9

The night city flickered serenely outside the SUV window. With the onset of coolness, the streets were filled with cheerful campaigns and couples in love, among whom one could see even the elderly.

At the entrance to the city, as soon as the road turned into asphalt, Grisha and his guys allowed themselves to fool around. They reared their iron horses, demonstrating their skills, accelerated until they were out of sight, and playfully growled, returning back to the SUVs.

I thoughtfully followed Grisha, turning alternately in my hands either a cigarette case with a lighter, or his phone, about the presence of which he did not say anything to me. In the noise of the city, which penetrated a little through the half-open window, I heard the rumble of trains, and I mentally returned to that night that we spent with Grisha in his loft.

Then he told me that the death of Boris itself would only lead to other deaths, which in turn would lead to bloody chaos, and I did not quite understand then what he meant, except that it would lead to my death, but now I understood: Boris had many supporters, that is, those who benefited from his management, so to speak, so Grisha waited until both Boris and his hangers-on were weakened, and almost simultaneously hit everyone.

There was the same song with Kokhan: he had his own insane reasons for doing what he did, but unlike Boris, we did not know his supporters except, perhaps, the mayor. The hard workers from the factory, whom he attracted with his speeches in the spirit of the revolution, I did not take into account. They were not fighters and at the very first shots they would do what was most reasonable for them, that is, they would run away in order to save their miserable lives.

As for the mayor and his dogs on leashes, that is, cops, my driver, one of Grisha's guys named Chechik, mentioned that he heard Misha, leaving with a bitch from the prosecutor's office, which Gray masterfully wrapped with adhesive tape, called his own.

Judging by what he told them, Chechik concluded that the wolves were going to follow the mayor at night, which, firstly, completely removed the problem with him from me, and secondly, provided me with one hundred percent cover, because choosing between a lousy casino and the mayor of the city, the cops will definitely stop at the latter.

As for Kokhan, he was entirely mine, and what we had was a multi-move.

The last move with Egor was just a dummy. No one in their right mind would have believed that he would be able to take me or anyone else in the residence.

No, Yegor was set up to shake me even more and expose me, and whether they killed him or not, the one who sent him was not interested, because in any case, Yegor played his role with a bang, kindly telling me where he was ordered like deliver me, that is, to the casino.

This, as in the case of the Queen of Spades card thrown into the cemetery, was another invitation, but who it came from remained a question.

Kokhan was a psycho and his antics with a bomb in Ibragimov's car, a doll and flowers sent to me, formed a certain style of behavior, which did not fit into the night call to Yegor and the order to bring me to him.

Of course, the mayor could call, but for some reason it seemed to me that it was not him either. The old fool believed that he could subdue the world of wolf crime, and helped Kokhan, but he himself was too focused on Ibragimov, because he considered him the only obstacle to achieving his goal of complete power over the city.

I think that it was the presence of a third person, cool enough, to say the least, that fueled the confidence of the mayor, an ordinary little man, that he could handle everything, and I believed that this third person called Yegor, and he also lured me to the casino.

However, I did not think that he himself would be there. For someone who's done such a good job of making Kohan the crazy face of all this shit, and so obviously setting the mayor up for us to clean him up, it would be too easy and not fun to wait for me at the casino.

No... He also wanted to play, torture me, push me against Kokhan, who already had reasons to want to kill me and my child, and harm Grisha. So Kokhan will be alone in the casino, and thanks to Misha, no one will bother us to talk heart to heart, so it was important not to kill Kokhan, no matter how much we wanted to.

At first glance, it might seem that the situation was not in my favor, and that my move was ridiculously predictable and stupid, but it was also stupid to delay further, waiting for something that was not clear.

I was tired and really wanted to be with Nikita, so today I had to... No, not to find out who was third. It didn't really matter.

Whoever he was, he had to die, and knowing his name would hardly help in this, but what would help was Kohan's madness, his obsession with revenge. This was my trump card: I was what he wanted. and something told me that it was somewhat different from what his friend wanted.

How? Well, at least because he was very patient, and Kokhan was prone to impulsive actions, and my task was to tease him properly today, even if for this I had to set myself up and Grisha and his guys.

