Merciless Union by Faith Summers

9

Lucca

We spent the night searching.

When the sun rose as tired as I was, all I did was acknowledge a new day, but I never stopped.

The day was spent going from Aiden’s office to the streets.

Night came again, and my hands were still empty.

The worse thing about it was this was day thirteen.

The same thing happens the next day.

By nightfall, I decided to check in with my staff at the garage. As I was leaving, my phone rang.

Seeing it was Pasha made my skin crawl.

On the second ring, I answer, eager to know why he was calling.

“Hello, Pasha,” I say.

“Hi. Any news?”

“Nothing yet.”

“Shame that. The Pakhan and I need you to come to the meeting center. We have something we need to discuss with you. It’s a matter of urgency, so we need you to come straight away.”

What could this be now?“Of course. I’m on my way.”

I do a U-turn with my car and head back to the meeting center.

When I get there and walk in the same way I walked in two nights before, I’m the one who is shocked this time—shocked to see all the brethren here, including Damien, who looks just as confused as I am.

We never meet twice in any week. Only in emergencies.

Grigori stares at me head-on, his face riddled with fury, while Pasha looks smug as fuck.

I was about to take my seat, but he holds up a hand and stops me.

“I want you to stand for this. If that’s okay,” Pasha says.

“What’s going on?” I never allow anyone to make me look weak.

“Last night, you mentioned traitors,” Grigori states. “That is correct, yes?”

“Yes, Pakhan.”

He looks at Pasha, who motions to the door to his left.

In comes Radomir, his head Boyevik, and another security guard. Radomir is carrying a box on a tray.

He sets it down before Pasha, who nods for him to leave.

Suspense is killing me as much as the pain in my abdomen.

My question of what is going on is answered when Pasha lifts the box, and everything inside me stills when I see Ivy’s head on the tray.

A rush of whispers echo across the room at the gruesome sight, but I can’t look away from her. I can’t look away from her eyes which stare at me. Her cold dead eyes that once pleaded with me to have mercy on her child look at me now, and once again, the human part of me I thought died long ago awakens.

They found her and killed her.

How?

I was so focused on Raphael and Jon that I never remembered I had to watch my back.

It wasn’t that. It was more the case of thinking they’d find out so soon.

“Is this not the woman you told me you killed two weeks ago?” Grigori demands with his hands balled into tight fists.

“Yes, Pakhan. I can explain. What happened is not what you think.”

“But it would appear we have more than one traitor in our midst,” Pasha states with that fucking smug expression.

“There must be some mistake,” Damien shouts from the other end of the table.

I look at him and hold up my hand. “Don’t,” I warn, and bewilderment washes over his face.

This is bad. A fucking disaster that couldn’t have happened at a worse time. If they think he helped me, he’s dead too.

“No, Damien. If I were you, I wouldn’t want to incriminate myself,” Pasha states.

I glare at Pasha, and I find I can no longer hold my rage. “You bastard. You did this.”

“Me?” Pasha points to himself.

I turn my focus to Grigori, who looks like he’s lost every faith in me.

“Pakhan, I lied because Pasha was raping her little girl. He was paying Beleric to let him have her. That’s why she killed him. She shot Beleric ten times in his head. That is a sign of rage.”

Grigori looks at Pasha, who shakes his head.

“You really are scum, Lucca,” Pasha sneers. “That’s what this woman told you, and you believed her? About me.”

“Motherfucker.” In two seconds, I’m across the table with my gun at his throat and him against the wall.

I don’t even know how I managed to move so fucking fast, but I did.

“You did it. You did the same thing to my wife. Bastard.”

“Your wife? What the hell are you talking about? I met your wife weeks ago at the party. That was the first time I ever saw her.”

He’s fucking lying, and he knows I can tell. There’s a glint in his fucking eyes that tells me just that.

The clicking sound of guns behind me is the only thing that stops me from ending him.

A quick glance to my left and right reveals that every man except Damien has their gun drawn and held at me.

I’m not afraid of death. I’m not afraid to die here, and I wouldn’t go down without blowing Pasha’s head off first.

The only reason I can’t die here is Aria.

Who will save her if I die tonight?

If I knew she’d be safe with Raphael, I would allow them to kill me right now.

Since I know no such thing, I have to live.

“You must have forgotten your place, Merciless,” Pasha taunts.

“How did you find Ivy?”

