A Treacherous King- Dark Mafia Romance

forty six

Caine

I can hear Ilya's voice on the other end of the phone but his frantic words aren't registering. My mind had shut down when I heard the words "I think they're going after Maeve."

"Caine." Simon's demanding voice cuts through my haze.

"Tell him the address of the lake house." I shove the phone at him and rush to the garage to retrieve my car. Maks and Leo don't even question anything, they follow swiftly behind me and get into the car soundlessly.

I don't even wait until the garage door is all the way up before flooring the car down the driveway and out of the open gate. I'm speeding through the city, flying through traffic lights and veering in and out of traffic. Good thing the cops turn a blind eye to most Bratva business, otherwise I would have a slew of cops on my ass. Instead, I see Simon and the rest of my men right on my tail.

If Vlad somehow managed to get his hands on Maeve I will burn this fucking city to the ground. Nothing will matter to me anymore if something happens to her. Not my business, not my money, not even my life. I am nothing without her.

The first person I plan to kill is not Vlad, it's Alexei Petrov. He's the only person aside from Simon, Maks and Leo that knows the gate code to the lake house.

I beat my hands furiously against the steering wheel. Leo and Maks don't even react, they know not to say anything to me when I'm angry and panicked like this. Although, I can't think of another time in my life when I've been this scared.

I curse myself for not thinking to change the fucking code before letting Maeve and Nadia stay there. They have Ioann and Sergei for protection, but neither of them stand a chance against Vlad. Especially if he chose to bring reinforcements.

I don't slow until I reach the locked gate to get into the private section of lake houses on Lake Sezna. A black car, I recognize as Ilya's, is waiting off to the side. I quickly punch the code in and we fly down the gravel road towards the house.

When I round the corner, my line of vision falls to several dark shadows moving quickly across the yard. A man is practically dragging a limp figure to a waiting SUV. At the sight of my headlights, the figure jerks their head up and I can see with dread that the limp body is Maeve.

I don't even know if I put the car in park, it could be rolling down to the fucking lake for all I care. All I do know is that I have to get to Maeve.

I pull my gun from the holster and aim at the man who has Maeve. He quickly acts and tugs her to a standing position, a gleaming gun now pressed to her forehead. I still.

She can see me now from the brightness of the headlights. Blood is flowing from a wound on her head, thick rivulets of it dripping down her face. She whimpers when she feels the cold metal against her skin. I want to reach out for her, but I know if I make a move the guy won't hesitate to end her.

A dark chuckle sounds and Vlad Sokolov appears from the shadows. His grin is menacing as he takes me in.

"Managed to escape my trap, Morozov?" Behind him, Alexei has Nadia pressed against him, a knife resting against her throat.

"Let them go." I snarl. Maks, Leo, and Simon are standing behind me but won't make a move unless I say so. Even though I can see the internal battle going on inside Simon, he won't risk hurting Nadia.

Nadia's pain is evident on her face. I want to put a bullet right between Alexei's eyes for betraying my trust and more importantly, betraying the one person who cared for him the most.

"Not going to happen. My plan was to kill you and burn you along with your manor but you managed to weasel your way out of that one. Although I must admit, I like this plan a lot better. Forcing you to watch me kill your girlfriend before I kill you. Seems like a fitting end to your useless life." Vlad sneers.