Chapter 71 Traitor
Chapter 71 Traitor
Aleksander’s POV
The door behind me slammed with an earth-shattering thud. My mind was made up regardless of what my father thought. If I didn't take care of this now, it would be one minute longer that he was free, enjoying his little vacation.
No one has ever betrayed me before. I've never given my men an incentive to betray me, always making sure loyalty was evident and that wads of cash always lined their pockets. But this man, who I had in my inner circle, who I had played poker with, and who had met the only woman I've ever truly loved, betrayed me to the man who not only wants to kill me, kill Maria, but to destroy it all.
The night air was humid, clinging to me with a slow, suffocating heat that made every breath feel heavier than the last. Already waiting for me with the A/C cranked up was Ivan, one of my personal guards at the compound. The black bulletproof Mercedes SUV was sleek and gassed up for the five-and-a-half-hour drive to Folly Beach.
I opened the passenger side door and slid in, the coolness of the red leather seats caressing my skin. The GPS was ready for the address to be typed in. I pulled out my phone and typed in the address that Dimitri had sent. It was an upscale oceanfront resort catering to the rich and famous.
I couldn't bring in an army, as that would call too much attention to us. So this would call for me to do it up close and personal.
Turning towards Ivan, I nod towards the trunk, “Is the gear in the trunk?”
He didn't even twitch his eyes, still facing forward as the trained Russian soldier he was, “Yes, Sir. Everything we’ll need to go in undetected.”
“Good, good,” I said, twisting a loose string off the edge of my t-shirt.
Turning back to look at the house, I couldn't get the look of pure horror on Maria’s face out of my mind. I knew she was pissed, concerned, and had a whole slew of other emotions going through her head. I wasn't going in to wake her and have a heart-to-heart discussion with her now. It would serve no purpose at this moment. I left Henry in charge of her, making sure he didn't leave her side for a moment, even if that meant sleeping outside her door.
My father and Dimitri could sulk and disapprove of my actions all they want. But I was Pakhan here, and I couldn't let something like this slide.
We rolled out of the gates slowly, headlights slicing through the thick Georgia night. The compound disappeared behind us, swallowed by trees and darkness, and with it… the last bit of restraint I had left.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
Ivan never filled silence just to fill it. That was one of the reasons I kept him close. Men who talked too much usually ended up saying something they shouldn’t.
But tonight, the silence wasn’t calm.
It was coiled.
Waiting.
“You’re gripping that phone like it insulted your mother,” Ivan finally said, eyes still fixed on the road.
A humorless huff left my chest. “If it could talk, it probably would’ve.”
“That bad?”
I leaned my head back against the seat, staring up at the dark interior of the SUV. “He sat at my table, Ivan.” My voice came out quieter than I expected. Rougher. “Drank my whiskey. Looked me in the eye while planning how to sell me out.”
Ivan’s jaw ticked, but his tone stayed even. “Men like that don’t think they’re betraying you.”
I turned my head toward him slowly. “Oh?”
“They think they’re upgrading.”
That pulled a sharp, cold smirk from me. “That might be the dumbest decision he’s ever made.”
Ivan shrugged one shoulder slightly. “Most last decisions are.”
The road opened up as we hit the highway, the city lights fading behind us. The hum of the tires against asphalt settled into a steady rhythm, but my mind refused to follow it.
It kept circling back.
Maria.
Her face.
That look.
Not fear for herself.
Fear for me.
I dragged a hand down my face, exhaling slowly. “She saw too much tonight.”
Ivan didn’t respond immediately this time.
When he did, there was something quieter in his voice. “She chose to be there.”
“She didn’t choose this,” I snapped, sharper than intended.
A beat of silence.
Then—
“She shoved a man with a gun to save you,” Ivan said calmly. “Sounds like she chooses you. That includes… this.”
My jaw tightened.
I hated that he wasn’t wrong.
I hated even more that I didn’t know how to protect her from it anymore.
