Lethal Read online

  Lethal

  Fariah Zaidi

  Copyright © 2021 Fariah Zaidi

  All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by means including photocopying, recording or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher or author except in case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Trigger warning:

  This book contains mature scenes and mentions of sexual abuse, assault, self-harm and violence.

  For enquiries, contact:

  [email protected]

  To the ones who are hurting.

  I hope you find happiness and peace.

  Contents

  Prologue: Drink

  One: Attack

  Two: Factory

  Three: Dinner

  Four: Egg-rolls

  Five: Threat

  Six: Team

  Seven: Family

  Eight: Bullets

  Nine: Muffin

  Ten: Binge watch

  Eleven: Questions

  Twelve: Cabin

  Thirteen: Combat

  Fourteen: Element

  Fifteen: Story

  Sixteen: Black

  Seventeen: Bruises

  Eighteen: Injured

  Nineteen: Omelet

  Twenty: Pancakes

  Twenty-one: Stay

  Twenty-two: Veil

  Twenty-three: Scarlett

  Twenty-four: Choking

  Twenty-five: Savior

  Twenty-six: Plan

  Twenty-seven: News

  Twenty-eight: Aurora

  Twenty-nine: Call

  Thirty: Birthday

  Thirty-one: Kisses

  Thirty-two: Army

  Thirty-three: Feroz

  Thirty-four: Storm

  Thirty-five: Bloodbath

  Thirty-six: Dante

  Thirty-seven: Emotions

  Thirty-eight: Thoughts

  Thirty-nine: Confessions

  Forty: Closure

  Forty-one: Commander

  Forty-two: Karina Velov

  Forty-three: Overwhelmed

  Forty-four: Promise

  Forty-five: Ambush

  Forty-six: Alistair

  Forty-seven: Siege

  Forty-eight: Darkness

  Epilogue: Beach

  Prologue: Drink

  Gabriel

  I walked along the corridor of the Sokolov mansion, my shoes clicking against the polished marble floors.

  On any other day, I would stop to glance at the ostentatious décor of the house with utter disgust- the massive, glittering chandeliers, the grand carpeted staircases, and vintage furniture. It looked like the entire building had been transported from the 19th century. It was gaudy. There even hung on the walls portraits of legendary mobsters in six feet high frames.

  However, I ignored everything today.

  The guards outside the office gave me a nod as I opened the double doors and walked past them into the room.

  Andrei Sokolov stood by the window, hands folded to his chest, his gold rings glistening in the receding sunlight.

  His bodyguard, Damen, stood in the corner of the room, his well over 6 feet frame making him look like a giant.

  Upon my arrival, Andrei turned around, a gold-toothed smile stretching across his lips.

  “Gabriel, my boy!” he exclaimed.

  I took in his appearance as he marched his pot-bellied frame towards me. The combed-back silver hair, gold chains dangling from his neck, and a Piguet watch banding his wrist. One would never guess he was a Russian mob boss when he looked more like a wannabe hip-hop artiste.

  He pulled me in for an unwanted hug, thumping my back proudly. My fists clenched at my sides as I wanted nothing more than to wring his chubby neck.

  “I want to know every little detail.” he blabbed on, unaware of my lack of enthusiasm for his affection, “That Lorenzo has been a pain in my ass for a long time now. I hope you had at least an hour of fun before sending him off to his grave."

  “Oh, I did.” My reply was curt as I shoved my hands in my pockets to control my urges.

  He laughed gleefully, waddling over to a small table next to his desk, which held a tray of glasses and a bottle of Scotch.

  Unscrewing the cap, he poured out two glasses and held one out for me.

  “So tell me, Andrei,” I spoke up, twirling the glass in my hand, “why did you want Lorenzo dead? Wasn’t he your underboss until a couple of months ago?"

  My tone must have had some effect on him, as he gulped his drink slightly harder than he intended to. It was a small action, but I took notice.

  “The bastard was stealing from me. I told you this before.” he placed his glass down and poured himself another drink, “Besides, this interrogation wasn’t in our deal. I give you names and you kill. No questions asked.”

  “I remember our deal quite well.” I sat down in the chair opposite his desk, picking up his letter opener and admiring its edge, “You, on the other hand, have a whole different plan, I’ve learned.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked, his face paling slightly, as he desperately tried to keep up his façade. I watched as he nervously glanced behind him to make sure Damen was still there to protect him.

  If only he knew where his loyalties lay.

  “What I mean is that I had a long chat with Lorenzo before I killed him.” I answered, placing the blade down and focusing attention back on the snake in front of me, “Turns out, a dying man does have a lot to confess.”

  I looked towards Damen and gave him a curt nod.

  Within seconds, he had moved from the corner of the room and towards Andrei. He tackled him to the floor, wrapping one hand around his neck and the other slapped across his mouth, effectively silencing him.

  The bastard didn’t even have the time to gasp.

  I crouched down next to him as he thrashed and writhed against the bodyguard he blindly trusted.

