The Deep End

Chapter 4

•Riot•

I press my forehead against the tiled wall of the shower, my forearms above me and fingers tangled in my hair. The water cascades down my back, washing Alexei's blood down the drain. I close my eyes and take deep inhales and slow exhales, trying to calm my racing thoughts.

After stitching Polina's wound, Leo, Luca and I went straight to the safe house where Alexei had Nolani and Giovanni met us there. Nolani was in labor, she gave birth to the twins in my backseat and one of them didn't make it. My fingers tighten into fists, contained rage making my skin itch. On my way back to my house I called Mattia who I had tailing Mikhail. After Mikhail found Alexei's body he left the safe house and Mattia lost him. I have no lead's as to where he would go. We know little about the Bratva because we've been enemies as long as I can remember but he can't be elusive forever.

I haven't checked on Polina yet, I promised to keep her alive for her secrets but honestly I thought once we found Nolani I'd go ahead and kill her but now I want nothing more than to wrap my fingers around Mikhail's throat. I need Polina. I can't kill her yet. Playing with her is the best way to keep me focused, it'll be the easiest way to find Mikhail too. I'll break her, bend her how I please and watch the life drain from her eyes as soon as I'm done with her.

With excitement at getting revenge for my nephews thrumming through my body I finish my shower, dry off and get dressed. Polina broke so easily, it would've been extremely unsatisfying if I hadn't been in a rush to find Nolani. Blood loss can make even the strongest of people weak. It only amps up the anxious feelings in your body that would've already been running pretty high from being caught inside the community.

Luca walks down the hall when my feet hit the landing at the bottom of the stairs. I texted him before my shower and told him to bring a soldier over to clean up Polina's bodily fluids.

"He's outside." Luca informs me.

"Take him to the basement after I go upstairs." I reply and he nods.

I don't want anyone knowing about my little pet. Giovanni would kill her without a second thought and it would ruin all the fun. Luca is the only one I can trust not to say anything.

I make my way to the basement to have a chat with my little Russian captive. She's not shackled to the wall anymore so she could easily be waiting for me on the other side of the door, ready to attack as soon as I open it. Luckily she no longer has any weapons and she's probably feeling pretty weak from losing blood so I doubt she could do much harm. Hopefully she's still alive and didn't lose too much blood before I stitched her up, it would be a pity to lose her before I got to watch her bleed under the blade of my knife.

I unlock the basement door and ease it open. When I get to the bottom of the stairs and round the corner I see she's still in the same spot I left her. She's curled up in a ball on the floor, her eyes closed, covered in blood and urine.

I walk over and nudge her with the toe of my shoe. "Wake up, topolina."

Her eyes pop open in alarm and she scrambles back against the concrete wall. Staring up at me in shock as if she's surprised she's still breathing, fear glimmering in her eyes. Her hands rise to her head where her stitches are and she winces.

"Yeah, you're not dead but you are covered in blood and urine. Would you like to shower?" I ask her.

As much as I enjoy the sight of her pale skin painted in the scarlet flecks of her blood I can't let her live in her own filth if I'm going to keep her alive, it makes my skin crawl. She blinks up at me, dark purple bruises paint her face. They go so well with the blue of her eyes. Who knew a spawn of Mikhail could be so appealing while broken and battered.