Because this—this life, this violence, this constant edge of war—wasn’t something I could turn off like a switch.
It was who I was.
And tonight was proof of it.
I stared out the window, watching the dark blur of trees pass by. “Henry won’t leave her side.”
“Good.”
“If he does, I’ll kill him too.”
That earned the smallest hint of amusement from Ivan. “I’ll make sure he’s aware of that motivational speech.”
A low chuckle slipped out despite myself.
It didn’t last long.
My phone buzzed in my hand.
Dimitri.
Of course.
I let it ring once.
Twice.
Three times.
Ivan glanced at me. “You going to answer that, or are we pretending it doesn’t exist?”
I sighed and swiped to answer, putting it on speaker.
“What?” I barked.
Dimitri didn’t even hesitate. “Tell me you didn’t actually leave.”
I leaned my head back again. “I didn’t actually leave.”
A pause.
“Good,” he said.
Another pause.
“…You’re lying, aren’t you?”
“I’m halfway to South Carolina,” I said flatly.
A string of Russian curses exploded through the speaker.
Ivan smirked.
I rubbed my temple. “Feel better?”
“No,” Dimitri snapped. “Turn the car around.”
“Not happening.”
“Aleksander—”
“No,” I cut him off, my tone dropping into something colder. Final. “You had your chance to handle this.”
“I was kidnapped, beaten, and half-dead,” he shot back. “Excuse me for not checking into a luxury resort while I was bleeding out.”
Ivan let out a quiet breath that sounded suspiciously like suppressed laughter.
I ignored him. Barely.
“This isn’t about you,” I said. “This is about a man who thought he could walk away after putting a target on everything I have.”
“And walking into a public resort alone is your solution?” Dimitri fired back. “You want witnesses? Cameras? Headlines?”
“I want him dead.”
Silence crackled through the line.
Then, quieter—
“You’re not thinking clearly.”
I smiled, but there was nothing warm in it. “I’m thinking perfectly.”
Another pause.
Then Dimitri sighed, the fight draining just enough to shift tactics. “At least tell me the plan.”
I glanced at Ivan.
He didn’t look at me, but he spoke anyway. “We go in quiet. Staff entrance. Cameras looped. In and out before anyone knows.”
Dimitri caught that immediately. “You’re bringing Ivan?”
“Relax,” I said. “I’m not completely reckless.”
“Debatable.”
“That hurt,” I deadpanned.
“Good.”
Despite everything, that pulled the faintest edge of something familiar between us.
It didn’t last.
“You find anything else?” I asked.
Dimitri’s tone sharpened again. “Yeah. He’s alone.”
Of course he was.
Coward.
“No guards with him,” Dimitri added. “Not yet. Viktor hasn’t sent anyone in. He thinks he’s safe there.”
A slow, dangerous quiet settled over me.
Ivan glanced at me. “That simplifies things.”
“Yeah,” I said softly.
It did.
Too easy.
“Location confirmed?” I asked.
“Penthouse level. Private access,” Dimitri said. “Aleksander… this isn’t a battlefield. You walk in there, you don’t get a second chance if something goes wrong.”
I stared straight ahead, watching the empty highway stretch endlessly into the dark.
“He already used his second chance,” I said.
Dimitri went quiet for a second. “This isn’t just about him.”
“I know.”
“And Maria—”
“I know.”
The words came out sharper than I intended.
I exhaled slowly, forcing control back in.
“I’ll call you when it’s done.”
“Don’t hang up—”
I ended the call.
The silence that followed was heavier than before.
But now—
Now it wasn’t waiting.
It was moving.
Ivan shifted gears smoothly, the SUV picking up speed as the highway stretched out in front of us.
“Alone,” he said casually.
“Mm.”
“You still want subtle?”
I leaned forward slightly, resting my elbows on my knees, eyes fixed ahead.
A slow, dangerous smile pulled at my mouth.
“No,” I said quietly.
“Not anymore.”