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Dihts are always fair Stefanov takes a wide stance, breathing hard He’s severely overweight and unfit He hasn’t done his own fighting in years In the second he catches his breath, I strike Slicing with the other shard, I cut his face from his eyebrow to his lip

Blood spurts over his eye It looks worse than it is—a head wound always pisses blood—but he squeals like a pig being slaughtered

Galina screams

Stefanov co over his face blinds hi his wrist, I squeeze hard enough to crack his bones He utters a cry and splays his fingers, dropping his weapon

“That’s better,” I croon, bending his arm behind his back

Dimitri throws me a pistol

I push the barrel between Stefanov’s shoulder blades “Walk”

We go up the stairs, following in Dilance at h the tear in my shirt The cut needs stitches, but it’ll have to wait

“Get everyone out of the house,” I tell Dimitri “Leonid will knohere to take them”

While Die, I shove Stefanov ahead of me to the kitchen “Don’t move If I shoot you in the back, you’ll finish your life in a wheelchair I don’t iine it’s the kind of life a bratva boss wants”

He says nothing, co with silence

I keep the gun aih the drawers It doesn’t takerope, shoved into the draith crayons and pens His daughters are in college The skipping rope

I ards as Then he starts to beg

“No, please,” he says, blinking away the blood that colors the whites of his eyes red

I stop in front of hi for his own life, only forhis features so I’ll always remember the look of defeat on his face “You didn’t show mercy then, but now you ask for it?”

“I have h slobber and tears “Lots of it”

I bend down, putting us on eye level “Do you think I need your money?”

“I have power I canhappen What do you want?” Hishouse full of women? You want es, leaning toward me “Say the word and it’s yours”

“Spare your breath for the devil,” I say with disgust

“No,” he yells as I take an ornate candle from a shelf and put it on the table in front of him