Kokhan had to be pushed, shaken, so that he, in turn, would shake his patient friend, and this is what my plan differed from what the wolfhound once had.

It was time for the game to end, and to end on my terms.

I leaned my head back against the back of the seat and lit a cigarette, surrendering to the hum of the trains, which, most likely, was exclusively in my head.

Grisha reproached me for playing again, and I didn’t really think about it, and for the thousandth time to introspect, they say, who I am, what I am, and so on. I think that all of us, under the pressure of certain circumstances, could be very different and even monsters. Well, and the game ... So that was life, and we were all actors in it. Is not it so?

I took a deep drag, thinking about the old man I killed. Grisha killed his nephew, and Ibragimov must have shaken up the remaining members of his family, if he did not order them to be killed.

The whole family... The whole family has become a bloodstain that can only be washed away with new blood. And all because of the past, the sins of which fell on the shoulders of children. Alas, such was the law that no one could break yet.

Throwing the cigarette out the window, I closed my eyes and mentally reached out to Nikita. My baby... I have done everything for him and will do just as much more, never again doubting my decisions, even if they demand to fill the city with blood.

I swallowed the viscous, bitter saliva and opened my eyes. The SUV slowed down, turning right. We were there.

The ancient building in which the Queen of Spades casino was located was enchantingly glowing with lights. Boris has invested heavily in its renewal, while retaining the charm of the era of my father's reign, expressed mainly in the columns at the main entrance, which caught the eye with images of playing cards embossed on them.

The girls in the costumes of the Queens of Spades who stood by them greeted everyone who wanted to try their luck on the numerous slot machines or try their hand at the gambling tables with insidiously spinning roulettes, randomly issued cards and thrown dice.

I put down my cigarette case and dialed Misha from Grisha's phone.

- Kira? he answered excitedly.

- Are you at the mayor's? I asked, looking at Grisha, who was leaning against the car.

We're just going to knock politely. I heard an impatient growl in the background. - And you?

- I'm at the casino.

- Will you call when you get home? Misha asked after a pause.

Grisha, who looked more dangerous than ever in a helmet and with a machine gun, tilted his head to the side, his eyes flashing through the glass of the helmet. I think he perfectly heard how Misha was courting me in the dressing room, and now he made it clear that I could call only mentally, or even a corpse, if after the casino he hit the road to him to explain in detail to the wolf what skills he possessed.

- I'll call, - I assured Misha, not paying attention to the wolfhound's possessive manners. Honestly, there were no less contradictions in him than in me.

I dropped the call and flipped through the phone book again. The beautiful Katerina was still punished for spreading her drooling tongue, and therefore sat out in the residence, guarding Yegor. I got her.

- Grisha? - In her voice rang love hope.

- No, dear, - I replied calmly, looking expressively at Grisha, - it's just me.

- Ahh... Grisha...

“Let Yegor go,” I interrupted. - Drive his car somewhere far away and disassemble it for parts. Let him go on foot. By morning, I think, it will reach ... somewhere.

Without waiting for an answer, I disconnected and threw the phone on the seat. There were other guys in the house besides her, so if she doesn’t like to follow my orders, they will do it, not forgetting to have a conversation with Yegor on the subject of silence.

Grisha opened the door. I got out of the car and straightened the pistol holster that was snugly hidden under my dress. Still, being small had its advantages.

- What's the plan? - Silently because of the helmet asked Gray.

I glanced at the tiles that lined the road at the casino. My father let out his last breath on it and what I was going to do was even symbolic in this light. Such a memorable gesture from the eldest daughter of Valery Stanislavsky, whom she did not even know.

“Shoot everything,” I said. - Don't let anyone in, don't let anyone out.

- Victims? - with readiness has specified Gray.

- It is advisable to avoid. Well, and then, how will it turn out, - I added, feeling Grisha's burning gaze on me.

I answered him silently. I somehow got used to talking to him about my feelings and thoughts, but not about all of them, including today's plan. It was too late to whisper to him now, so I could only hope that he understood that I was actually setting his plan with Boris in motion, only slightly changing it. After all, he was really smart with me, only sometimes pretending to be a fool.

Have you heard, brothers? - Gray noticed cheerfully, lovingly stroking the machine gun. We were allowed to have fun!

