I get out of the car and the boys rumble their greetings. It’s so fucking nice. Everybody wants to hug me and soon my lungs demand oxygen.
All the men go to the office whilst the women occupy the bar.
Axel shoves me towards the president’s chair so I drop into it.
“There are a few issues, Prez,” Blaze says.
“A small club from the west coast wants to join us,” Boulder says. “They’re decent people. We checked them properly. They’re the refugees after their club has been smashed by another. Five men in total.”
I take a sharp breath and my mind goes blank. When I return the boys are still awaiting my answer patiently.
“Do they have a beautiful wife for Kolya?” I ask after another second or two.
The office erupts into laughter.
“She must be very beautiful,” Kolya says. “I want a blonde with big tits and a round ass.”
The boys guffaw and howl.
“We’ll talk about the conditions of the alliance,” I say, “if they find... find...”
“A beautiful wife for Kolya,” Axel says for me and I nod at him.
“Aye,” the boys say with one voice.
“Two Feds are sniffing around Sive,” Axel says. “They ask a lot of questions. It’s getting shitty.”
“I have a suitable body,” Samael says. “One of the girls in my strip club overdosed. Without her teeth and fingertips and with her body half-burned she can be Sive. I’ll take care of that, Prez.”
“Good,” I say and nod at him several times. A pause of darkness switches off my mind again. There is no me for an instant. “Take care of that problem. It has to be sorted once and for all.”
“And the last issue,” Axel says. “Patching Mike.”
The boys rumble and bang their fists on the table. I glance at Mike. A wide grin crosses his face.
“Let’s do it,” I say.
Brianna
The party in the bar starts. Axel approaches me and buries me in his animal embrace without any warning.
“Get off me,” I growl.
I tolerate that animal but nothing more. Hugging is not included in my tolerance for him.
“Thank you, Brianna,” Axel says and kisses the top of my head.
I will puke. I swear I will puke.
“Thank you for Zane,” Axel says.
“He’s my husband. Haven’t you noticed?”
“Yeah I know, but not every woman could manage to support her husband like you’re supporting Zane.”
“You’re welcome. Get off me.”
“I’m—“
“Get. Off. Me.”
He unnerves me. I will never forget that he planned to kill me because of his love for Sive.
Axel pulls away from me and flashes me a beguiling smile. “Everything is sorted now. No need for being resentful.”
“Fuck off.”
“We’re a family.”
“Let’s have a photo session together then. No need for hugging.”
He pats my shoulder and I almost forget that he’s an animal.
Then I shudder. “Get off me. Now.”
Maybe he is capable of some human feelings, but it’s better to stay away from him.
“Our family could send a team for the Paralympics,” he says.
My God, his sense of humour is even worse than his appearance. Absolutely hopeless.
“What is your disability?” I ask with sarcasm. “Your face is not a disability, but wait-your emotional underdevelopment is for sure.”
He chuckles and slaps me between my shoulder blades.
“I’m pregnant,” I hiss. “Haven’t you noticed?”
Then warmth spreads in my chest.
Axel loves a disabled woman. He loves Sive like mad.
He is a good man.
“I forgive you,” I say.
“You the fuck what?”
“You know. I know. I forgive you.” I clench my hands in front of my stomach.
He raises his hands in a warding gesture. “Old times.”
It’s just like I thought. He has no remorse for plotting to kill me.
“Old times,” I say.
He is a good man.
Except he isn’t.
A memory flashes through my head and I see that boy wearing a baseball cap, moving nervously through the hall of Chaviva. This is the memory from a very long time ago, when I was a kid.
“My father made you a killer,” I say. “It was him, wasn’t it?”
Axel’s eyes bore through me. “You are too nosy, Brianna.”
“Do you hate him? Because I do. Sometimes.”
“It doesn’t matter now. We are who we are. Look forward not back.”
“Well said.” A delicate sympathy for him sprouts at the bottom of my heart as I raise my hand and stroke his arm.
