Cruel Enforcer by Maggie Cole

30

Sergey

"Your debtto Zamir is a Petrov debt. I now own this debt. You will be the one to pay it off," Boyra, Zamir's brother, barks while adding more weight to Kora's back.

Blood is all over the floor, pooling near her chest where he pinned her arm under her body.

"Get off her," I growl. My pulse is pounding so fast, I can barely think. He has my lapa under him. He already hurt her. I'm not sure how to get Boyra out of here and keep her alive.

"Tomorrow night. You will meet me where I text you."

My heart thumps against my chest cavity.

"I better hear 'yes, master,'" he orders and grinds his boot into Kora's back.

I swallow all my pride. "Yes, master."

"Louder!"

I scream in Russian, "Yes, master." Sweat pops out on my skin. I avoid looking at Kora in an effort not to give him any more reason to stay here.

He finally takes his foot off her. A sinister grin erupts on his face. He crouches over Kora and pats her ass cheeks.

"Don't touch her!" I yell without thinking.

Kora sobs on the ground.

He points at me while keeping his other hand on her ass. "You are my property. If she is yours, then she is mine. Don't forget it."

I grind my molars, unsure about how to stop this nightmare. Every move I contemplate seems to have harmful consequences.

Boyra leans down and mutters something in Kora's ear. She shudders, and new tears fall on the floor. He rises and comes toward me with his knife. In Russian, he says, "How is she at sucking dick?"

I refrain from speaking and ball my fists at my sides.

He laughs. "One wrong move from you, and I'll put her in my whorehouse." He glances back at her then refocuses on me. "I bet she'd like my cock in her mouth. But her ass..." He takes a deep breath, checks out her backside, then licks his lips. His grin gets wider. "I can put that to work as well."

Rage boils my blood. I work hard at not reacting. I've only met Boyra a few times. It was years ago when I was still a boy. Everything I remember about him reminds me of Zamir. No reaction is usually the safest action to take.

He waits several moments and leans into my ear. "I heard you wailed like a baby when my brother branded you. I've always regretted not being there."

The spasm in my jaw intensifies.

He laughs and firmly swats my cheek. "Tomorrow. Don't be late." He steps back then turns and walks out.

As soon as he's gone, I lock the door and run back to Kora. I pull her into my arms. "Lapa, are you okay?"

She's breathing hard. I pick her up, grab a blanket off the couch, and wrap her in it. I keep her bloody arm on the outside and carry her to the kitchen counter. I set her on it and hold her face. "Kora, I'm sorry." I kiss her and tug her back into my chest.

"Who was he?"

I pull away and lock eyes with her. "Zamir's brother."

The color drains from her face. "What does he want?"

"Let me clean your arm."

"Sergey, what does he want?" she cries out.

"I don't know. He's going to send me a location I have to go to tomorrow night."

"What? No!"

"I don't have a choice."

"No! You aren't going."

"He'll put you in his whorehouse!" I bark.

Shit. Why did I say that?

Her eyes widen, and she shudders.

I firmly hold her face to mine. "Listen to me, Kora. I need to attend to your arm. I'm going to get the first aid kit. When I get back—"

"No! Don't leave me."

I pick her up and carry her into my bathroom. I set her on the counter, trying to keep it together but flipping out inside. I warned my brothers about this. We should have destroyed every last piece of the Petrovs and their operation. I should have fought harder or done it myself if they disagreed. Now Kora is in danger.

I clean the blood off her arm and sigh. "It's a thin cut. I'm going to put some medical glue on it."

Her voice cracks. "Sergey, what does he want from you?"

I stay silent.

"Sergey! I'm going to be your wife. Tell me. Please!"

I meet her eyes. "He says I'm paying off the debt from now on instead of Boris."

More color drains from her face. "What? What does that even mean?"

"I don't know." I put the liquid bandage on her arm and wrap my arms around her. "I'm so sorry I didn't protect you from him."

"How did he get in here?"

"I'm not sure. I need to meet with my brothers. I don't want you here until I figure out how Boyra got past security. I'm going to take you to Adrian's."

"Take me with you."

I contemplate it. "It's late. We've not slept. Let me take you to Adrian's, and you can try and sleep."

"I'm not going to sleep!"

I cup her face. "I don't know how long I'll be. You need to rest. We've been up all night. Adrian will keep you safe while I meet with my brothers. I need you to trust me about this."

"I-I'm scared."

I tighten my arms around her and stroke her hair. "I know. It's why I need you to rest at Adrian's while I meet with my brothers and figure out what to do."

She finally agrees.

I text my brothers to meet at Boris's. It's around nine in the morning, and he texted they got home from the hospital about an hour ago. I message Adrian I'm coming over with Kora, and we get dressed. I drop her off at his house. Skylar is also there. I explain what happened. "I need you to stay with Kora until I get back."

Adrian agrees, goes into the bedroom, and gets his gun.

I kiss Kora goodbye, tell her to try and rest, and head to Boris's.