The motorcyclists chuckled in anticipation as they clicked the safety locks on their machine guns. The girls at the entrance had already noticed us, which, in general, was not difficult, because about thirty armed motorcyclists in painted helmets with a red spot in the form of me among them simply could not help but catch the eye, so the casino security was probably already on approach.

Grisha said that she was not weak with them. Well, well... We'll check it out now.

I walked forward and slowly crossed the street, glancing at the video cameras aimed at the entrance to the casino. Hello, Vladislav! Now we are finally getting to know each other properly!

The girls at the entrance squealed along with those visitors who did not notice us in time, and ran inside, which was not even very reasonable, because there would be no stone left unturned there.

Motorcyclists poured into the casino and, in the blink of an eye, dispersed throughout the huge hall, opened fire.

Playing cards and chips, shards of glass and slot machines, slivers of tables, etc. flew in all directions along with shell casings. They spared nothing and no one: having fun from the bottom of their hearts, motorcyclists tore off jewelry from women and expensive watches from men, grabbed running waitresses and croupiers and drove everyone, without exception, to the elevators, to which I was walking with Grisha and Sery.

The arrows above the elevators glowed, indicating that someone was descending, and I stepped aside, but both elevators were empty. Grisha with Sery and several other motorcyclists who were nearby, shadows flickered behind the elevators, which, of course, were fakes, and shot the guards descending the stairs. Alas, it could not do without victims.

So far, the reception was weak for me by Kohan and his secret friend. I was a little disappointed. They didn't even try to impress me! Where was the lack of security? Where were the cool mercenaries?

The building had four floors: on the first floor there were gambling halls and a restaurant, on the second and third there were luxury hotel rooms, and on the fourth, under the very dome, the casino management was already located. That's where we headed.

The narrow corridor was suspiciously empty, and the farthest door was wide open. Muffled female screams and cries came from it, and I thought that it was broadcast from the video cameras below, but it was not: from the screen of a huge plasma hanging in the corner of the manager's office, a scene of gang rape of a girl with dark hair like mine was broadcast .

- Don't cry, don't cry! - exhorted her one of the guys. - You will be pleased!

- Violence excites, right? - the man sitting on the table with his back to me said in a pleasant voice.

I quickly looked away from the screen, but the screams of the girl, her crying... They made their way to the marrow of my bones, trying to extract from my memory the memory of my rape.

The man clicked the remote control, thereby turning off the sound, and jumping off the table, turned to face me. He glared at me and slowly sucked in air, reading the effect produced by the video.

I pushed through a lump of first impression, the absence of which I had just complained about. I don't think the girl scene was prepared for me, but the bastard certainly knew my "success" story. Where?

- Hello, Kira! Kohan smiled at me with the same smile he had at the supermarket checkout. - That's where we met! Again! Tell me, friend, - he turned to a man in his sixties, who was sitting crookedly on the floor at the table, - what is the name of the brother's wife?

“Sister-in-law,” the man known to me as the mayor of the city croaked tremblingly. Here is the second impression.

- Just the daughter-in-law? Kohan asked playfully. - Not a sister-in-law?

“Exactly,” the mayor replied, looking at me plaintively.

“Well…” Kohan released his claws. - Daughter-in-law, so daughter-in-law!

The graceful movement came out a little lazy, but the mayor fell dead, flooding the expensive parquet with blood from a throat ripped open by sharp claws.

The three half-breeds that were in the room with him looked at each other, unsteadily fingering their weapons. By the way, my weapon.

It was noticeable that the latter was not at all a common thing for them, like the murder that took place before their eyes, but the simple factory guys, who came from the same dirty slums as I, quickly moved away from him and returned their gazes to the plasma screen.

The rape interested them much more than the moral side of what was happening, and judging by the smell, as Kohan said, it turned them on. Well, in order to shoot from machine guns, you didn’t have to be super shooters at all. It was enough to pull the trigger and the automatic burst would do everything for them.

Kohan looked up at me with his purest eyes and, hiding his claws, wiped his hand on his light blue jeans. He wore no shirt or T-shirt, and his massive musculature rolled smoothly under his tanned skin with every move he made. Then in the supermarket he did not seem so huge to me, but he was huge, and the smell ... His wolf smell was the same as then, and sharply penetrated me, along with his gaze.

