Concede (The Diamond Empire Book 1) by Kathy Coopmans (bts book recommendations .TXT) 📕

the man who tore my woman to shreds. The man who tried to get his hands on her. The man who killed mine and Victoria’s child. Strangled a little boy and shot a man in the back.

A goddamn coward.

“I’d have granted you that favor of seeing me earlier if that’s all it took. Now listen to me, or I’ll shoot Dray in the head. As you know, I like to kill people in their sleep. Mikhail and I decided to expand to the States. I’m honoring him by continuing with our plan, which leads to question number one. I’m assuming Jack is dead. No worries, he was a means to an end. My sister, however, you would be wise to tell me where she is. If you do, I’ll kill you quickly. Scout’s honor as you Americans say.”

So that’s why he hasn’t killed me. I should have known.

“I was never a Boy Scout, so that doesn’t mean shit to me. I’ll never bend to your command. I’ll never answer your questions with the correct answer.”

Rage explodes across his features as he places the muzzle of a 9MM against my forehead.

I say nothing as I try to wrap the fact around my head that he could pull the trigger at any moment. That I could be dead just like that. That his hand is steady, and he’s not going to miss.

If that happens, I hope Victoria finds it in her heart to forgive me for not making it back to her. I’d imagine she’s climbing the walls with worry about now.

Everyone likely is.

Fuck.

“Place him on his knees in front of me. He’s going to make a phone call to Roan for me. I need him here. You can blame him for your death.”

Although we could use the backup, that’s an even bigger no. Even if I don’t have enough strength left in me to last the time it’ll take him to get here, I’d never lead Roan into a heartless monster’s snare.

Besides that, I trust Dray knows what the fuck he’s doing.

“Anyone dares to place me on my knees, and I’ll snap their neck with my legs before you have a chance to pull the trigger.”

He laughs, narrowing his beady little eyes on me.

“You will call, or I’ll go after your niece, your sisters-in-law, your brothers. I haven’t had the chance to set my eyes on them yet. The pictures I’ve seen of your sweet little niece, though. She’d sell for more than that whore of yours.”

Wrath unfolds inside me with the need for violence. My beast is snapping and cracking his jaw. Goddamn it. I wish I had the use of my hands. Then again, if I did, I wouldn’t be helplessly sitting here, I’d be home with Victoria, and we’d be right back at square one trying to find this piece of trash.

Sacrifice.

It’s worth it to put this man into the ground finally. I can practically taste his death.

It’s the best death I’ll witness to date. That is, if Maxim has any patience left by the time, I do shut my mouth.

“I’m not calling anyone. You can call Roan yourself.” My drawl is profound—a buildup from the hatred for him sifting through my throat like the sweet taste of candy.

“Should I expect a bullet in my skull quickly, or are you going to drag this out?”

“Don’t worry, you’ll die, you’ll also make that call, or I will send someone to snatch your niece. I’m done playing games: a little virgin girl and a female member of The Diamond Empire. I’d be set for life. One by one, I will take down the Empire and take over this city. Now tell me where my sister is?” he asks, pressing the muzzle further against my forehead.

I want to say plenty of things for hearing Victoria’s name come out of his mouth. For calling her a whore when she’s far from it. For thinking such disgusting thoughts when it comes to Lexi. For hitting me where it hurts the most. Right in the heart. At the moment, I need to keep fucking with his head.

“I felt nothing when I bashed your brother’s skull in. His blood splattered all over the place. And damn, was he a bleeder. I had to wash my hair many times to get the tiny pieces of his skull and brain matter out. I’m still waking up with a smile on my face when I dream about his death. I never tasted such sweet revenge as I did when he died.” Not the best thing for me to say to a man holding a gun to my head. But if he’s going to shoot me, I might as well go out with a big bang.

Instead of pulling the trigger, he takes his free hand and doesn’t disappoint when he bitch slaps me with the back of his hand. Like the sadist he is, he kisses the skull ring I didn’t notice he’s wearing. I can feel a gauge in my cheek from the ugly thing. My neck drops to my chest as my sight blurs. The muscles in my neck pull tight when I lift it back up and glare at him while keeping Dray in my now blurred periphery.

“The little boy screamed for his daddy when I wrapped my hands around his throat. God, that was enjoyable,” Maxim boasts. Turning from me to Dray, who now has his head up. A hate-filled grimace on his face.

“Change of plans. I don’t need Roan here when my men will drop your bodies at the front gate to his house. If he doesn’t want anyone else to die, he’ll negotiate. I don’t need my sister’s money when I’ll find her and sell her right along with Victoria unless Dray can’t stand stomaching your death.”

The words just leave his mouth, and he whips back around, aims, and a bullet tears through my left shoulder. Another in my abdomen and another in my chest. The impact causes the chair to fall backward.