The Smirnovs
1270 Words
“The Smirnovs,” Liam said, confirming what I already suspected.
I stepped back, my fists clenching.
“Why the hell are they after Alex?”
“Let’s find out.”
Liam grabbed a bucket from the corner—water mingled with piss, judging by the smell.
One of his guys had taken a leak in it earlier, and Liam hadn’t even blinked.
This was why I preferred to work alone—or with my men.
Antonio, Marlo, and Cash understood my methods. Liam?
He had his own way of doing things, and I didn’t trust him any more than I trusted these bastards chained to the chairs.
He threw the contents of the bucket on the men, and they woke with a gasp, sputtering and coughing.
Liam pulled a knife from his jacket, a small blade, sharp and precise.
His movements were calm, calculated.
“Why were you following my daughter?” he asked, his voice low but deadly.
One man remained silent, his jaw set.
Liam didn’t hesitate—he jabbed the blade into the man’s chest, just enough to make him gasp but not enough to kill.
“I’ll ask again,” Liam said, his tone cold.
“Why were you following my daughter?”
The second man watched in horror as Liam continued his work, stabbing the first man in the stomach, the thigh, anywhere he could inflict pain without ending his life.
Blood pooled beneath the chair, and the first man’s breaths came in ragged gasps.
Finally, Liam paused, his blade hovering.
“Why were you following her?”
“Our orders were to take her!” the man blurted, his voice shaking.
“To take her?” Liam pressed, his body coiled with tension.
“Yes! Alex Smith is … she’s important. A pawn in the game.
They wanted us to grab her.”
“Who’s they?” I demanded, stepping forward.
The man’s eyes darted between us. “I don’t know names.
Once you get the mark, you do as they say.
We were told to watch her, wait for the right moment, and take her.”
“You work for the Smirnovs?” Liam asked.
The man hesitated, his lip trembling.
Liam didn’t give him a chance to answer.
He drove the knife into the man’s neck and twisted.
Blood spurted, and the man gurgled, his body slumping forward.
“What the f**k?” I snapped. “We didn’t get all the information!”
Liam ignored me, stepping back as the second man bled out.
“I know what we’re dealing with,” he said, his tone grim.
“And it’s not pretty. I dealt with the Smirnovs over twenty years ago.
This is bad, Nikolai. Worse than you know.”
He paused, meeting my gaze. “I need to speak with your father.
And Alex—she needs to come back home.”
I took a step closer, my anger boiling over. “What the f**k are you talking about?”
“It’s not like you respect her,” Liam said, his voice cutting.
“For all I know, you could be working with them to hurt her.”
“You can't make baseless accusations !.
” My voice was cold, deliberate. “I would never work with anyone but the Greco family.
Alex is my wife, and she’s not in danger from me.”
Liam stepped closer, invading my space as if testing my resolve.
“Prove it,” he said, his voice sharp with challenge. “Do you think I’m a fool, Nikolai?”
I locked eyes with him, refusing to back down.
His words hung in the air like a trap, but I wasn’t going to walk into it.
Not now.
Liam’s lips twisted into a smirk, his next words slicing through the tension.
“Do you think I don’t know my own daughter?
That she’s still a virgin?” His voice dropped, almost taunting.
“That you’ve failed to fulfill your end of the agreement? Don’t think I’ve forgotten—I could have this marriage annulled at any time.”
I let out a dry chuckle, masking the simmering anger under the surface.
“If that’s the case, Alex would have to agree to a virginity test. I’d demand it.”
Liam’s eyes narrowed, his smirk growing wider.
“And to get away from you, Nikolai, my daughter would do it in a heartbeat.”
His words hit harder than I cared to admit.
I hated the smugness in his tone, but more than that, I hated the way he seemed so sure of Alex’s disdain for me.
Liam stepped back, but not before slapping me on the shoulder like we were old friends.
“Do you really think Alex wanted to be married to you?” he asked, his voice laced with mockery.
Before I could respond, Bill entered the room, his voice tense.
“Sir, Lucas Greco has arrived.”
“Good.” Liam turned to Bill, his tone dismissive.
“Clean up the mess for me.”
“I’m so sorry, sir,” Bill said, his voice trembling.
Liam waved him off. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll talk later.”
I caught the fear in Bill’s eyes, but I didn’t ask.
Whatever held Bill under Liam’s thumb was none of my business.
The weight of Liam's words still lingered in my head, echoing too often than I'd like to admit.
We left the basement, and sure enough, my father was waiting upstairs with Antonio and a handful of guards.
Liam greeted Lucas Greco with a handshake, the two men exchanging pleasantries like this was a casual business meeting.
Liam didn’t waste any time leading us toward the bedroom where I’d left Alex.
My jaw tightened as we climbed the stairs.
I wasn’t eager to see her—not after everything Liam had said.
When Liam pushed open the door without knocking, I braced myself.
I wasn’t sure what I expected, but it certainly wasn’t Alex pacing the room like she owned it.
“Dad?” Her voice was soft but steady as she rushed toward Liam, ignoring me completely.
My jaw clenched. This was humiliating.
My own wife didn’t even glance in my direction, didn’t seek me out for comfort or answers.
One look at my father confirmed it—this was bad for the Greco name, for me.
“Did Nikolai tell you what happened?” Alex asked, her gaze fixed on Liam.
“Of course,” Liam replied smoothly.
Alex hesitated, wringing her hands.
“I don’t know what’s going on. One moment, we were—I don’t know, just going about our day—and then bam.”
Her words didn’t make sense. She wasn’t telling him the full story.
She wasn’t telling him that I’d dragged her off campus, or that I’d yelled at her.
Why? What game was she playing?
Who was Alex Smith, really?
Why did Liam trust her so implicitly? And how the hell did he know we hadn’t consummated the marriage?
There was only one answer—Alex told him. She had to have.
I studied her as she spoke, her movements, her tone.
Something about her didn’t add up.
Women always wanted something, and Alex was no different.
Whatever it was, I’d figure it out. Once I knew what she was after, I’d deal with her in my own way.
“Those men were after you,” Liam said, his voice heavy with concern.
“You’re in danger, and you should come back home” he dropped the bombshell and everyone went stilly quiet.
- Writer
