Hello dear all :-) I am posting chapter 1 of this story and I really hope you'll enjoy it, so please let me know what you think with your comments that I love very much!

Thank you for the great welcoming you gave to my new story: THANK YOU!!!

We see how Roman was in his past life while dealing the shady and dangerous business before meeting Enna.

On the right a wonderful banner made from azer90, thanks honey <3 Well, Roman has more tattoos..

Dedicated to all of you and in particular to DiDi_XD as a thank you for your dedications!

Enjoy!

-KIEV, UKRAINE, 1 YEAR LATER-

ROMAN POV

The snow kept falling silently all around the empty parking lot at the very end of the city, an isolated and forgotten place that was left abandoned as many other old places; some old Soviet-era buildings were lined on the other side, but they were mostly empty and even if someone was there looking at this very spot, they would not dare to utter a single sound. They valued their life too much to overstep limits.

The snow fell quiet and silent over our heads and the air was already getting chilly, even though it was only the beginning of November. I did not mind it, since I liked the cold and never suffered it. No sound was there in the air or daring to creep out, not even the quietest whisper; that was not correct. It was possible to detect one feeble sound and that was from the two men kneeling down in front of me and uselessly begging for their pathetic life, with their eyes wide with terror and dreadful fear and their lips purple for the cold.

A waste of time.

Once you betray the organization for such a low reason, you must expect the right punishment and they could call themselves lucky the boss decided to send me this time instead of someone else that lusted for bloody massacre, even though it was not a job adequate to my rank.

My rank, of course.

The stars on my knees and the annoying bother and burden they brought the moment the ink sank into my skin and flesh. It was without doubt a great honour for me and I kept and wore them with pride and made sure to always honour and rightfully serve our organization and boss, but there was more behind that. With those stars I became a captain and someone high ranked and that meant more enemies trying to kill me to gain fame and money, and more pointless and irritating envy crawling inside our group.

You would be surprise to learn how sly were people standing right beside you and how you had to guard your back more from them than from outside enemies. You were ready for external menaces and dangers, but not ready enough to defend yourself from internal traitors and that is why I trusted almost nobody and kept alone most of the time. And that was the reason I was here now facing these pieces of human garbage. They had betrayed and done it in the lowest way, and betrayal meant danger, problems and delay in business, loss of money and loss of territory.

“Are you sure it was them that leaked out the info? We cannot know that hundred percent, so are you going to take the blame in case we fail?”

This was one of the annoyances the stars brought to me and it was an annoyance quite treacherous, because it was sneaky and sly and had the right to stand here and close to our boss.

Ruslan was not someone to underestimate.

“First of all, there is no need for you to be here, and you know I am sure hundred percent. Now, if you cannot stand the sight of blood and brain scattered on the snow, I suggest you to look away.” I simply answered him, not mentioning his name, because it was better to keep them hidden.

“You arrogant son of a bitch.” He hissed, thinking of getting under my skin with such unoriginal offense.

“You might be right in calling me son of a bitch, since my mother might be one.” He groaned when I answered him in that way and went to touch the knife he had in his pocket, but Anton stopped him.

“We are here to finish the job without wasting further time. We gathered the necessary information and now we know it’s a Chechen family behind the mess of last month; the boss will be pleased with this.” He nodded to me and so I turned my eyes again towards the men on the ground, now almost licking my shoes begging for mercy.

Utterly pathetic.

Why couldn’t they keep a little bit of dignity in their very last hour? It was their choice to betray and sell out vital information and now they behaved like the most disgusting vermin. I never had mercy for men losing their pride and dignity.

Anton, a man that had reached almost his forty and worked for our group since he was twenty, could be considered like a friend to me, that is how people called us, but truth be told, I had no idea what it meant to have friends. The only thing I knew about this man was the fact that I could trust him and that he would never shoot me at my back and that for me was enough. He never tried to go up and advance in rank, saying it only brings problems and on that he was right; Anton taught me the ropes and it was thanks to him that I learnt what I knew.

“Any last word?” I asked the poor vermin on the ground where the snow piled white and pure. The snow was something that held my interest, because it was white, clean and reminded me of something pure, even though I had no idea what pure really meant.

“Please, we beg of you, spare us. Have mercy.” One of them ranted out, small clouds of condensed breath leaving his mouth. His face was livid for the cold and snow and his eyes held that terrified expression of someone that knew was going to die.

“Wrong word, you shouldn’t have betrayed the organization and sell the boss for what, few miserable rubles?” My voice was hard and cold and I could tell it made them cringe and retreat in fear, but that was right. They had to fear me even during their last breath.