I arrive first. I pace, and my anxiety grows. I can't get the visual of Kora naked with Boyra's arms wrapped around her and a knife to her throat out of my head. I'm almost dizzy with nausea and feel like I might break out in a sweat.

Nora asks, "Are you okay?"

I lie. "Yeah."

Boris eyes me over. "Nora, why don't you and Shannon go rest in the bedroom."

"Okay." She pats me on the shoulder and takes Shannon with her.

"What's going on," Boris demands in Russian.

I point in his face, pissed off he never listened to me when I insisted we needed to destroy the Petrovs quicker than what can be achieved by the war. "I told you we needed to get in the Petrov organization and destroy it piece by piece until nothing was left."

His face drains of color. He firmly asks, "What happened?"

Dmitri and Maksim walk in.

"We have a problem," I bark.

"What?" Maksim asks.

"I had a visitor in my house today." I continue to pace and pull at my hair.

Maksim steps in front of me and puts his hands on my shoulders. "What is going on?"

"Kora stayed over last night. She walked out of the bedroom to get something out of the kitchen. I heard her yell. When I got to the living room, Boyra Petrov had a knife to her throat and a hand on her naked chest."

"Boyra, Zamir's brother from Russia?" Dmitri barks.

"Shh. I have a baby in the house," Boris reminds us.

We all step closer and drop our voices.

"Is Kora okay?" Maksim asks.

I scowl. "She's shaken up. Adrian and Skylar are with her right now. He slit her arm."

"Shit. Was it deep?" Dmitri asks.

"No. But she bled, and it hurts."

Boris scrubs his face. "Why was Boyra in your home?"

My stomach pitches. "He said since his brother is dead, our debt carries over to him. And I'm the one who's going to pay it off."

"That motherfucker. Zamir and I had a deal. Anything to do with paying off our debt was through me," Boris growls.

"He threatened to put Kora in his whorehouse." The spasm in my jaw intensifies.

"Shit," Dmitri mutters.

"You're going to have to do better than 'shit.' He's going after my wife."

"Your wife?" Dmitri raises his eyebrows.

"Future wife. Whatever. I'm not into semantics. It doesn't matter when the wedding is. She's already my wife in my eyes, and he just terrorized her."

Through the stress of the newest events, my brothers' faces light up.

"When did you propose?" Maksim asks.

"Last night. Before Boyra shoved my wife on the ground and put his boot on her back after cutting her," I angrily reply.

Maksim embraces me. "I'm very happy for you. She's a good woman."

I push away from him. "Which is why we need to figure this out."

"Agreed. How did Boyra get into your penthouse?" Dmitri asks.

"I don't know. But I'm not staying there, and Kora's place doesn't have the security mine is supposed to."

"Come stay with Aspen and me until we figure this out. Boris, text Obrecht to get over here. We'll have Adrian look into your security issue once Kora's moved to my place," Maksim orders.

"Then what? We can't do what we did before to trap Zamir. Boyra will expect it."

Silence fills the air and makes my nerves worse. I can't fall back into the Petrov's grasp, and nothing can happen to Kora. The clock is ticking. Time is running out before Boyra sends for me.

"Obrecht said he'll be here in twenty," Boris states. "I'm messaging Darragh as well."

"So we can owe the O'Malleys even more?" I seethe.

Boris calmly states, "We need as much strength as we can get. The O'Malleys are part of us now. My wife and daughter carry their blood. It's time you got used to it."

"I don't want to owe Darragh and Liam."

"It's not an option. We have an alliance. We need their strength."

I tug at my hair, feeling like I may crawl out of my skin.

"Sergey, let's go out on the balcony," Maksim instructs.

I obey, not sure what else to do. I hate how weak the Petrovs make me feel. I detest myself over Kora getting hurt and Boyra threatening her safety.

How am I going to protect her?

Maksim shuts the door. "Take a hit, Sergey. You look like you're going to lose it any minute."

"He sliced her arm, fondled her breast, and stood on her," I growl.

Maksim nods. "Yes. And he's going to pay. I promise you, little brother, but I need you calm."

I close my eyes and try to steady my rapid heart rate.

Maksim pulls my pipe out of my pocket and hands it to me. "You think better when you're not full of anxiety."

I take a hit and hold the smoke in my lungs then slowly release it. "His hands were on her. He was in my house."

Maksim's piercing icy blue eyes pin mine. "Boyra will die before anything else happens. Whoever the leak in security was will pay. Kora is a part of us. Now we know Boyra is targeting her, we will increase security on her and all our women. He showed his cards. We will take advantage of it."

I inhale another large hit of smoke and close my eyes. When I open them, Maksim smiles. "When do we get to throw you and Kora a party?"

I snort. "Kill Boyra and then we'll celebrate."

"Between the O'Malleys and us, we will figure it out."

I sigh. "I hate owing Liam. He's a loose cannon."

