“Fine, what do you want me to say?”
I let go of her arm. “You’re the master at manipulation. I’m sure you will know just what to say to her but show it to me before sending it to her.”
“She knows I would never just leave her; how do you expect me to convince her that I left my work and all my clothes and decided to come shack up with you?”
“I don’t care how you do it, but I suggest you do. You won’t like the consequences if she doesn’t believe you and tries to go to the police. Also, tell her you have remote cell phone connection and will contact her when you can.”
“What do you mean ‘if she tries’?” she asks, and I can hear the worry in her voice. “Are you having my sister watched?”
“Enough questions. Get on with it. I need to shower, and then I have stuff to do.” Haley glares at me, but she looks down at her phone and starts to text. I see her delete and text again a couple times before she grunts and hands me the phone.
Sorry I left without saying anything yesterday, but Vlad and I decided to go away for a few days to resolve stuff. I will keep in touch, as connection is bad here. Be good. I try to find something that Haley could have used to warn Paige about anything, but I don’t see it. “Happy?” she says sarcastically before she turns and makes her way towards the kitchen.
I grunt in annoyance as I head to the bedroom so that I can shower and get ready to go and meet Alexei. Half an hour later, I walk out of the bedroom, dressed and showered and heading towards the door. Haley is standing by the window, looking out at the city, the T-shirt showing off her beautiful legs. My reaction to her is still explosive. I don’t know what it is about her, but she can turn me on like no one else ever has.
I know she heard me, but she doesn’t look around. Instead, she stands stiffly by the window and completely ignores me. If I had time, I would teach her a lesson, but Alexei might come looking for me, and I would rather he not meet Haley. Therefore, I head towards the door and leave, making my way towards Alexei’s apartment.
This will be one of the hardest conversations I have, as I would never have thought that I would ever be the cause of treachery towards my brother, but here I am. Because of a woman, we have the police looking into us. Besides Alexei and Jade, I am the only other person with access to their apartment. I place my thumb on the scanner and hear the door click open.
Entering, I can hear Jade’s voice coming from the bedroom, but instead of calling out, I make my way towards the office. I’ll see if Alexei is there before I call out. I love Jade and the kids, but my head isn’t in it today. I hear Alexei before I see him. He is at his desk, leaning back on his chair, talking on his phone. His head is back and his eyes are closed as he speaks.
I walk in, closing the office door behind me, which has Alexei opening his eyes. “I will talk to you later,” he says before disconnecting. “You look like shit.” He stands and walks around his desk until he is standing a few feet from me.
“Yeah, thanks,” I mutter.
“So, are you going to tell me what has you revved up?” Alexei asks as he leans against his desk.
“The weapons being confiscated.”
He frowns, folding his arms across his chest, his suit jacket stretching over his biceps.
“Nothing you can do about that; all we can do now is keep our heads down and make sure they don’t catch anything else.” It would be so easy to lie and not tell Alexei why I’m upset about this issue, but I will never lie to my brother.
“It’s my fault.” Alexei scowls and raises a brow in question. “The shipment got confiscated because of me.” Alexei stands from his reclining position; I can see his muscles have tensed and his jaw is set, which doesn’t bode well.
“Explain.”
“I’ve been seeing someone for the last couple months.” Alexei simply nods, waiting for me to tell him what I did. “I have never trusted anyone except you, you know that, but she seemed like she genuinely cared. When you phoned me about the shipment, I was with her and she heard about it. I told her that I was part of the mafia then.”
“Are you saying that she’s the one who went to the cops and told them about the shipment?” I can see the anger rising in Alexei’s demeanour. I don’t blame him. I was stupid. I trusted someone I shouldn’t.
“Yes.”
“How long have you been seeing her?”
“Seven months, give or take a couple days.” I can see the surprise on Alexei’s face at that revelation.
“Seven months? Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
From what I told him, that is what he is concentrating on?
