Chapter One:
Gedeon
In chess, the probability of losing a game after losing the Queen usually meant to resign, because the chances of winning are slim to none if it's taken with no tactics. Right now, I felt like I was ready to forfeit my own life to go back in time to protect her. The thought of her without me right now made my heartache. And the ache in my heart didn't reside anytime soon.
In fact, I was standing in the driveway for half an hour now. My feet stayed planted as the rain came down, my eyes peeled onto where Dove usually was. The greenhouse that once belonged to my mother. It was now brimming with life, a few books resting where she had last left off because she enjoyed being outside more than being indoors. But even though it looked bright and new, it meant nothing without Dove there.
The thought of my other half not being there made me question how I lived without her before.
Everything seemed to be in black and white without her.
I failed her. I failed to protect my other half, my wife, my Queen.
The clouds above, grey and heavy, rumbled and I tensed. Dove was terrified of thunder and now, I wasn't there to comfort her anymore. It's been two days, and we had no leads of where she was. It felt like a cruel joke for the way I treated her. I balled my fists up, biting my tongue till the metallic flavor filled my mouth. It was only able to subside the pain in my chest at a bare minimum.
No, I knew what was going to make me feel alive.
Splattering the blood of my enemies till I have what was mine back.
I'll kill them all.
Walking in with a new goal in hopes it'll distract me from the pain of Dove not being there to greet me anymore, I stormed down into the cellar of our estate. On the way, I noticed my men. Timor, my right-hand man, greeted me with a nod along with Nicolai, one of my most trusted hitmen. Both stepped aside at the sight of me, their boss, their Pakhan.
"What are we dealing with?"
"Still the same bullshit," Timor informed me. His attire was covered in spatters of blood. His hair was slick to one side, and he looked just as tired as I felt. Although Dove's blood was Italian, our sworn enemy, she had managed to become a sole exception. And their loyalty to me meant extending it to my queen, their queen.
"I don't believe it," Nicolai growled. "Five men and none of them knew how Robert was able to get into the penthouse and take Dove? Then all the cameras went out? Four died of blood lost, but that's okay," he said with a twisted smile. There was a reason why he was deemed unstable among our families, but I trusted him. He was able to provide the results I needed. "Because after two days, we finally were able to narrow it down to Maxim. He has to know something, and his bank being wired half a million from an offshore account is all the proof we needed."
At that, Timor handed me a loaded gun. "We thought it's best if you finish it, Boss. Seeing how he's the one who allowed your woman to be taken, only seemed fair."
"Let's see what this fucker has to say," I snickered, entering the dark cellar. The poor bastard was tied to the chair for close to two days now. Though from the looks of it, he wouldn't last another day before being succumbed to his injuries. He was bloodied and battered. Covered in bruises and cuts of all shapes and sizes. A screwdriver was dug into his thighs, with blood oozing out of it. He was barely able to list his head to look at me as Timor and Nicolai closed the door behind us.
"Maxim, was it?" I began. "A sworn-in member by a blood oath to the loyalty of the Russian family. Tell me, do you know what happens to those who are sworn in and break their oath?"
"I'm telling you, I don't—"
"Yes, you do. I'm asking you one more fucking time. Where the hell is my wife?"
"Mr. Sokoloff, I've told you dozens of times. The video feed was cut and –"
I bashed the barrel of the gun onto the side of his head before I could stop myself. The rage overtook me, and for the first time in a while, I didn't care. My knuckles cracked and throbbed when I first made contact with his face. The pain only helped dull the ache in my heart temporarily as I watched the bastard on the floor, writhing, and moaning in pain.
And I didn't stop.
I kept going, letting my anger have its fun on the surface. I didn't even stop till I felt his breathing become shallow, and I knew he was barely conscious at this point. I got up to assess him. His eyes were swollen shut. His lips were cracked, some teeth on the floor and blood were coming out of his mouth profusely. The cuts scattered around his face and body were oozing blood. I fixed the sleeves of my shirt and stared down at him. "Where's my wife."
"Robert," he wheezed out, his voice cracked and barely able to make out words. "Took her. I'm sorry, but I needed the money for—"
"So, you betrayed your blood family, for the enemy's money?"
"She was an Italian, I never swore my loyalty to her," he spat out weakly.