“We had no choice, they took our families and they said they would kill them and so..” Same lame and pathetic excuse over and over, and this is why I always considered love and family a useless burden. They were weak points the enemy would exploit at the very first chance.

“I do not care about your family, as they are already dead and waiting for you on the other life, if you believe in something. Now, your last pray.”

His eyes widened more and another horrified gasp left his mouth.

“What do you mean they are dead?” He asked going more livid and pale.

“Exactly what I said. They are dead and you know how they were killed?” With my index finger I mimicked to slit my throat and the man in front of me dropped his hands on the snow, understanding what was there to understand. The Chechen had slaughtered his own family in the old fashion way.

“Please..” He still whispered. This man here had no dignity and no compassion. I told him his family was gone and instead of bracing dead with courage in order to face his dear ones, he only cared for his life. He deserved no mercy.

BANG.

The first man fell with a silent thud on his back on the snow and his wide open eyes stared lifeless at the grey and icy sky, while a rivulet of fresh and warm blood rolled down from his forehead.

“No please, I..”

BANG.

It was not a real “bang”, more like a silenced and quiet “thud”, since I used the silencer in order to attract less attention.

The second man fell on his side and his face contracted in a strange grimace and I could tell he wasn’t completely dead. They were lucky indeed it was me and not someone else, since I never enjoyed leaving someone dying like a stray dog on the street like that, with their warm blood slowly leaving their body and turning cold and lifeless.

BANG.

Now he was completely gone.

I spared them a quick glance and with the tip of my foot I tested whether they were completely dead and they were; I heard a snort and I knew it came from Ruslan who had always something to say. The best tactic was to ignore him and keep an eye open on him, to see where he was aiming his knife to. Anton nodded to me and so my job was done; now it was his turn. I unscrewed the silencer and put it in a pocket and then placed the gun in the holster hanging under my jacket. Another last glance to check the fact the bullets remained in their bodies and that was good, since we were going to dispose of them and leave no traces whatsoever around.

“Ruslan, cover their body and call the driver. We are going to work on them and then throw them in the river.” Anton said and I could tell Ruslan did not like to receive orders, but he better behave and follow the dispositions given to him.

He dialled a number on his cell phone and in a minute a long old car reached the parking lot and stopped in front of us. Two men around forty came out and nodded reverentially towards me, slightly bowing their heads, and I simply nodded.

“Usual treatment, sir?” One of them asked to me.

“Yes, follow Anton’s instructions and do a clean job otherwise I will personally take care of you and of your colleague.” The two men gulped and nodded, knowing it was better not to displease me and simply do as I said.

They threw a rugged plastic blanket over the two corpses and somehow piled them together; they opened the door of the trunk and tossed the pack inside it and carefully covered it with another blanket. I could see that they were indeed following my orders in doing a clean job, because they made sure not to leave behind a trail of blood. That was good.

“I am going with them, Roman. I will see you later at the same place.” Anton informed me and I responded with a nod, while Ruslan proceeded to follow his two minions and going to sit in front seat.

I gave him a crooked glare and he felt it, because he turned and glared me back. I knew he was edgy to slit open my throat or stubbed my guts out of my back with his knife, it was written all over his face, but he knew I wasn’t someone to underestimate and he knew he would lose against me, if he was going to attack me directly and fairly.

As I said before, inside annoyances and troubles were more problematic then outside enemies.

It wasn’t just that he could not stand me and wished to have the stars instead of me; the main problem was that I did not like him and not for futile reasons driven by envious feelings. I did not like him because Ruslan gave me wrong vibes, because I felt something was rotten inside him and I was expecting something from him sooner or later. But I was ready and so wasn’t going to give him the joy to take me by surprise. Anton smirked at me and winked, as to say not to worry, as to say he was keeping an eye open, too. He confessed me he had the same doubt, but without real evidences, it was pointless to take it up to the boss.

I watched the car driving away from the spot and leaving faint traces of tyres on the no longer candid snow. Drops of blood had tainted it and I let them there, knowing that in a couple of hours they would disappear under new layers of snow and ice. Tonight the temperature was going to drop below zero and when the police was going to find the two corpses, they will have their fun in trying to identify them, given Anton had a perfect method to remove every single detail and trace. He was quite the sadistic bastard sometimes, but nonetheless a very loyal and strong man and he had my complete respect and trust.

