The Mafia and His Obsession Part 2 (Tainted Hearts 5)

I am sorry. But I hope you can find happiness now.

I’d rather give her an easy death than have her slowly die every single time she would be used.

I had spilled blood before. Many times. Some of my kills had been worse, bloodier. Killing was just as easy as breathing to me. But for the first time since I made my first kill, my lungs constricted and I felt…sad.

Shaking the feeling away, I chose to focus on the scene in front of me. Her lifeless corpse dropped to the floor, and I placed my gun back into the holster. I roused to my feet and finally gave Valentin a look. Oh, he was angry. Furious. His face hardened and he banged his fist on the desk.

“What have you done?” he bellowed.

Yegor moved closer to me, showing his silent support. I knew he was looking for any threat, to take them out before they could touch me. Side by side. Brother and brother.

“What did you think I’d do? Let her suck my dick in front all of you?” I questioned calmly. Calmness had a way of festering fear into a victim. Calm was the sound before an explosion. A threat was more dangerous when it came with a calm warning. And calm was exactly what I felt.

Valentin glowered at me, and his face turned a bright red. “You killed her!”

I gestured toward the lifeless body. “I can clearly see that. She’s bleeding all over your clean carpet.”

Walking forward, I leaned against Valentin’s desk and regarded him with a raised eyebrow. He flashed me a dark look.

“You see, Valentin…Holly was of no use to me. You said she would be my wife, yet she was your slave and took your commands. The bitch wouldn’t even look at me when I told her to,” I told him. It was just a matter of basic facts.

Valentin rubbed a palm over his face and made an irritated sound at the back of his throat. He started pacing, clenching and unclenching his fists. “If you didn’t want the whore, you could have asked for another. Holly could have been used for something else. She cost me money, and now it is all fucking gone!”

I scoffed and then walked over Holly’s body. Blood poured from the bullet wound, soaking the carpet. She was a beautiful mess. It sickened me, treating her as if she were trash. But I had a façade to keep up.

“You gave her to me. A gift, you said. Remember? All decisions pertaining her life now belonged to me. It was a simple business deal,” I said slowly as I approached him. Valentin turned to face me. His breathing was hard from all the pacing and anger he had sputtered out.

“I didn’t like her, didn’t like how she was taking commands from you. She was probably not untouched, as you claimed. Yes, she could have made me a fine wife, but she was meaningless. I told you…I liked to break my women. This one was already broken. So I did myself a favor by killing her. I don’t have time for useless toys.” I paused, letting my words sink in. “I have better things to do.”

Valentin perked up at this. He straightened, and the anger slowly melted away. His brows crashed together as he considered my words. “She was trash in my eyes. I took it out. Simple. You should be proud of me, old man. I am focusing on the bigger picture, our goal,” I tried to assure him.

Lies. All lies. I deceived him with every word, and I created the perfect illusion with every action. I was the game master.

But there was an underlying truth too.

I was focusing on my goal. My goal to bring down Valentin Solonik—my goal to protect my family.

Valentin was silent for a moment before he spoke, looking surprised, but his words were filled with a dangerous pride. “You really are a heartless bastard. You just killed her in cold blood.” He nodded behind me, at Holly’s body.

I killed her to save her. I killed her to protect her from monsters like you and me.

I shrugged nonchalantly, as if Holly wasn’t even worth a second thought to me. Valentin came closer and slapped me on the back. “My gift has just gone down the drain, but you never fail to amaze me. Now, tell me…what is your next move?” he sneered.

I looked at him and then smiled. Valentin laughed. It was dark, evil, and wicked.

Time to play. Checkmate.

The incident a few moments ago was all forgiven and forgotten. Holly’s body was now just an empty shell to be discarded. All forgotten.

My heart clenched, but I breathed through the sting of pain, a sting of regret and guilt. The Devil tsked in my ears, but I ignored him.

There were times when Viktor Ivanshov had to retreat back. This was one of those moments.