Traitor

Chapter 89
Dmitri
***TRIGGER WARNING****
THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SOME LEVEL OF VIOLENCE. YOU MIGHT WANT TO SKIP SOME PARAGRAPHS IF THE LEVEL OF EXPLICITY WOULDN’T SIT WELL WITH YOU. THANK YOU, AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE REST OF THE CHAPTER.
I butted the edge of my cigar on the cut on Leonardo’s neck. He dug his teeth into his lower lip and let out a pain-filled growl as I continued to brush the lit-up part of the cigar against his injury.
“So tell me, you piss of shit, how much did Ivanov offer you to betray me and exchange our stash with a fake one?” I asked calmly, sitting very close to him while he knelt with his hands tied behind him.
Armen and Vladimir stood behind me while I delivered a sinister torture session to one of my Italian employees.
The bastard and his family have been under my payroll and I took care of every one of his fucking bills. Now the only thing he could reward me with was betrayal.
Blood trickled from another cut on his forehead to his eyelids and he shut his eyes abruptly to prevent it from dropping in. “I’m sorry, Boss,” He pleaded.
His pleas sounded like nails on a metal board. I didn’t want to hear any of it.
“Shut up that pussy you call a mouth and quit apologizing. I asked you a question and I expect a proper answer, not a stupid apology,”
It was ironic how the tone of my voice was still cool despite how angry I was.
“Two million grands,” He blurted and slightly inclined his head.
I spared a glance at Armen who smirked behind me. He swung the pair of tweezers in his hand freely and advanced toward an unsuspecting Leonardo.
He grabbed his face and lifted it then plunged the tweezer into his mouth, pulling out an incisor. Leonardo’s screams filled the torture house while Armen proceeded to pull out another tooth.
“Stop,”
He held back and stood beside him.
I took out my favorite kukri from my holster and trailed the sharp tip from his face to his chest, watching blood seep through the cut I made. “You know how much I loathe traitors, right?”
He shuddered involuntarily. “I know, but if you promise to let me go, I’ll tell you who the Boss is,” He peered at me hopefully, breathing erratically.
“What boss are you talking about?”
“The person Margaret worked for. The Boss is a woman and I think she has a business dealing with Ivanov,” He revealed and I retrieved the knife from his chest.
He heaved a sigh of relief and exhaled, but I wasn’t done with him. Reynolds was with Margaret’s phone so I couldn’t go through the archives as I was supposed to, but Ivanov was still here and I’d milk out the truth from him.
“You did well,” I began.
“Oh, thank you, Capo,” He grinned with his blood-stained teeth.
“Nah, don’t thank me, you only made your death easier. I planned to cut your limbs and chop them into bits so that you can have them for lunch, but I’ll just do this,”
His brown orbs dilated in fear as his reality dawned on him. I snagged Vladimir’s shotgun and pulled the trigger, watching him fall flat on his back.
“Whew…” Vladimir puffed out some air. “Who knew that we’d get some important information out of him,”
I stroke my chin with blood smeared on my hand, staring intensely at Leonardo’s corpse and wondering why Margaret decided to work for someone, knowing how independent and stubborn she was.
Everything was fucked up and I couldn’t understand anything.
“Armen, set up a meeting with Ivanov. We need to have a lengthy discussion,”
Vladimir intercepted, “For now you can’t. What if this is all a trap?”
“Then let me get trapped. I’m so sick of the bullshit game already…”
My ringing phone interrupted me and I brought it close to my ear without checking the caller. “What do you want?” I asked groggily.
“Daddy,” Liora’s voice brought some level of calmness to my mind, but she sounded scared. “Mommy fainted. We’re at the hospital,” She panicked and I stormed out of the room.
I’d already gotten to the garage. “Fainted? How? Which hospital are you guys at?” I hopped onto the driver’s seat.
“I don’t know, Dad. A woman we had lunch with brought her here, but she has left already. I’ve been trying to reach you but you didn’t pick up your phone,”
In anger, I banged my fist against the steering wheel and went through my call log. She wasn’t lying when she said that she called severally as the number of missed calls summed up to fifteen.
What a dickhead I was. If anything happened to Ariel I would never forgive myself.
Everything happening was my fault. I’d told her that I loved her and yet I couldn’t prove it. Instead, I kept her lonely and treated her like a stranger.
Indeed, I deserved to die by her hands for hurting her so much.
Fortunately, Liora was smart ass so she shared her current location with me and I sped to the hospital like a man on a wild goose chase, my heart drumming hard against my ribcage.
The same feelings I’d experienced when she was kidnapped and shot came running back and I felt more disappointed in myself.
The hospital came in sight and I parked the car haphazardly, racing into the hospital. I dialed Liora’s line again and she picked up.
“Which ward are you in?”
“First ward on the first floor,” She responded shortly.
I followed her directions and barged into the first room as she said and froze on my step. My gaze swept to Ariel’s still body. Her eyes were closed and Liora sat beside her.
“Liora,” I called and she became aware of my presence as she ran toward me.
“Daddy,” She squealed, her face masked with a veil of sadness. “Her eyes aren’t opening and I’m scared. I shouldn’t have pressurized her to take me out on a cake date,” She lowered her head.
I scooped her into my arms and kissed her forehead. “None of this your fault, Liora. I’m to be blamed for abandoning the both of you for some stupid business, but I’m here now and no one will get hurt again,” I assured her, gazing at Ariel who stirred to the side.
The drip that was connected to her hand had almost finished and I had to see the doctor. But it occurred to me that this was our family hospital and my doctor was here.
“Who did you say brought you here?”
“A young woman, Daddy. She ate cake with us at Cake Treats,”
I put her down and patted her head. “Okay. Wait for me here, I have to see the doctor, alright?”
She nodded and resumed watching over Ariel. I veered into the doctor’s office and luckily he was in. His eyes brightened the moment he saw me as he slightly bowed.
“You’re welcome, Mr Capo,” He was used to addressing me in such a manner.
I cut to the chase. “Thank you, but what’s wrong with my wife?”
He brought out a piece of paper and held it out to me. “You can go through it while I explain, but there’s something I found strange,”
“What’s that?” I asked with my eyes still glued on the paper.
“I caught a glimpse of someone who had a very uncanny resemblance to Anya today. I even thought she was the one, but she hurriedly left before I could speak to her,”
Cold chills ran down my spine and I clenched tightly onto the paper. “What did you just say?”
He shifted uncomfortably on the chair and waved it off. “Like I said, I’m not sure that she’s the one so let’s forget about it and focus on your wife,”
I drew in a deep breath, angry at how such unimportant information affected me. True, she lied to me the whole time, but her death was enough punishment. It wouldn’t matter if she was still alive because she was dead to me now.
“I’ve gone through the report and I don’t understand anything,”
He cleared his throat and leaned forward, rubbing his palms. “Your wife is pregnant, Mr Mikhailov. She’s five weeks gone,” He announced.