not giving you anything. Those girls are going to make me even richer than I am already. You pull that trigger, Alek, you’d better make sure it counts, as my men will come barging in here as soon as they hear the shot.”

  I know he is right. I’m just hoping that Vlad has his part covered, because if he doesn’t then this isn’t going to end well for me. Right now though, I don’t care, as long as Emma stays safe and gets to walk away from all of this. She can start a new life. One that is free from all this fuckedupness that comes with being involved with the mafia.

  “Oh I’m not going to shoot you just yet, that would be too easy. I’m going to torture your ugly ass first. Emma, get dressed and leave, babe. I will come and find you when this maggot is dealt with.”

  She pulls her dress down whilst shuffling off the bed. Grabbing her clutch from the nightstand, she heads out of the room and closes the door quietly behind her. With her safely out of the way, it’s time to teach this prick a lesson. One he will end up begging me to finish.

  I walk slowly over to him. I know he thinks I have nothing up my sleeve, that I’m weak. Little does he know, I have been waiting for this moment since the night his goons set upon me. Revenge is a dish best served cold. Well this is going to be fucking ice cold.

  He starts backing up to the closet wall, waving his hands at me, begging me to stay back. It’s pathetic really, watching a grown man pleading for me to stop. I snigger as his back hits the wall. I reach into my back pocket with my free hand and grab the cable tie that I have there. I hold it up for him to see.

  “Turn around and put your hands behind your back, Jonny. I don’t want you trying anything funny.” He slowly turns around and places his hands behind his back. You know, for the big crime boss, he is really pitiful. He’s all talk and no fucking trousers. I suppose without the strong, hard men beside him he is weak and inadequate. This is normally the case with the big guns; they are quite capable of telling men what to do, but don’t follow through themselves. This is why they have so many men at their command and are never left unprotected. They are cowards that hide behind the strength of many but not themselves.

  Once he is secured nice and tight, I grip his arm and drag him towards the bathroom. I must admit,
having a nice flashy yacht does have its perks. The bathroom is attached to the main bedroom. I throw him into the bath. This is going to be fun. I look around and quickly take note of the layout, not wanting him to use anything that might give him a little advantage. The shower cubicle is over the other side of the room. The sink is next to the bath but there’s nothing he can use. I start to run the freezing cold water and watch as realisation hits him. He’s about to go for a swim. Let’s see how well he can hold his breath.

  “I told you I was going to make you talk one way or another. You can avoid all of this by just telling me what I need to know. If not, then we do it the hard way and I will make you sing like a fucking canary. Then I will end you in the slowest, most painful way I know how.”

  The sound of running water fills the room. His suit is starting to get wet as the cold water begins to cover his legs. He tries to thrash around to get out of the bath but it’s no use. I’m a lot bigger and stronger than him. Plus, it was one of the reasons I tied his hands. You try getting up with your hands tied. It is not easy.

  “You think I’m going to tell you anything? Any moment now that door is going to open and you’re going to be taken out like the scumbag you are.”

  After his little speech, he spits and just misses my face. I clench my fist and bring it down hard on his face. I hear the satisfying crunching sound as my fist meets his jaw. The blood starts dripping from his mouth. He spits it out into the bath along with one or two teeth. My smile is genuine. I can’t help the satisfaction I feel right now. That one was for Emma.

  “We have got all night. Do you think I would be so stupid to come here on my own? I have a sniper that is taking your men out one by one. I told you that you should take the easy way, but no, you had to be a stubborn bastard, one who thinks he can rule and make everyone else suffer.”

  I grip the back of his neck, squeezing him tightly as I push his head under the water. I hold him there whilst his body struggles against the pressure, trying to fight for his breath. After fifteen seconds or so, I pull him up slowly, just enough so he can’t straighten up.

  “You got anything you want to say to me, Jonny? Any little bit of information you think I might like to hear,” I ask him. He shakes his head in between the spluttering and coughing.

  So I do it again. This time he tries to put up more of a fight. He doesn’t win. I hold him there a little longer this time.

  Pulling him up again, I say, “You got anything to say this time?”

  He coughs for a moment or two, trying to catch a big breath. “Fuck you!” he says in a hoarse voice.

  I pull him up straight and bring my head hard and fast towards his. His head whips back and hits the tiled wall with a loud crack. This is useless. He isn’t going to give me anything like this, is he? I take the gun from my back, pressing it tightly against his kneecap. This is going to hurt like a motherfucker. I just hope Vlad is ready to start taking the fuckers down before I’m done with this dick.

  “Well I tried, but you wouldn’t listen. This is your last chance before I start popping caps into your body. You will definitely be left needing medical assistance.”

  He doesn’t even acknowledge what I’ve just said. I push the gun harder into his knee and gently squeeze the trigger. The sound ricochets off the walls in the tiny room. His screams are loud. The blood seeps from the wound, quickly turning the bath water red. He struggles to hold his own weight up. He is leaning heavily against the wall.

  “I think I’m going to give you a matching kneecap. I told you no one would come running to your aid, that I had it all planned out.” He just moans and whines. This is getting old now. I place the muzzle of the gun against his other knee and watch as he flinches.

