Stolen by the Mob Boss : A Russian Mafia Romance (Bratva Hitman), Nicole Fox [best ebook reader for surface pro .txt] 📗

Lucy struggles against his grip and he presses the gun harder to her forehead.

“Who told you about that?” I demand. When he doesn’t respond, I repeat myself. “Who fucking told you about that?”

“No one told me about it,” he grins. His teeth practically shine, shark-like in the LED lights overhead.

“Only Mr. X knew about that. So, either he told you, or—”

“You’re almost there, Roman. Think a little harder. Put the puzzle pieces together.”

Finally, it clicks, and when it does, I see Lucy realize it at the exact same moment.

Momentarily, the world spins with the truth, “You son of a—”

“Finally,” Konstantin muses. “You’re not as smart as I hoped. Yes, Roman. I know about your uncles because I know everything. I am Mr. X. Surprised yet?”

Chapter Nineteen

Lucy

I can’t breathe. I can’t move. The silence that follows Konstantin’s confession is oppressive, and it’s hard to even think straight. None of this makes sense. Konstantin has been Mr. X this whole time. Every mission Roman worked was to help the man that killed my family. Not only has his negligence taken the lives of countless people, but he’s been an active role in having others killed.

I can see the confusion on Roman’s face as he tries to process this. His hand shakes and my heart sinks. I want to run to him, to throw my arms around him and try my hardest to help him figure this all out, but I can’t. The cold metal of Konstantin’s gun keeps me still.

“You’re full of shit,” Roman says.

Amused, Konstantin says, “Am I, though?” He clears his throat, and the moment he speaks again, his voice is deeper, tinged with a weirdly ambiguous accent. “Your next assignment is to take out Abram Konstantin.” It’s spooky; he truly sounds like a different person, nothing like the snake-oil sleaze that normally came out when he spoke.

Recognition settles on Roman’s face. He must know that voice. He’s probably talked to that person countless times. Roman puts a second hand on his gun, steadying his shot.

“I’m disappointed that you didn’t figure it out sooner,” Konstantin remarks. “I worried that you would start to add up all of the people and how they had connections to me. People that owed me money, people that pissed me off. I thought, surely, you would start to see a pattern. That’s why I threw in a few random men. Men with no immediate connections to me, hardly more than slight annoyances. It’s sad to see that they died for nothing, because you were too stupid to even consider the possibility that Mr. X and I might be one and the same.”

He’s twisted. There’s no way to put it. I thought, just maybe, there was a bit of apathy that came from his privilege. That the reason he didn’t care about the people who died on his properties was because he didn’t know them. He didn’t play an active role in their death and could rationalize that he wasn’t technically responsible. But no. He’s fucking sick. He took pleasure in sending innocent men to their death. He blackmailed Roman for years, used him to kill anyone he found to be a problem. He got away with it all, just because of the money and power he had.

“Roman, that pouting expression is unbecoming,” he chuckles, tightening his grip around me.

“Fuck you,” Roman spits.

“That’s no way to talk to your boss,” he says flippantly. “But I guess I understand. You’re upset that you lost. You’re mad that you were bested. Anyone would be cross. I get that. But I would also like to add that when I finish with you, Lucy and I are going to have a lot of fun. Aren’t we, little mouse?”

His free arm slips from around my neck and travels down my chest, over my breast, and down to my hip. The feeling makes me cringe, and I try my hardest not to jerk away from him. The gun is still pressed to my temple.

“Get your fucking hands off her!” Roman shouts, taking a step closer.

Konstantin’s reaction is immediate. He tugs me towards him and presses the gun even harder against my head. “Take one more goddamn step and I’ll blow this bitch’s brains out. Do you fucking understand me?”

I can see the rage on Roman’s face and it kills me to know that I can’t do anything. He can’t do anything. He’s at the mercy of this psychopath, as powerless as I am, even with his weapon.

“Put your gun on the floor,” Konstantin orders. Roman hesitates. Konstantin raises his hand and strikes me with the butt of the gun.

“You fucker,” Roman growls.

I feel dizzy for a moment, and a trickle of blood works its way down my cheek from my forehead. I let out a long groan and try to stay still, but everything feels off-kilter. “You asshole,” I manage to get out.

Konstantin laughs in my ear. “Sorry, little mouse. I like to play rough.” He turns his attention back to Roman. “Put your fucking gun on the ground now.”

“Roman, don’t,” I say, surprising myself. “Don’t do it, okay? Just kill him. I don’t care if he kills me. Just stop him.”

There’s a twist of pain on Roman’s face, and I feel myself fall apart all over again. I can’t imagine what’s going on his head. The internal conflict, whether he should stop a man who’s made it so obvious that he has no respect for human life or give up and let himself die for me.

“Yes, Roman,” Konstantin muses. “Take me out. You can see us both die that way.”

“Lucy,” he says longingly.

“Don’t you dare, Roman,” I cry. “I don’t want to be alive if it means he has me. He’s always had me. But you can free me. You can free us both.”

This is the only way to keep him from hurting anyone else. I’ve spent my entire life planning how to hurt him. He’s already taken so much from me, and I don’t see a way