I immediately brought my shoes at full force into his hands, and the sound of his bones cracking echoed around the darkroom. He tried to escape, dragging his body away but I stopped him with my other foot onto his chest. He had nowhere to go and was completely at my mercy. All he could do was wail in pain as I continued my torture. I stepped to the other side where his hands were and took his index finger, bending it back till the sickening sound of his bone-cracking was heard.
It was a beautiful sight, though I preferred splattered blood.
"Let me say this once," I gritted out. "She's my wife, which means you are nothing more than her loyal dog. I know you won't be the first and only to question her, question your loyalty to her. And I don't care that you are my family or my trusted men. I will kill all who fucking disrespect my Queen."
It was my fucking vow.
"You understand?" I seethed.
He nodded. "P-please just...just put me out of my misery."
I tsked. "Not yet. Not till I'm satisfied with your answers."
Snapping my fingers, Timor brought forward the bucket of boiling hot water. In a pair of heat-resistant gloves, he grabbed the fucker's hair and dunked him into the water. He thrashed to the best of his abilities against it, but it was no use. A few seconds later, Timor released him and let him breathe through his bashed nose. His whole face was swollen red, his eyes now glued shut. He gasped for air, a small amount of foam coming through his mouth. "N-no more."
"Should have thought of that before you betrayed me," I shouted and withdrew my gun, aiming it at his thighs. He howled in pure agony and started begging more. I shot again, and then another. His scream was piercing through my ears, but I didn't wince. No, I was feeding off his pain, but it wasn't enough. I had slipped up by allowing him to watch over her. And now, she was gone. "One last time, where is Robert?"
He shook his head weakly and I growled. "Wrong fucking answer."
I reached into my back pocket for my small twisting knife. Maxim's eyes widened when he realized what was coming next. If he thought I was going to end his life just like that, he had another thing coming. When I nodded at Timor and Nicolai, both of them took out their own knives and went straight to work. I watched them sliced through his wrists, his bone showing as blood dripped wildly onto the floor.
I slowly walked towards him, letting him soak up the pain before I plunged the knife straight into his heart and twisted. His mouth opened wide and his whole face fell back. His whole body tensed before he slumped. Just like that, we had yet another lifeless body at our disposal with no answers. I kicked his body till he was lying on his stomach and started to carve onto his back. When I was finished, Nicolai laughed.
"That's fucked up," Nicolai marveled at my work with a grin of Dove's name. "I like it."
"And I'll do it to every single person that has hurt or wronged Dove one way or another," I announced. Shrugging off my suit that was already covered in my own sweat and the blood of my enemy, I threw it onto the floor. "Get someone to clean up this mess."
"Got it," Timor nodded and then cocked his head to the side. "What about Mateo in the other room?"
"Still alive after Dr. Benzo stitched up all his wounds and made sure it wouldn't get infected," I commanded. There was no way I was allowing Dove's father to die so easily. No, he would be suffering an unimaginable and painful death for my Mother and Dove's sake. "We're going to transfer him to Ophelia's because I don't want to take a risk of anyone infiltrating and rescuing his ass."
Timor nodded. "It'll be done at the end of the day."
"He's still not talking?" Nicolai asked with a deep frown.
"No," I replied. "But it doesn't matter. He'll break sooner or later. In the meantime, I'm going to take a shower and check on Ana."
Both of them nodded as I went back upstairs. Since coming back to the estate, I realized just how quiet and cold it was without Dove. I couldn't even imagine what life was like before she came into my life. Into everyone's life. Passing through the library upstairs, the dull ache in my chest returned.
The library was like another home for her besides the greenhouse. It was a place she would escape to, the only place where it seemed she enjoyed her time there. It was like another comfortable place for her outside of the little cage she had.
And I let her get taken.
I couldn't even sleep in my own bedroom without her. I've taken it to sleep in my office because everywhere else reminded me too much of her. The chessboard I had was put away. Anything that reminded me of Dove was too painful.
Taking a quick shower from the smell and changing into a pair of sweatpants and grey shirt, I passed through the other side of the estate where everyone else who lived here slept. I barely went over to that side besides lately to check on Anastasia. I was greeted by Aleksei who had pulled a small sofa in front of Anastasia's room. In front of her door was this morning's breakfast on a tray, untouched.
When he saw me, he offered me a small smile. There were bags under his eyes from staying up and making sure his sister wasn't going to try anything too irrational. I shoved my hands into my pocket. "How's Ana?"
He sighed. "Still upset, crying, and refusing to acknowledge anyone since she came home two days ago. Not even me. I'm a bit worried about her since she won't eat either."