  “For three years, I was your puppet. I did whatever you asked, I killed whoever you wanted.” my voice was low, the rage building up with each passing second, “And what did I ask in return? That you help me eliminate an old enemy. My boss won’t be happy to hear that you were planning on putting me six feet under, that too after you begged for my services.”

  Panic settled in his eyes as I reached into my pocket and took out a slim, white box.

  “What I should’ve known is that you’re not loyal to anyone but yourself.” I went on.

  Opening the box, I took out the injection.

  “By the way, I also stopped by Ramon’s. He gave me a sample of the new drug. He says it’s a kind of lethal injection, but only more, well, lethal.”

  Andrei looked towards the door and let out a muffled cry.

  “No use, asshole.” I muttered, taking the needle out of the plastic wrap, “Nearly half of your men know what I am doing to you right now. And I’m pretty sure the remaining would agree with me when I tell them what happened.”

  This shocked him for some reason and I rolled my eyes, “You thought they’d be loyal to you? You’ve been a complete dick to them. You paid them shit for money and didn’t even bother if any of them died.”

  Damen looked at me and grunted, an indication to hurry up. Not because he was afraid someone might walk in, but because he was getting bored.

  “Coming back to my point, I just wanted you to know that you severely underestimated me,” I spoke, “and my resolve. You shouldn’t have betrayed me, Andrei. And you definitely should not have betrayed her.”

  With that, I stuck the injection in his arm and emptied the contents.

  Damen got up from the floor and went towards the tab
le. Pouring out two drinks, he handed me one as both of us leaned back against the desk to watch the show.

  The drug would take about seven minutes to kill Andrei. Until then, it was raw and agonizing pain, as his heart rate would decrease and his blood vessels start constricting, rubbing against each other like sandpaper.

  “Tomorrow,” Damen told me, “we’ll hold a meeting and tell everybody.”

  I nodded firmly. I finished my drink in one large gulp and closed my eyes.

  It begins now.

  One: Attack

  Alexandra

  On any other day, Hanson Towers would be crowded, with people briskly walking across its polished marble floors and brightly lit corridors. The continuous ringing of their phones would create a cacophony amidst their rapid conversations, and the phones on the reception would be ringing off the hook.

  But today, as I walked in through the doors, only a handful of people came into my sight. Lena and Matthew, the receptionists, sat behind their desk, furiously typing into their respective computers. A few of the other employees were scattered in groups of three or four.

  It didn't take me more than a couple of seconds to realize that something bad indeed had happened. The anxious looks on all their faces had me increasing my pace.

  Lena heard my heeled boots clicking on the floor and looked up. Shooting me a small, worried smile, she gestured towards the elevators and went back to typing.

  This was getting weirder. Lena was the most overenthusiastic and chatty person I've ever met. It was odd not to stand at her desk for a quarter of an hour and collect the daily gossip.

  I quietly made my way to the elevator, for once glad of the lack of people present today. I pressed the button for the top floor and leaned back as the cubicle ascended, watching the neon numbers change on the screen with each passing floor.

  There was dead silence in the corridor as I exited. I reached the office and went straight in.

  My partner, Feroz, stood by the window, hands clasped behind his back.

  "This better be important," I announced, "because if you interrupted my Marvel marathon for-"

  "Lexi."

  I turned upon hearing my name.

  "Xavier." I breathed, not even bothering to hide my surprise, "What are you doing here?"

  Sitting comfortably on the couch, dressed in a crisp grey suit, was the one person to whom I owed everything in my life and the person who I wanted to kill with my bare hands. Someone I loved and hated at the same time.

  Loved, because he helped me at a time when I had nothing. He gave me food and water, provided a roof over my head, and gave me a job. Above all, he cared for me like a brother.

  But I hated him too. Because he was the one who turned me into the monster that I am today.

  To say I'm surprised to see him here would be an understatement. Shocked would be more like it. Xavier never leaves the comforts of his upstate mansion to come down and mingle with peasants like us. Unless something had happened, which led me to my next question.

  "What the hell happened?"

  I noticed the change in his demeanor. It wasn't bold and confident today. No, he looked pissed and somehow lost.

  Instead of answering my question, he gestured towards my partner, who moved away from his spot by the window.

  That's when I noticed that Feroz's compulsively neat desk was scattered with papers and photographs. He rounded it, bunching up a few and handing them to me.

  "Last night, one of our houses in Chicago was attacked. Thirty members of the family were present there, along with three cooks and five maids." Xavier explained, pouring himself a drink.

  I scanned the images, taking in all the gory details. People shot, stabbed, their blood covering the floor.

  "All of them are dead."

  Placing the pictures down, I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. His tone indicated that something much worse was coming.

  "Aurora was there too."

  I froze. Oh, no.

  "And the baby?" I asked, afraid to hear the answer.

  When I got none, I looked up at him.

  "What happened to Ever, Xavier?"

  That's when I noticed his eyes, how red they were.

  He'd been crying.

  Oh God, please no.

  He shook his head and looked away, tightly pursing his lips as he struggled to provide me an answer.

  "I don't know."

  "What?"

