The Code To A Don's Heart

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V I K T O R     M A K A R O V I C H — T H E     B U T C H E R

There are three words I can use to describe Peach McCoy. Intelligent, resourceful and... beautiful.

I watched her as she sat cross legged in the middle of the bed in the motel room, her hands bound before her by a zip-tie and the gun in my hand pointed directly at her head. Her eyes were narrowed and her sculpted jaw was clenched in anger. The window on her right was opened, letting the morning sun filter through. It had taken a while to get her tied up and still. She fought tooth and nail and I had a bruise forming on my jaw to prove that.

"I have a few questions, if you will," I said and she scoffed, rolling her light brown eyes that looked like honey.

"I'm willing to play nice," I told her. "You're the one making this difficult."

"Oh excuse me for not liking the fact that I was ambushed in my sleep," she said her voice even toned but dripping with venom. She turned her gaze back to me, letting the light make a shadow over her high cheekbones and bronze skin.

"I just want to know what you've learnt from hacking my network."

She kept her lips together.

"Your silence tells me you know quite a lot," I mused and stood up. I took off the long black coat I was wearing and placed it on the bed by her feet, leaving me in a grayish blue loose tee and dark jeans. I managed to catch Peach's eyes on my coat.

It was a deliberate move. I knew by touching her skin, she was cold to the bone. Even now, a shiver run through her body. Her light blue tank and black sweats were doing nothing to protect her from the cold. Winter was fast approaching and the weather did not favour thin clothing. I tucked my gun in the waistband of my jeans at my lower back and glared down at the young hacker. Her hair was braided neatly and tied at the base of her neck but I wondered what it would look like undone.

"I'm trying to be nice here," I informed her. "You don't look like you would handle even a minute of what I have in store for people who refuse to give me what I want."

"Do you start all your interrogations with intimidation Mr. Makarovich?" she asked and then looked up at me, her head slightly tilted to the side.

"No. I usually just get to it. Be happy. You're special," I said to her, a smirk pulling at my lips.

"Wouldn't every girl love to hear that," she responded. "Especially from a man as influential as you are. You see, Mr. Makarovich, I prefer to take a democratic approach to all my problems. Why don't we strike a deal?"

I laughed and backed up from the bed. "You're in no position to make deals Miss McCoy."

"A girl has to try right?" she sighed and dropped her gaze back to her lap. "What is it you want to know. Be specific."

I watched the woman in front of me curiously, surprised she had given in. From what I'd seen so far from her, I didn't expect it. There had been a lot of fight from her at the beginning. She even surprised me at the beginning of this whole ordeal when I found her apartment long abandoned when I arrived. Getting information out of her little friend Kay Gates hadn't been simple either. I couldn't hurt the woman because she was deeply connected to the Martinelli Familia and I had no intention of angering my own allies. Our tech team had a hard time tracking her as well. In the afternoon yesterday, Peach McCoy ceased to exist on any internet platform. The only reason I found her so quick was because of the information Kay Gates had accidentally given me. That and the sedan she'd rented was found outside a café and an APB had been put on a truck stolen by a black woman in the same area.