“I wanted to keep her away from everything that we stand for. Look at you. You are always worried about Jade and the kids.”
“Don’t give me that shit.” I can see a muscle ticking on his neck, which tells me that he is royally pissed. “You didn’t have to bring her into this life, but to not tell me?”
“I’m sorry. You know how I am about trusting people, and I fucking should have stuck to my principles.”
“Okay, tell me everything,” Alexei says as he once again leans against the desk, but his body is tense, ready to pounce.
“I met her one day after a fight. Her car had broken down, and I stopped to help her.” I can see Alexei’s suspicious expression at my recounting. “Anyway, one thing led to another, and we started seeing each other. I swear, Alexei, she seemed different from everyone else. She worried about me. She seemed to truly care. I felt at peace for once, but then this happened.” I shrug in annoyance. “I would never have believed she would have done this.” The anger and hurt that I feel is tightening in my stomach in a knot that makes me want to shout in anger and break everything around me.
“Are you sure it was her?”
“She was the only one who knew,” I state as I walk towards the couch and take a seat. Leaning forward, I place my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands. “Shit, Alexei, I’m sorry.”
“What have you done with her?”
“I have her in the apartment until she tells me why she did it and what she told them.” I sense Alexei approaching, and then he sits next to me.
“This life of ours is riddled with mistrust and betrayal. We were born into an unforgiving life, and we either conquer what is thrown at us or we are eaten alive.” I feel his hand on my shoulder. “I know you would never do anything purposely to betray me or the Bratva. I wish you could find what I have with Jade, Brother. You need the soft touch of a woman in your life.” Well, after what happened with Haley, I doubt I will ever be as gullible again. Fuck that. No one will ever get the chance again to hurt those around me because of something I do. “I want to meet her.”
My head snaps up and around to look at Alexei. “Why?”
“I want to see what type of woman finally managed to catch your attention for longer than a week, and I want to know why she did it.”
“I can deal with her, Alexei; you don’t need to worry, because I will get the truth out of her, and she will pay.”
“I want to meet her.” I know that tone; he won’t be swayed. I wanted to deal with Haley myself without any interaction from anyone, but this wasn’t just done to me. This was done to the Bratva, and as such, I will have to concede.
HALEY 6
Paige is going to be so upset with me. She will think that I left her for Vlad, but what else could I do? I won’t place her in danger because of my decisions. I just hope that she doesn’t do anything stupid, because knowing my sister, she will. I have always been the level-headed one. Paige is a bit wild, and the death of our parents didn’t help.
Looking around, I sigh; I am so bored that I have cleaned the whole kitchen and sitting room with the products I found under the counter. And now the bedrooms, not that the apartment needs it, as I’m sure Vlad must have someone coming in to clean. Everything is way too neat and clean for it to be him maintaining it, but there is nothing else for me to do except listen to the radio. He doesn’t even have a TV.<
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Pulling up his boxers again, I grunt in annoyance. I know he wants me to pay for what he thinks I did, but if he went back to the house to get my phone, why not just get me clothes to wear? I’m sure he doesn’t want me wearing his clothes now that he thinks I betrayed him. If he only knew, being close to him and having him upset with me is torture enough. When he looks at me with contempt, I feel like my heart is being wrenched out of my chest.
All I want is his arms around me, the comfort that he used to give me with one hug alone. The way he used to make me feel like I was the only woman in the world. Now when I look at him, I see what I have lost, and I can’t ever get it back, because once trust is broken, it can never be rebuilt. I feel tears fighting to be released, but I blink them away. I will not cry. This isn’t his fault. He is hurt, and with every right. He trusted me to keep his secret.
Bending down, I switch on the vacuum and then go on my knees to start vacuuming under all the shelves in his walk-in cupboard. When I was looking for a means of communication earlier, I found a shoe box on one of his top shelves with a gun. Before Vlad told me that he was in the mafia, I had never been near a gun before. When he used to come to see me, he always brought a haversack with him, which I then found out he used to place his weapons in so that I wouldn’t see them. As soon as he told me about being part of the mafia, he started to leave his weapons on.