- So, Kira ... - he purred and walked towards me.

I stopped Grisha and Sery with a gesture, but Kokhan didn't even seem to notice. He stopped very close to me and I could feel his breath on my face.

- My sister-in-law Kira ... - as if nothing had happened, he continued, examining me. - Do you like my smell?

"He's very interesting, for a half-breed," I replied discreetly, although his smell made me sick even more than the smell of fresh blood.

- You also smell very interesting, - he said, for the hundredth time, greedily flaring his nostrils, - although not as tasty as it was then in the store. Kohan licked his lips, gliding over my chest. “Forgive me for being like this,” he added. - If I knew that today you would come to visit me so beautiful, I would dress up. Yes, and I would change the name of this spawn, otherwise, you know, "The Queen of Spades" somehow doesn't sound very good. Maybe it would be better to call "Black Jack"? This is blackjack, right?

I remained silent, throwing all my strength into suppressing the reaction to the third impression he had prepared for me.

Vile creature! How did he know this?

Kohan smiled contentedly and put his hand on my thigh.

“And they say that children spoil a woman’s figure,” he drawled thoughtfully, confidently diving his hot palm under my dress.

"Sometimes what's messed up can be mended," I said, holding his touch with some effort.

“It is, Kira,” he breathed, and drew my pistol.

The latter clicked idle at my forehead, and Kohan laughed out loud. Tested me, creature!

- Smart girl! Still laughing, he remarked. - Admit it, guys, - he shifted his gaze to Grisha and Sery, frozen with machine guns behind me, - who had the honor to caress her at night?

Grisha's fire, which was burning my back, became even hotter, and Kokhan smiled contentedly, unmistakably determining who it was coming from.

- Lucky! And, most importantly, how patient! - he added cheerfully, provocatively returning the gun to its place under my dress. - I waited until the girl matured, filled up Borya and immediately took her. Or did she take you? Kohan teased and looked at me. - Do you like to take, Kira? - he said insinuatingly and with a threat, inhumanly rolling out his eyes full of growing madness, which did not even closely resemble the eyes of Boris. - Moreover, even what does not belong to you.

“Turn around,” I said calmly, briefly glancing first behind his broad back, and then at his hand with newly released claws, ready for another fatal blow.

Not immediately, but Kohan turned around: at first only his head, which was quite enough to notice the same thing as me, namely the red dot crawling across the table.

With a sniper who sat in the building opposite the casino, Grisha came up with a great idea. However, as with the unloaded pistol he gave me.

I told you he was smart. Now, the main thing is that Grisha does not break. Of course, not everything I had planned went according to plan, but after all, not everything was lost.

His connection with the mayor no longer mattered, because Kohan solved the problem with him himself, the remnants of weapons stolen from the factory also surfaced, the absence of his secret friend was expected, but I was worried about his knowledge and even more the absence of mercenaries.

It doesn't look like they were at the casino, and the first thing I thought of was my son: were they looking for him at this very moment?

Maybe I fell for the wrong thing again, and instead of working on Kokhan, I myself was worked on, distracted by a couple with Grisha, while the location of my child was revealed, and my trump card was beaten larger?

I walked around Kohan and leaned against the table, glancing over the plasma screen as gray streaks ran across it. Grisha's guys found a room with a girl and shot a video camera broadcasting the nightmare that happened to her. I think that they also shot the scumbags who created it, although it was hardly easier for the girl.

- We do not have much time before the arrival of the brave officers, - I said without expression, - so let's get down to business.

- Come on! - Kohan became half-turned and, flashing his eyes with excitement, spread his arms to the sides. - Who is first? he challenged Grisha and Seroma. Or do you want to do it yourself? he added insinuatingly, but to me.

Gray shook his head warningly at Kohan's fighters, who seemed to be beginning to realize that they must have done something. Grisha froze like a statue, aiming his machine gun at Kokhan himself.

- If I wanted to kill you, Vladislav, - I embellished the intonation with mocking notes, - I would have done it already.

- Is that how? - he was feignedly surprised. - You intrigue me, Kira! You're intriguing! I'm starting to understand why you're so sunk into Borya! he added playfully, turning to me. - What do you want then?

