“Yes, boss.”
He hung up, and I stood there for a second, letting the silence crawl over my skin. I needed to get my head straight. This wasn’t about her. I protected her family and kept her friend alive. But I also sold her to Leonid for a kidney.
That was the deal, and there was no room for thoughts that didn’t belong. I threw the phone on the sofa and walked into thedressing room, where I changed into a black shirt and pants. As I adjusted the watch cuffs, my phone rang again. I stepped out of the dressing and grabbed it. Matvet’s name lit up the screen.
“Yes,” I said once I picked up.
“Doctor Dorothy approved it.”
My body stilled. Leonid found my kidney match. The old man had been digging through the black market like a demon. Cutting off every path but his own, making sure no one else got close. When he said he’d handle it, I didn’t expect it to happen in hours. But clearly, he had connections thicker than blood. That match meant he came through. And he expected Alessia in return.
“Good. Take Alessia to Leonid’s territory immediately.” I ended the call before I gave myself a reason not to.
Bratva needed a leader, not a sick man waiting to die. That kidney meant I wouldn’t have to sit through another goddamn dialysis session. It meant I could keep building this empire from the bones up without dragging my carcass behind me. And it meant Luigi had to wait for what was coming for him.
Grabbing my keys, I headed downstairs. The house was quiet, a silence that made your skin itch. Artur was still in the shelter under a vet’s care, healing from a sickness he never should’ve gotten. All because of a girl who used to curl up on my sofa like she belonged here. I stared at the couch in the sitting area longer than necessary before leaving the quarters.
As I went to the exit to leave, I saw Matvet walking down the long driveway with Alessia trailing behind him. She wrapped her hands around herself, as if she needed to hold herself together. She looked confused, unsure, but she kept up with Matvet’s pace. She was leaving with nothing, just as she had come.
Something twisted in my gut at the sight, a sharp pull low and cold like a warning I refused to acknowledge. There she was, soft in the chaos, hair a mess, and her lips probably still swollenfrom what we did. There was a sadness in the way she followed Matvet that made my chest tighten, but I buried it deep where it belonged. I wasn’t the kind of man who felt.
Feelings got you killed in this world. They made you hesitate when you should’ve pulled the trigger, made you look back when the only thing that mattered was forward. So, whatever tried to rise inside me, whatever instinct clawed at my ribs, I crushed it.
I had built an empire on cold decisions and clean exits, not second-guesses and soft hearts. And I wasn’t about to start now.
Alessia climbed into the back of the car, and Matvet shut the door behind her. I reached for my car and slid into the driver’s seat, feeling that cold detachment taking over once more. I tried to push away the memory of her—the way she had tasted and reacted to my touch. It lingered like a haunting echo.
As their car pulled away, I watched them disappear into the night, and for a fleeting moment, I wondered if I would ever see her again. But that didn’t matter. What was important was that I had a kidney. She wasn’t useless after all.
Chapter Twenty-two
Alessia
I still felt the aftershockof what had happened. I let myself enjoy it, but now it felt cold. The warmth from Rodion’s or Artur’s touch, on the parts of me I had foolishly allowed to unravel, was gone. He stripped me of everything and tossed me aside, handing me off to another man like a business transaction.
It wasn’t supposed to have felt that way. I wasn’t supposed to have enjoyed it. Yet I had. For those few moments, I let myself fall and feel good in his arms. But now, while in this car, staring out at the dark world slipping by, I realized how stupid I was.
Rodion didn’t care about anyone. And maybe he wanted to show me how weak I was. And that shattered any remnants of hope I had clung to.
The car came to a sudden stop, breaking my train of thought.I blinked as a gate ahead of us opened, revealing two armed guards. They exchanged quick words with Matvet, but I stayed silent. I didn’t speak to anyone, not even Matvet. Silence hung between us until we got here.
I wanted to cry, but there was nothing left in me.
What was the point? My tears meant nothing, not to men like Rodion. I wanted to hate him and keep my heart guarded. But in the end, I let him in, let him break me, just like every other man in my life.
I didn’t realise I was staring blankly until Matvet opened the door. “Come out.”
This was it. There was no other choice. I was powerless. There was no escaping this fate. I stepped out, the cold air biting into my skin like a reminder that I was alone.
Before I could step down, I saw a figure approaching. A rotund man with an aged face smiled like he had just found something he’d lost long ago. Leonid, the man who had won me at the auction a while ago.
He was Italian, but I knew nothing about him except that I didn’t trust him. Not even for a second.
Matvet released my arm, stepping aside as Leonid approached us, his smile never fading.
“The business is clean,” he said, his voice thick with an accent, as if I were another item to check off his list.
Without another word, Matvet turned and disappeared down the driveway, leaving me alone with Leonid. My heart twisted in pain. I trusted Matvet. He was the only one who seemed to care, even a little. And now, he was gone. It wasn’t like he could do anything, but it pained me to see him leave.