  “Please. Please don’t. I will tell you what you want to know. Just don’t shoot me again.” His voice is full of fear. One can become addicted to the power they wield if they don’t have respect for themselves or their values. He is lucky that I’m in control of myself. But who knows how long for. One wrong word and I won’t think twice before I shoot him in the head, leaving him lifeless in the cold bath, letting him meet a fate that isn’t undeserved.

  “Then tell me what I want to know before I change my mind, or I can just shoot you and find out for myself. Either way I’m going to win.”

  I look at him. I mean, really look at him. His face is worn with years of stress and worry. His belly is more round with years of eating what he wants, when he wants it. The scar on his face that runs from the eye to his chin is jagged and angry. The women don’t see what they did ten years ago. They see a middle-aged man that’s got nothing worth loving other than his name and money. I don’t pity him because that would mean I feel something more than hatred for him. I don’t. I want to end him. I want to wipe the very thought of him from the face of the earth. Never to darken anyone’s doorway ever again.

  I hear a clatter from the bedroom. I whip myself around to face the door, waiting for them to enter. Shit, I thought Vlad had this covered. This isn’t what I need right now, but I will just have to deal with it. I have another clip in my belt, ready to reload if I need to. I hold my breath and wait. The bathroom door flies open and I’m about to shoot when I stop short at the sight of Emma.

  “What the fuck are you doing back here? I told you to wait with the other guests, that I would come and find you when I was done,” I say to her, lowering my gun.

  “I know what you said, but do you think I was just going to sit idly by whilst the man I love is either going to kill or going to get himself killed? Not a chance in fucking hell was that ever happening. I brought help.”

  I don’t hear anything after she says ‘the man I love’. The smile that must be on my face right now makes me feel like a right goof, like a kid at Christmas who got everything he wanted.

  “What are you grinning for?”

  Before I have a chance to reply, I see Damien and Malc in close step behind her. Guns drawn and at the ready.

  “What are you two doing here?” I demand.

  “We came because Emma told us what was going on. I don’t think you realise just how powerful Jonny is,” Damien says to me. All signs of smugness have gone, and his tone actually carries a hint of worry. I look back over to Jonny slumped down in the bath, the blood-red water covering him up to his waist. The white shirt of his tuxedo is red around the bottom. He looks defeated to me. I focus my attention back on Damien.

  “Well as you can see I have everything under control, so why don’t you go back to the party, Damien? I don’t need you here taking over and fucking up my chance of starting over,” I say. I’m not trying to be a dick to him, but he has to understand I need to stand on my own two feet. I won’t have him come in and save the day again, just to make me spend the rest of my life in debt to him, with cold looks and harsh words spoken to me whenever he feels like it. He needs to understand I’m the eldest Volkov brother, and it’s time I took my rightful place.

  “I know, that’s not what I’m doing. We are here at your command, Alekzander. Tell us what you need us to do, but first just hear me out. I don’t want you doing anything you may regret or anything you can’t come back from. If you think you can handle this, then tell us what you need us to do.” He sounds honest. I see no trace of deceit or hatred there, just a brother wanting to help another.

  “He has girls stashed on the boat somewhere. He was using them as the main attraction tonight, selling them off to the highest bidder. These girls need to be found and taken somewhere safe. I’m going to handle him and then meet you to clean up the rest of his crew. Those that won’t follow new leadership you can kill. I’m not risking anything,” I tell Damien.

  He looks on in awe, like he is finally seeing me, someone who he has always known I could be. It lifts my mood a little knowing that he has some faith in me not to fuck this up. Malc looks fucking sick after what I have just said. I can’t say I blame him, especially after everything that Cami has been through. He really does take things like thi
s to heart. He will do everything in his power to help these girls get back to their families. He couldn’t save Cami from her fate, but he sure as hell pays the price for that every day. I have never seen a man come back from being practically dead inside, to finding a way to help in his loss.

  “Damien,” I shout just as he starts to leave. “You do know what this means, don’t you?” I give a small smile as he nods at me and leaves the room. Malc follows closely behind him.

  I turn back to Jonny.

  “Your reign is done. It’s time for a new chapter,” I say to him as I finally pull the trigger. His body gives its final breath, slumping further down. It’s done. I’m free.

  I turn to face Emma. Wrapping her in my arms and pulling her close to me, I feel her crying into my chest.

  “I’m sorry you had to see that, baby,” I whisper. Her arms grip around me tighter. “Can you take me as I am? I’m far from perfect, and I have a long way to go, but I can’t breathe without you. I don’t want to breathe without you, Emma. I’m a mess, but one thing I do know is, I love you.”

  She looks up at me with tears in her eyes and a small smile on her face.

  “You’re my mess though.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Emma

  It’s true, he is my mess. The time has come for me to face this with him, not without him. He needs to know that he can lean on me for anything, that I won’t run and hide from him because I feel indebted to Damien and Faith.

  The thought of losing him really messed with my head tonight. Whilst I was at the front of the yacht with Faith and Cami, he was in this room with Jonny. God knows what could have happened to him.

  In the weeks since I last saw him he has changed so much. He has an air of determination and is much stronger now. His perception of what he needs to do has shifted. He has grown up into the man he was destined to be. He has fought to make things right. Slowly but surely it will pay off for him, and he will be able to sleep a little easier at night knowing that he did it for himself, but above all else, he did this for us. So that we can be together. He thinks he needed to be a better man for me, but he didn’t. I’m the one who needed to change for him. I realise that if I want him, I have to stand with him.