When the car was no more in sight, I turned around and walked away heading for the metro, since it was the easier and quicker way to move around Kiev if you wished to keep alone and quiet. I didn’t want to drive a car and maybe attract attention, nor calling a taxi, since a bored driver might be quite the pain in the ass sometimes with his inappropriate questions or opinions on the country, politics and life in general.

After a long and silent walk I reached the metro station and walked down the stairs and patiently waited for the train to come; a girl not even twenty years old tried to approach me to sell her body to me. I gave her a dark and severe glare and she shrank back, fearing she had just met a cop.

“Go home and find another way to make money.” I told her.

She was pretty in her long and messed blonde hair, with her golden-green eyes and skinny exposed legs. She was suffering cold in those short and poor clothes, but given her purposes, she had to show the goods; the girl was clearly new to this job and probably had the faint luck to have no pimp over her. When she realized I wasn’t a cop, she made a second attempt and seeing no one was around, I pushed her completely flat on the wall and pressed her throat with my gloved hand. Her eyes widened in now clear and suffocating fear and when my other gloved hand reached for the hem of her overly short skirt, she squirmed pointlessly under my weight. She was trapped and she just realized it. Such a naive little thing she was.

“What now, first teasing and offering, and then running away? It doesn’t work in this way, you know this, yes?”

She gulped and her eyes blinked of restrained tears.

“You know, I could take you right now, right here and believe me when I say that nobody would care and come to help you. They know and can see what you are. So you want me here or at my place? Speak.” My voice was harsh and cold and I felt a devious smile forming on my lips. Whenever someone feared my voice and my presence, well, that brought me great joy.

“Please..” The girl whispered with a barely audible thread of voice.

How old could she be? Was she over eighteen? Probably she was, but sure wasn’t used to this job. So why they thought that selling their bodies was the only way to gain money? It was something I never understood and it was something that enraged me. And that is why I never wanted to take part of that business inside our organization; it was degrading and humiliating and couldn’t stand how they let men treat them and how men treated them. It was sick and wrong, but I wasn’t in the position to stop it and my boss told me clearly to mind my business and keep my conscience at bait, since it was not my place to say a word on one of his most ludicrous branches of his business.

“Please what? Here, then? How much do you want for a quick fuck?” I continued with the same hard and intimidating voice, slipping my hand on her nude tight and almost reaching her underwear, pressing her harsher against the wall and almost chocking the air in her throat.

I believe the game was now over; I kept it going on long enough.

“You are new at this, right?” She simply nodded with chocking terror and then tears rolled down her eyes and the cheap make-up was melting with the salty water. I let go of her throat and took a step back.

“You were lucky today, girl. As I said before, go home and find another way to make money, are you listening to me?” She nodded vigorously and muttered a faint thank you. I let go of her completely and looked for something inside my pocket. “Do not thank me, as I deserve no gratitude. You were merely lucky today you met me and not someone else. You have no family, is that correct? No need to answer, I can see that, so make yourself a favour and go find this place. They will help you.” I handed her a card with written a name of an institution outside Kiev where she could find help and maybe an alternative to the squalid choice of selling her body. “If you don’t have money at all, I will give you some.”

“I don’t know what to say..” She only whispered, taking the card in her trembling hands. “Thank you, what can I do to pay my debt?” I went to give her some money to buy the bus ticket, but she shook her head and tried to take my hand to kiss it. I stopped her immediately.

“Just find another way to make money and keep your dignity, if you still have some. Now, get out of my sight and go home.” I took another step back and motioned for her to leave the place at once and that was what she did.

The train arrived and I stepped inside the wagon and vaguely kept my eyes on the windows, studying the space at my back and the people sitting around. They all seemed normal civilians, but you never knew too well and the smallest distraction could cost you your life. I got out few blocks away from my place. The boss didn’t need me tonight, thus I had few hours for myself; tomorrow was going to be a long day, given I had to take care of a mess happened last week and visit a couple of stores around Kiev and then force out a couple of names. In that I was still the best and no matter how high I ranked, it was me doing that job. They knew already what would wait them in case they decided to keep their mouth shut.

I enjoyed the silent and quiet walk under the snow and breathed at full lungs the cold air. It was all tremendously quiet, as I lived outside the city centre in an apartment facing a park; the building was old, but decently kept and therefore it did not look so sad and Soviet-like, only boring and simple. It was so quiet that I could hear the faint sound of the cars coming from far away and then the concealed cracking noise of shoes stepping on the snow, but trying to make no sound.

I knew it.