"Maybe in the past. I'm not so sure about now. He's showing a level of maturity he didn't have before."

I grunt. "It's Liam O'Malley."

"He spent fifteen years thinking about his mistakes. So far, his decisions have illustrated strategy. Call me crazy, but my trust in him is growing."

I stare at the crashing waves on the shoreline. "Excuse me if I don't hand over my full faith in him. I can't stop thinking about how he almost got Killian and Boris arrested when they were barely in high school."

Maksim huffs. "He was a kid. We all did stupid stuff when we were kids."

"Guess I didn't have the same luxuries as Liam, knowing Zamir owned my ass."

Maksim's eyes grow colder. "He lost his freedom like we did. You know how it changes a man. Let's be cautious but hope for the best. His heart has always been in the right place."

"Fine," I grumble.

Boris knocks on the glass and motions for us to come in. Darragh, Liam, and Obrecht had arrived.

"This is easily solved," Darragh advises.

"How?"

He points to Obrecht. "You're a tracker, correct?"

"The best," I say.

"What's your point?" Obrecht asks.

A smug expression fills Darragh's face. "Boyra isn't a ghost like Zamir was. He can't help but show his face. My guess is he'll utilize his time at the Petrov's whorehouse. Anytime he arrives from Moscow, he spends time there. You confirm it, we'll take care of him."

"You make it sound easy," Dmitri states.

Darragh attempts to light up his pipe.

Boris moves his hand, holding the lighter. "You can't smoke in here. Our baby is in the other room."

A low growl of frustration comes out of Darragh.

I cross my arms. "He's calling on me tomorrow night. There isn't a lot of time before I'll be his pawn in whatever sadistic event he has planned."

Darragh has a coughing fit and pulls his handkerchief out of his pocket. When it subsides, he replies, "Don't go."

"Don't go?" I sarcastically laugh. "Are you out of your mind?"

"No. Hole up with one of your brothers. Send me the address when you get it, unless we take care of him sooner. My boys will take out some of his men. We just eliminated more of Zielinski's bastards last night. More Petrovs sliced up will be good for the balance." He addresses Obrecht. "Why are you still standing here?"

Obrecht sneers. "I don't take orders from you."

Darragh's arrogant expression says otherwise.

"He's right. Go now," Maksim says.

Obrecht's jaw clenches. He shakes his head, unhappy, but leaves.

"I want Boyra to look at me when he takes his last breath," I say.

"I said the O'Malleys are handling this."

I step in front of Darragh and growl, "He groped my woman. After he sliced her arm, he threw her on the ground and put his boot on her back while fondling her ass and threatening to put her in his whorehouse."

Darragh's eyes turn to slits. "And he will pay, but the O'Malleys will handle this."

"No. Let Sergey join us," Liam says.

Darragh slowly turns to him.

Why is Liam agreeing with me?

Now I'm going to owe him even more.

It'll be worth it to slice into Boyra for touching Kora.

"You said I needed to override your decisions when it was beneficial to the O'Malleys. This is a benefit for us."

Fuck it. I knew it.

I glance at Maksim and shake my head, trying to keep my mouth shut.

Darragh seems appeased by his admission. "Fine. Where can I smoke?"

Boris leads him to the balcony.

"Always has to be something in it for you, doesn't it, Liam?" I sneer.

He scowls. "No. I said that to get my father to agree. If anyone did to my woman what you just described, I wouldn't let anyone else kill him."

Part of me wants to believe Liam. The other part says not to trust him.

"Jesus, Sergey. When are you going to realize we're on the same side? And my father won't be here much longer to guide me. At some point, I might need your help. I hope if that time comes, you do it because you want to help me, not because you feel obligated."

Chills run up my spine. "Darragh's dying?"

Liam's face and eyes harden.

"Shit. I'm sorry."

"It is what it is. Can we get on the same side? I don't see an alliance working out if we aren't."

He seems sincere. I remember watching my father disintegrate in front of our eyes. I don't imagine it's easy at any age to watch a person you love die, especially when Liam's been locked up for fifteen years and only got to spend time with his father recently.

Liam turns away and exhales. He addresses Maksim. "I'm going to need help. I can't go back inside. My father doesn't have any advisors still alive. If I take advice from any of the O'Malleys who would be more than willing to give it, I'll destroy our clan. It's not a question of if, but when."

Maksim assesses him. "Besides this war, I don't want Ivanovs pulled into O'Malley business. I will be here for you and guide you if I can, as long as you agree to my terms. And that includes Boris."

He nods. "I have no intention of doing anything of the sort."

Maksim pats him on the back. "You come to me at any time then."

Liam's face fills with gratitude.

He's stressed over this.

I'd be freaking out, too, if I had to lead the O'Malleys.

I need to stop worrying about him. Maksim is right. He has changed.

I take a deep breath. "Tell you what, make sure I'm there to destroy Boyra, and you've got my support."

Liam's lips curl. "As long as I get to watch you take the bastard out, consider it done."