  "They weren't there." he said, "But God, their room, Lexi. It was trashed, and there was blood everywhere- on the bed, the walls."

  Frustrated and in despair, he ran his hands through his hair. I could feel the anger radiating off of him.

  "I don't know where my wife and daughter are." he said, "And I don't know how to find them."

  I stood frozen for a few seconds. For the first time in years, I didn't know what to say.

  On any other day, this man would call me from his phone and bark out instructions for any particular deal. Some days he would face-time me with his wife and daughter in the background, the three of them appearing like a normal yet crazy family, playfully pushing each other out of the screen.

  Xavier was one of the most powerful mobsters in the country and he was known across the world for it. Not many would have the balls to mess with him. Those who did are dead, in ways that one cannot even imagine. Some buried, some burned and some thrown in the ocean.

  "Please help me find them, Lexi." his plea was a whisper, and my throat closed up when I saw a tear roll down his cheek. He was angry and frustrated, but beyond this, he was in despair.

  I thought of Aurora, his gorgeous wife, her sarcasm and wit that always got her in trouble, yet so fierce and protective of those she loved. And their daughter, Ever, the naughtiest two-year-old I'd ever met.

  You know people in your life that have always been strong. No matter how bad a situation gets, they're always the ones to remain standing fiercely throughout. But when you see the same people break, it pains your heart too. And I could see it happening right now.

  I looked at my Boss. And my heart hurt when I saw the strongest man I know cry over his family.

  Wiping away my tears, I walked up to him.

  "Look at me," I firmly placed my hand on his cheek, "look at me, Xavier."

  When he finally did, I only saw pain and anguish in his eyes.

  "I'm going to find out who did this, okay?" I promised him, my voice shaking with emotion, "I am going to hunt down every single one of them, and then I'll make them pay."

  He nodded and my own eyes welled up.

  "And I'm going to find Aurora and Ever."

  "I don't even know if they're alive, Lexi." his voice trembled.

  "Until we find a body, I'm bloody well assuming that they are," I told him with finality, stepping back.

  "What if they're not?"

  "As I said before, I'm going to hunt them down." I whispered, "And I am going to rip them apart. Limb by limb."

  After Xavier left, I sat down with Feroz in his office, scanning through the evidence of the previous night's attack.

  "Did Xavier say why Aurora and Ever were in Chicago?" I asked, finishing the Scotch Feroz had given me earlier.

  "Aurora has an old friend named Leah who lives there." Feroz explained, replaying the video, "She went there to meet her."

  I nodded, satisfied with the answer.

  "Are you okay?"

  Feroz's question made me stop abruptly.

  "Yeah, I'm okay." I tried to play it off.

  "Don't lie to me Alexandra." he warned me, "I've known you for five years, enough to know that you're probably plotting the method of execution of the attackers."

  I had to give him that. I was thinking about it.

  "I also know how close you and Aurora are." he sighed, covering my hand with his, "So let me ask you again, are you okay?"

  I didn't have it in me to lie when he was asking so sincerely. And I could never lie to him.

  "I will be once I kil
l those bastards." my reply was curt, as I gave his hand a gentle squeeze and pulled away.

  My friendship with Feroz started as a guardianship. Xavier, as much as he loved me for my talents, told me that I was like an impulsive teenager when it came to tricky situations. I vividly remember the day he called me in his office to meet Feroz.

  "Are you serious?" I folded my arms across my chest, "You're making a forty-year-old man in charge of me?"

  "I'm twenty-five." Feroz cleared his throat from his seat on the couch.

  "I am serious, Lexi." Xavier admonished, "You almost got yourself killed today. You need a partner to have your back."

  "You're treating me like I'm some impulsive eighteen-year-old."

  "You are exactly like an impulsive eighteen-year-old."

  I huffed indignantly, “I’m twenty-one, you jackass.”

  Feroz got up and came to stand in front of me, holding out his hand, "Nice to meet you, Alexandra."

  "The feeling's not mutual, Feroz." I gave him my best fake smile, emphasizing the word 'not', "And I would like to apologize to you beforehand."

  "For what, may I ask?"

  "You see, my guns tend to go off sometimes, on their own." I explained, shrugging my shoulder, "So, I am sorry if I shoot you in the ass or anything. Accidentally, that is."

  "Lexi." Xavier’s warning tone made me turn towards him.

  "What? I'm just giving him a fair warning." I gave him my most innocent look.

  Before Xavier could speak, Feroz cut him off.

  "No need to fight, Xavier. We can handle this, we're all mature adults in this room." then his eyes turned to me, amusement sparkling in them, "Well, except one."

  Before I could come up with a sarcastic reply, he spoke up again.

  "Look, Alexandra, my babysitting days are over, so even I don't feel quite enthusiastic about taking care of a whiny teenager."

  "I'm eighteen years old, for God's sake," I muttered.

  "However," he ignored my interruption, "what Xavier has proposed is only advantageous to you. My job will not be to meddle in your work, but to help you through it."

  Since then, on every deal, every hit, every project, Feroz has been with me.