I was waiting for that, since last week when I confronted one of those Caucasian bastards and sent a couple of his men to hell. I let the soon to be dead man think he could take me by surprise and pretended to enjoy the view of the trees of the park covered in pure and white snow. It was indeed quite the beautiful panorama, especially because at this time of the day almost nobody crossed these streets and the faint light of the coming evening made the ice shine in a particular way.

I reached the end of the park and followed a narrow street, which I knew it led me to some other smaller alleys, and there I suddenly disappeared from my pursuer’s view and waited in the dark of a corner. He cursed in his own language and I knew he was from the same group it was creating us problems. How stupid could they be? Did they really think just a man was enough to eliminate me? This was outrageous and it sent sudden boiling waves of mad anger through my body at the idea of them underestimating me so much. They were going to pay for such affront and very badly. The man was about to pass in front of my hidden corner and when the time came, I stepped outside behind him and clawed his neck with my arm, almost suffocating him and planting the barrel of the gun on his back.

“Who the hell are you and what do you want from me, now speak.” I ordered him with murderous voice, pressing harder his throat. He could barely breathe and that was just what I wanted.

“You bastard..” He ranted out between suffocated pants.

“You are from last week, isn’t it? You honestly thought to take me down alone? I am tempted to let you go so you can pass on a message, not to underestimate Roman with the stars, but I believe the best message will be sending a piece of you to your boss. Maybe each day I could send a different piece, what do you think?”

“Fucking Russian dog, I don’t fear your empty threats.” The man said, while in fact visibly trembling.

“I am not Russian, but Ukrainian and believe me when I say that my threats are not empty.” Said that, I slipped out a knife from my sleeve and without giving him the time to realize what was coming, I ended his life. He didn’t even scream, so must say he took his fate quite decently.

The corpse dropped on the snow and I cleaned the blade from his tainted blood with his own clothes and then called Anton to let him know.

“He tried seriously to kill by himself? He must be desperate to gain some notoriety at the eyes of their bitch. What do you want to do?”

“I was thinking to send him back in this state. I am tired of having people thinking they can take me down with this little; they lack respect for me and they are managing only to anger me more than necessary.”

“I believe the boss might like your idea, but let me ask him first, he is right here.” I heard a burst of lascivious and depraved laughing and I immediately knew where they were. Anton did not like that, too, but he wasn’t in the position to refuse a request; at least I was spared from such degrading way of wasting time. “Roman? He said to go ahead and add his compliments.”

“I shall do that, you have fun over there.” I smirked when he snorted and told me to shut up.

“You can be quite the annoying son of a bitch sometimes, know that? I wanted to have few drinks with you, but got called to drive around and what to do? My job.”

“I understand so do not worry and go back, I will see you tomorrow morning. You coming, too, yes?”

“Of course. Now I better go and Roman, keep your eyes and ears open, something is definitely fishy here. It is not normal to have all these assaults in such little time.”

“I know, do not worry for me.”

I spared a glance at the corpse at my feet and sleeked my hair back, looking around and thinking of the best way to deliver this baggage to the sender and when the perfect idea hit me, an evil smirk grew on my lips.

Nothing too bloody or gory, but very explicative at the same time.

I called the two guys from before and in thirty minutes they reached where I stood and helped in the task. Anton was right, but I thought about that, too. This wasn’t normal and it gave me the doubt that someone was leaking out info and promises of huge gains, because you don’t go to attack a high ranked member like this. It was illogical and irrational and most of all, very stupid and hastily. Yes, something was definitely wrong and stinky here.

“This is the address, got it?” They nodded. “Drive there and drop the message right in front of their door and drive away very fast, but make sure nobody follows you, is that clear?” 

“Yes sir and we need to inform you at the end of the task?”

“No, I trust you will do a quick and clear job like before, correct?” I shot them a hard and commanding glare and they took a step back, simply nodding. “Very well.”

They put the corpse in a plastic bag and I helped them to carry to the car and shove it inside the trunk; I watched for the second time the car driving away with a particular baggage hidden in the truck and when it disappeared from my view, I looked up at the dark sky and let the snow fall on my face.

It was such a nice and peaceful sensation and for a moment I wished to be a flake of snow and let the wind blow me away wherever it was.

Author's chit-chat:

What do you think then of this dark side of Roman? Can you see how different is from the sexy and caring guy we met in "All you need is ME" beside his angel, Enna?

Well, we'll meet Enna in chapter 2 and it'll come in very few days. Hope you'll enjoy it!

Until next time xox