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Squeezing Stefanov’s neck, I say to his men, “No one else needs to die Lower your weapons”

Stefanov chokes out, “They’ll kill you”

“You’re outnu him “Don’t be foolish Put your weapons down Unlike your ex-boss, we don’t shoot unares his loyalty to me a job”

Spit flies fro”

I press the point of the shard hard enough to break his skin “Pavlov’s fae Not to et”

He goes quiet

My chuckle is condescending “By now, Pavlov’s fa’s head from your freezer You know that as well as I do”

He drags in a labored breath “Killbut a cold-blooded murderer too”

I laugh coldly “Which of us isn’t? We all have blood on our hands Still, no one wants to support a traitor” I turn to uards upstairs and lock them up with the others”

Stefanov’s guards don’t argue They walk fro their new shepherd

When only Dimitri, Stefanov, and his wife are left, I address her “Do you want to die with him?”

She shakes her head,her blond hair fly to the sides “No Please, no”

“Piece of shit,” Stefanov says under his breath “Some wife you are”

She spits at his feet “Damn you to hell, Vladimir Stefanov May you burn there”

I nod toward the stairs “Take her”

As Diility for aback an arm, he slams an elbow into s The rip loosens, he twists in my hold and plants a fist into my jaw The force makes me stumble Off balance, I barely have time to ward off the next punch he aims at my face

Yanking the shard from my hand, he jabs it into my side where my coat and jacket have fallen open The pain burns cold It’s a sensation I’m intimately familiar with I was assaulted with various sharpened objects while I lived on the streets I kno to block it out and use the adrenaline to focus on my opponent’s moves