“That’s none of your concern. Back off, Lucca. Stand up straight. At least that way, you get to die with some dignity.” He sneers. “Pakhan, I recommend death for this man and his family—his wife.”

I straighten up and wipe the smile off his fucking face when I shoot the chandelier above us. It creates the diversion I need to run.

Bullets fly my way as I head back toward the door, and the men come after me, shooting. I don’t, however, shoot back.

I glance at Damien, who is in the corner, and he mouths the word ‘run’ to me as the host of men come for me.

I run, and as I burst through the door, I don’t know when I’ll see him again. If ever.

I leap down to the next two flights of stairs, giving myself at least two minutes on the out-of-shape men who would never be able to catch up with me.

By the time I get downstairs, my own men are waiting for me, except they’re no longer mine.

Ten of them stand by the door, Alexei at the head. All have their guns raised.

I stare at Alexei, though, and wonder what he’s really going to do.

Only days ago, he told me he would never betray me. But would he uphold that promise against the entire Bratva?

I stop in my tracks and look from one to the next. I had a team of twenty men, and these are the only ten who were found to be loyal to me.

When Alexei turns and shoots the glass, and the rest of my men do the same, so I can jump through the window, I thank God and all his angels.

“Go,” Alexei says, and I do.

I go and run back to my car. When I tear out of the parking lot, it’s with a heavy heart.

Things just got so much worse for me, and now I have no way in hell to find Aria.

I can’t even call Aiden.

He’s the Pakhan of the Voirik. Helping me would mean an all-out war between the brotherhoods.

I’m on my own.

* * *

I managed to stay hidden by heading to the creek.

The same creek I used to play at when I was a boy. People like Jon could possibly look for me here, but I’m hoping he won’t since I haven’t been down these parts in years.

It’s also big enough to get lost in, so it would take him a long time to find me.

I ditched my phone and my car several miles away to throw anyone following me off my scent, then head here by foot.

I took what supplies I could from my car, which was the bare minimum I always keep in the trunk. It’s just a gun, a bottle of water, a protein bar, and some first aid stuff. That’s all I need to survive.

As to what I’m actually doing, I don’t know.

I found a cave by the river half an hour ago and got settled in. My body aches like a bitch, and I actually feel sick.

Of course, I would. A normal person would still be in the hospital recovering.

In my case, the men would have killed me in the hospital bed.

Now that I’ve stopped running, I have a moment to think.

How did Pasha find out about Ivy?

He had her killed. I’ve seen some fucked up shit in my life but seeing her head got me in a way I can’t describe.

How did he get to her, and what happened to her little girl?

Did Pasha get her too?

I grit my teeth. Why am I even asking myself that? As if I don’t know what happens in our world. Or like I don’t know what men like Pasha are capable of.

If he doesn’t have the child so somewhere, she’s probably dead too.

That little girl was only five-years-old.

Five-years-old like my little sister, Jessa.

I rest my head against the stone wall, and that’s when I hear the distinct sound of footsteps crunching against the twigs on the riverbank.

Fuck me. There’s no way I’m going to think that’s some random person out for a night-time stroll. This isn’t the kind of place people do that in.

Fuck, it’s them. It has to be.

I reach for my gun and hold it close as I push to my feet.

A light shines into the cave and connects with my face. The footsteps get closer. And as the light shines brighter, I see Aiden Romanov’s face—Aiden and his men.

He shines the light in my face and stares me down.

I’m not about to try to shoot a man who has had my back. Or the last man I can call a friend, even if he is here to kill me.

“Merciless, you really know how to keep a man’s blood pressure going,” Aiden states.

“How did you find me?”

“The business card I gave you at the hospital had a tracking device in it.”

I tilt my head to the side and regard him evenly. “Why did you do that?”

“Because I knew your crazy ass would get yourself in trouble, and you did.”

“I’m not going to shoot you, Aiden. If there’s anything left of our friendship, all I want is to save my girl, then I will hand myself over to you.”

He chuckles and looks at his men, Maksim and Eric. “Lucca, as good as you are. If I were here to kill you, you’d be dead already. I am the Pakhan of the Voirik. Nobody tells me what to do. Definitely not Grigori or Pasha. I’m here to honor the alliance we have to capture our common enemy.”

My shoulders relax. “Jesus, Aiden.”

“You can tell me all the things you neglected to tell me on the way home. I have a location for your girl.”

My interest piques. “Where is she?”

“Pasha’s house. So, you see, I won’t be following any orders to kill you, and definitely not from a lying motherfucker.”