"Maybe I should have a word with her," I offered, but grimaced.
At that, Aleksei pressed his lips into a thin line in disapproval. "I don't think you should."
"I know."
After all, I was the one who had promised Anastasia that I would never let anything happen to Dove in the first place. I was the one that swore to protect her, but now, it was up in flames. I didn't need pity in the eyes of my men. The only one who would look at me with hatred, to remind me of how much I fucked up, was Anastasia.
But I had to.
I gently knocked on her door. "Ana, let me in. It's Gedeon."
"Go away," she said on the other side, her voice was croaked and weak.
"Let me in, Ana. We're all worried about you. If you don't let me in, I'll force myself in to check on you," I threatened. She knew I would because we all grew up together. When I didn't get my way, I would make a way. There was a shuffle and then she timidly opened the door.
Her eyes were bloodshot red along with her cheeks and nose. Her hair was a mess, and heavy bags were under her eyes. I knew she was close with Dove, probably the first person she considered a friend. When I stepped all the way in, she shut the door loudly behind her. I turned to see her tears streaking down her face as her fist came in contact with my chest.
"Ana, you need to eat, you can't—"
"You fucking promised," Anastasia sobbed cutting me off. Tears welled in the corner of her eyes as she shook her head and fell onto her knees in front of me. The ache in my heart only amplified by how broken she sounded. "You promised to keep her safe. You swore to me. You never broke a promise before with me."
"Ana—" I choked out as she continued.
"She was in the same apartment as me," she wailed and shut her eyes tightly. I kneeled down, letting her sob into my chest as I soothed her back. I knew she blamed herself just as I did. She was in the same condo, just a few feet away when Maxim sold Dove out to Robert. She had a stomach bug and was out most of the day. When I came back, it was too late. Dove was done, and Anastasia never even knew. She grabbed onto my shirt, shaking me back and forth. "And if it wasn't for me being sick, maybe I could have saved her. Maybe I could have done something, anything."
"You can't blame yourself. There's no point. We'll find her," I replied, shaking my head.
"What if she's dead?" she blabbered on, her eyes swelling with more tears.
"She's not."
Because I refused to believe it. I refused to live in a world where Dove wasn't here anymore. Losing my Mother was hard but losing who I thought was my other half destroyed me.
"We can't be sure," she continued to feed into her own despair. "There's no clue, no leads. Nothing," she swallowed, her eyes erratic that it caused me to suffocate at the sight of her. She was the little sister I've always wanted and to see her so overwhelmed was killing me. She blamed herself, blamed me in order to distribute some of her hardship. I would take it all if I can. "I was right there, too. How could you have said those things to her before she was taken?"
At the low blow I knew she didn't mean, the dull ache in my chest worsened. So much so I felt as if I was suffocating from her question. I left Dove all alone thinking she'll be okay. Now, she was captured and with no leads of where she was. Two days had passed, and we were getting nowhere. No matter how many Italians we captured, tortured, and slaughtered, there were no leads beside the obvious that Robert had her. The thought that Dove was in his hands sent me into another blind rage while my trusted men watched me lose it.
The last thing I said to my wife was telling her she was nothing more than a stupid bird.
The reason why my mother was dead.
A liar.
Our last interaction was full of hatred. I was blinded by the betrayal, not knowing it was the last time we would talk.
"I was too blinded by my own anger and betrayal. But I don't mean it. I love her more than I can breathe."
She sucked in a sharp breath at my confession. The tears stop as she stared at me in shock. "You love her?"
I nodded. "She's my other half, the reason I'm doing everything I can to bring her back. Ana, we'll find her. I promise. I swear on my fucking life that I'll find her," I pledged. I'll take a blood swear on it if she wanted it. I wouldn't stop until I had her in my arms and I'm never letting her go after.
She swallowed, her shoulder sagging. "What if you break that?"
Gently, I thumbed away her tears. Her eyes were trained on me as if she was trying to find strength through my swear. She needed confirmation that she could trust me again. And I would do everything in my power to grant her that. "Then I'll let you send me straight to hell where I belong for letting her go in the first place."
Because I don't think I can live. Not when my other half, my Jian bird, wasn't on this Earth anymore.
I'm back with the second book! Thank you, Beautiful, for being so patient with me!
It's been such a wild journey and making sure that the second book would live up to the standard of the first book! I'm so sorry there's so much cliffhanger, but I PROMISE you that it'll all be worth it when he gets her back!