“We’re here to disabuse you of that notion. Nikolai?”
I move to the side to give him free rein. My brother steps in front of Boris and glares down at him. “Who did you sell her to?”
Boris simply spits at Nikolai’s shoes. Nikolai punches him in the face so hard, the man loses consciousness instantly. I roll my eyes. “You know the point is to keep him conscious, right?” I ask. “He can’t give us answers if he’s not awake.”
Grinding his teeth, Nikolai walks over to the tap outside the cell to fill the basin up with water. I stand back and let Nikolai do his thing. I give him fifteen minutes and by the end of it, Boris is unconscious again and bleeding from half a dozen new places. The open gash on his stomach looks sickeningly bad.
“I’m gonna have to get Grigory in here to see to that now.” I sigh, grabbing Nikolai’s wrist and pulling off the brass knuckles he slipped on ten minutes ago.
“Let him suffer,” Nikolai hisses as he pushes past me and storms upstairs, fuming.
I throw Alan a piece of stale bread before I follow Nikolai back to ground level. “Letting him suffer is one thing. Letting him die is another. If he dies, that’s it. The trail ends with him.”
“What does it matter?” Nikolai yells. “He’s not talking!”
I narrow my eyes. “Believe me now, do you?”
“What’s your problem?” Nikolai twists around. The brass knuckles have kept his fists clean but there’s a small bruise forming along the bridge.
I step right up in his face, jabbing him in the chest with a finger. “Did you really think I was half-assing the job? That I just go down there every day to sing him lullabies and feed him grapes by hand?”
“Who’s to say? It’s not like you haven’t been distracted lately.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that you have your own family now. A new family. And maybe that means your old family falls a little lower on the totem pole.”
I am this close to putting those brass knuckles on my own hand and beating my brother to a pulp. “Say that again. I dare you.”
“It’s the truth.”
“I’m not you, Nikolai. I’ve always been able to concentrate on two things at the same time. I can take care of Alyssa and still look for Polly.”
“If that’s the case, then why the fuck haven’t we found her yet?!”
“You’re blaming me?”
“As you love to keep reminding me, you are the fucking pahkan. Which means whatever happens or doesn’t happen is your fault. The fact that Polly was taken is your fault. The fact that she still hasn’t been found is your—”
“I’m warning you, Nikolai: stop right there or—”
“—I mean, for God’s sake, it’s like you don’t even care that she’s missing anymore!”
He should have stopped when I told him to.
I grab him by the throat and bang him against the closed back door. He slams into the tired wood so hard that the whole foundation rattles. It’s intensely satisfying having him under my thrall. So, just to get my point across a little clearer, I whack him back against the door a second time. He strikes the base of his skull and hisses in pain.
Good. Maybe that’ll knock some sense into him.
Apparently not, though, because he tries to fight back. I block his fist twice before I unleash a punch of my own. Unlike him, I find my mark.
I beat him to the ground just like I used to when we were kids. When he tries to get up, I kick him back down and put my boot on his chest.
“Stay down, Nikolai,” I hiss. “Stay the fuck down.”
He growls up at me but the defeat is evident in his face. He stops struggling, his hands falling onto the ground on either side of him.
“You know that I would do anything for Polly. Don’t you dare question my love for her again. Or my dedication to finding her and bringing her back home safely.”
I remove my boot and Nikolai gasps for air. I walk to the door before turning back to glance at Nikolai, who’s still sprawled and panting on the floor.
“Oh, and one more thing: fuck you for ever doubting me. I won’t forget that.”
Then I slam the door in his face.
25
ALYSSA
The smell of roasting meat and cheese hits my nostrils the moment I step out of my room. Chef must be preparing something deliciously on Uri’s orders, because the house has never smelled this good.
I follow my nose to the kitchen but stop short when I see the army of candles standing sentinel around the breakfast nook. Fresh flowers bloom in every corner and the overheard lighting has been dimmed to a romantic glow.