“The same as you,” I replied. - I need a city. This city. I got everything that belonged to Boris, but I ran into certain... mmm... difficulties.

- I'm all ears! Kohan said with a smile, his eyes flashing.

- Firstly, there are bad rumors about me, which interferes with doing business. I glanced at his guys. “Secondly,” I returned my gaze to Kohan, “as it turned out, I didn’t get everything. A certain wolf, who was a lawyer under Boris, robbed me. As you can see, this is also not in my favor.

- And thirdly?

Thirdly, I am a woman. Also, a half-breed. Once upon a time, my father's surname meant something, but that time is long gone. The surname of my husband, that is, your brother, is also irretrievably gone. I smiled charmingly. - That's why I need a friend, Vladislav. It is a friend, not a mercenary. One who is strong enough to breathe life into both families and strengthen them in the union. I understand that this may seem naive and ridiculous to you, but I just want to convey to you that no matter who inspires you that I am an enemy or some kind of villain, this is not so. We can do more. Together. And I am ready to listen to your proposals and even make certain concessions. I smiled even wider.

Friend say...

Kohan came up to me and tugged at a strand of my hair with his finger. He sniffed the air, taking in every word I said, but damn, I've outdone myself!

My scent was energized and my words were sweetly deceitful. Of course, Kohan understood that I was bluffing, or in other words, hanging noodles on his ears, but my offer was so tempting. Just me and him. He and I. Why was a third one needed?

I looked into Kohan's eyes and saw in them the light I needed. The mayor thought he was using it, but it was actually Kohan who used it with his buddy. Having squeezed everything that was possible from the old man, Kokhan removed him, and I was sure that his guys would follow - witnesses that no one needed.

Kokhan had his own plan, and now that I was here, very close, offering myself literally on a silver platter, he really did not want to share me with the one who started all this.

"Friend..." repeated Kohan, licking his lips carnivorously. - The daughter of the first owner of the city ... - He left my hair and took hold of my chest. - The wife of the second ... - Having kneaded her like dough, he moved her to the back of my head, and put his other hand on the small of my back, thereby pressing me to him. - And the mistress of the third ... - he exhaled excitedly and slipped his tongue into my mouth.

Well, of course! What else could I become for the third? Only mistress! A hole, as Grisha put it. Just a hole. There was simply not enough fantasy for another!

I returned the kiss and lightly ran my hand over his instantly puffy fly. It wasn't just the violence that aroused. Cheating didn't do a bad job either.

"I guess..." I broke the disgusting kiss and pulled away. - That means yes"? Do you accept my offer?

“It looks more like,” Kokhan nodded at my hand on his fly, “that you are accepting my proposal,” he added with a smile, looking back at Grisha. - Someone has exhausted himself!

Grisha did not even move in response to his taunt, but I knew what a struggle was going on in him now, and I was very sorry that without revealing the truth to him, I forced him to go through this show.

Boris would have taken my actions with some pride, they say, his woman knew how to negotiate and achieve her goal by any means. I'm sure he would even be excited by my kiss with another man. But Grisha... Grisha was not like that.

He could appear as a cold-blooded and cruel killer, or he could behave like a mischievous boy, but in general Grisha's character was rather old-fashioned.

A woman, in his understanding, should not be a stupid and weak-willed rag, and, like a dog, follow the commands of a male owner, but at the same time, she always had to stand behind him, as it were, so that he would take all the blows on himself, protect her, and you would think that once he himself wanted to kill her.

I know that from the outside it might seem that I allowed Grisha a lot, that I let go of his act with Nikita and all his rudeness, but in fact it was he who allowed me a lot: he allowed me to think that he had not found me, he allowed me to shoot at him , beat him, insult him, tease him, maybe even humiliate him to some extent in front of his own guys and, despite all his riots and objections, he allowed me to keep secrets and make decisions, and I used this, used Grisha, accidentally breaking it.

"Two days," I said as Kohan returned his gaze to me. - Exactly enough you have to say goodbye to your past and consider the conditions for the future. I patted his fly and pulled his hands away from me. "Our future," I added emphatically. - Where to find me, you know.