I don’t understand the concept of having to kill someone, but I don’t judge their lifestyle. I would never betray Vlad, but he doesn’t know that. “You have her cleaning your place?” At those words so close behind me, I snap up and hit my head on one of the shelves.
“Oww.”
“What the hell are you doing?” Vlad snaps as the vacuum suddenly goes quiet and then his hand is on my upper arm and he’s pulling my up.
“What does it look like?” I mutter sarcastically as I rub my head, and then my eyes catch the amused face of the man behind Vlad. “Oww,” I gasp again as Vlad’s fingers poke at the spot on my head that I bumped. “Stop that.”
“Stand still. Let me see,” he grunts in annoyance, but I step away, holding up my hand to my head.
“It’s fine,” I say as I once again look at the man behind Vlad. Now that I look at him, I tense. Is it possible that this man and Vlad are related? Vlad and this man have the same hair even though this man’s hair is slightly longer but just as dark a brown as Vlad’s. Both men have a dangerous aura to them, but this man’s eyes seem to penetrate my soul.
“This is Haley,” Vlad suddenly says as he steps back out of the walk-in closet. I see the man’s eyes run up and down my body. He then looks at Vlad with a raised brow, saying something in Russian, before looking back at me.
“Do you know who I am?” he asks. I glance at Vlad but then look back at him and shake my head. “I am Alexei, Boss of the Bratva Fury.” I tense. What does that mean? “Vlad tells me that our shipment was confiscated because of you?”
Now I know that I’m in trouble. This man doesn’t seem to accept being made a fool of easily. What is going to happen to me? I’ve heard stories about how the mafia kill people who betray them. Are they going to kill me too?
“Yes,” I say, as it’s true that the shipment was confiscated because of me. If it weren’t for Paige wanting to get Vlad out of my life, nothing would have happened to the shipment.
“Vlad tells me that you have been seeing each other for a few months. Were you with him just to get information?”
“No.” I will not let Vlad think that everything I shared with him was to get information. It’s one thing protecting Paige, but I will not hurt Vlad unnecessarily because of that.
“No? Then why would you go to the police as soon as you found something out?” There is nothing I can say to redeem myself without telling them the truth, and that I cannot do.
“No answer?” he snaps, and takes a step closer to me. I automatically take a step closer to Vlad. “Who are you?”
“No one. I’m a nurse,” I murmur.
“Do you know what I can do to you?” I look up at Vlad and see his tense features, but his eyes are trained on the man and not on me.
“Yes,” I whisper.
“Why were you with Vlad?” he asks, a scowl that makes him look even more dangerous adorning his face.
“Because I love him,” I snap, and immediately cover my mouth in consternation of what I just said in front of Vlad. I can feel that he is staring at me, but I refuse to look at him. My cheeks feel like they are on fire. How embarrassing. Now that he doesn’t want anything else to do with me, I come out and say that I love him.
“You have a strange way of showing it, don’t you?” Alexei grunts, and then takes a step back and points behind him. “Come out of there,” he states, which has me again looking at Vlad, but he is now looking at me with a scowl on his face. I know he must be thinking I’m lying, and at the moment, I wish I was, because it would be so much easier if I didn’t love him.
Walking out and around the men, I come to a stop in the middle of the room. “What did you tell the police?” I think back to Vlad’s conversation and what Paige must have heard; she couldn’t have said much, as he didn’t mention names.
“Just the date and time of the shipment,” I say.
“They would have wanted to know how you knew about it. What did you say?” Vlad asks, his voice low as if he is holding himself in check.
“I just said that I overheard a conversation,” I mutter, knowing that Paige would have given Vlad’s name and said that he is from the mafia, but I’m sure there are lots of Vlads out there, and I never told Paige what Vlad’s surname was, so she wouldn’t have been able to give them that.
“So, you are saying that you didn’t give them names or who we are?” Alexei asks.
“No. First, because the only person I know is Vlad, and even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t have been able to explain anything about the mafia, because he hasn’t told me anything. Like, for example, that you two are brothers.” I look at Vlad. “You are, aren’t you?” The only reply I get from him is an angry stare.
“What difference does that make?” Alexei asks with a raised brow.
“I always thought that Vlad did menial stuff for the mafia, but if you’re the boss and he is your brother, that means that you guys are the mafia.”
Alexei looks at Vlad and speaks to him in Russian. I’m guessing he is asking him if what I’m saying is true, because all Vlad replies is, “Da,” which I know to mean yes.
“You have told us what you said, but you haven’t said why you did it. Were you upset with Vlad?” I glance at Vlad again and see his expression still as stony as before. What can I possibly say that will convince these men that I had a reason to betray Vlad if what I said about loving Vlad is true?
“It’s wrong,” I mutter, and see Alexei’s confused expression at my answer. “The weapons will be used to kill people. That is wrong. You are making money off of people dying.”
“Are you saying that you cost us millions because of your morals?”
I keep silent, because there is nothing I can possibly say to that. Instead, I lower my eyes to the carpet, trying not to see Vlad’s condemning look.
“Look at me,” Alexei suddenly grunts angrily, which has my eyes immediately snapping up to his face. “You sneakily attacked the Bratva Fury, and for that, you have to pay. No one attacks us and comes out unscathed.”
My stomach knots in fear. Oh my goodness, they are going to kill me. I know Vlad had feelings for me, but I know that what he believes that I did killed any feelings he could have had. If they kill me, Paige will be alone. She will have to adult up, because I won’t be there anymore to make things better. I can feel tears burning in the back of my eyes, but I’m fighting not to let them fall.
Vlad says something in anger to Alexei, who replies more calmly. I can’t tell what they are talking about, but I can see that whatever it is, they disagree. Anyone who sees these two men together won’t miss the animalistic power
that radiates from them. It is clear that they are dangerous men, and anyone who even thinks of betraying them is looking for a death wish. Unfortunately, any way that they decide to make me pay for this betrayal I will have to accept, as I will never be able to tell them that the real culprit is Paige.
“Vlad will decide on what will happen to you, but you will not leave here until we are sure of what is happening.” With those words, he says something to Vlad and then leaves. Vlad stands where he is, looking at me until we hear the main door close, and then he approaches me. His stance is stiff, a muscle ticking in his jaw.
“I have decided that I will have you when I want, how I want, whenever I want, until I am ready to let you go.” His eyes show his anger as he raises his hands, pulling the T-shirt off my body as he brings his body flush against mine. “You are mine, and I will do what I want with you.”
I tense. It’s one thing loving this man, but him taking me when he doesn’t want me but just wants to make me pay for something he thinks I did is not something I am willing to do.
“No,” I reply, but he ignores my response as his arm moves around my waist, holding me tight against him. I can feel his hardness poking against my body as his lips swoop down against mine. “N—” I start to refuse, but his lips over mine stops me from saying the word. I can’t let him continue, or I won’t be able to stop him.
One of his hands is behind my head, his fingers entwined in my hair, not allowing me to move. My hands are trying to push him away, but the strength of his hold is not letting me go. If he doesn’t stop soon, I won’t be able to resist any longer. This man can have all thought leaving me with a look alone. If he doesn’t stop, I won’t have a prayer of resisting him.
One minute we are standing, the next, I am on the bed and his boxers have been pulled off my body. “Vlad, please.” If he hears me, he ignores my plead. Instead, his fingers are at the zip of his slacks and he is pulling them down. The evidence of his passion springs out between us as his slacks slide down to his knees. Instead of standing and taking his clothes off, Vlad leans forward and then slides his distended hardness deep into me.
Fury: (Bratva Fury) Page 5