Axel looks at me with disgust and walks off. Well, he’s a one woman man and in fact, I like this particular character trait of his.
I back up and bounce off my father.
“Having fun?” I ask, turning to him.
He looks at me with cold eyes. “I’m happy Zane is better.”
I want to say that he should have been stabbed instead of Zane but I bite my tongue. “Have a drink. Enjoy the party.”
“I’m going home.”
“So see you when I see you.”
He inhales deeply like he wants to say something, but seems to change his mind. Fuck him. I don’t need him in my life.
“See you,” he says, waves his hand at Kolya and walks off.
Muscular arms wrap around me. A hot mouth brushes my cheek.
“My beautiful wife,” Zane murmurs into my ear.
“Brianna.”
My father’s cold voice shakes me out of my sweet refuge in Zane’s embrace.
“Have you forgotten something?” I ask, turning to face him, as Zane’s dark glance bores through me.
“The baby will need a proper christening,” my father says. “I’m going to host the celebration.”
“Thank you for informing me in advance,” I say. “See you.”
My father bows his head at me and walks off.
“Brianna,” Zane says in a harsh voice.
“What?”
“Talk to him.”
“One day.” A delicate sense of guilt pricks the side of my chest.
I roll my fingers into fists and stifle the urge to run after my father and sort out the things between us.
He doesn’t deserve to be loved, neither by my mother nor by me.
Chapter 21
Samael
Athena puts her folded elbows on her lap, averting her eyes each time they meet mine. What a coward. An intelligent woman, but a bit cowardly. She will harden here.
We’re sitting in my library, opposite each other.
“There is a lot of muscle wasting,” she says in a trembling voice. “But nothing irreversible. She needs proper physiotherapy, that’s all. There are new techniques. You could learn some useful massaging movements and—“
“Wake her up.”
Athena shudders at the tone of my voice. “I can’t—“
“Wake her up,” I say louder.
She’s scared of me. Her hands tremble on her lap. I’m pretty sure that she regrets her decision to come here alone.
“I’m not God,” she says and looks straight into my eyes then blinks a few times in a row and takes a shaky breath. “The feeding could have been better, but the hygiene is really good. I found only two small bedsores. Nothing really to worry about. I can—“
“Wake her up.”
“I’m not God,” she shrieks. “I can help with the physiotherapy and feeding—“
“What the fuck is wrong with your ears, woman. Wake. Her. Up.”
She tilts her head. “I saw her scans. The damage is not very extensive, to be honest. It’s just... I don’t know. It’s as though she doesn’t want to wake up.”
My fingers roll into fists as Athena sink
s deeper into the couch, her eyes wide.
“What did you do to her?” she asks and hugs herself.
“You should ask what I didn’t do to her.”
I bought Reyes. I had her in every way. I hurt her in every way.
I loved her like mad. Now I love her even more.
“I will do my best,” Athena murmurs.
“Good. Fix Zane. I need him.”
“He’s doing great. He will be better and better as time goes on.”
“Good. Make sure that Sive is on the pill.”
Athena raises her hands dramatically, her cheeks painted with bright red.
“I need her,” I say. “The family needs a good lawyer. I’ve lost hope that this family man who is her husband will start thinking with his brain not with his dick. He is lost for society. But Sive? She’s a good asset for the family. Like you.”
“Anything else?” Athena asks with sarcasm.
“You can suck my dick off if you fancy.”
Her pupils dilate so much that her eyes resemble two big gems as her jaw drops. A beautiful woman, indeed. Sive’s youth is tempting, but Athena’s feminine appearance appeals to me more.
“You don’t fancy?” I say. “I thought so. Get out of my house.”
Athena rises to her feet and escapes as though a horde of wolves is chasing her and I watch her round ass swaying gracefully.
I will probably enjoy Lizzie’s ass tonight. Then I will sit in the garden, thinking of Reyes.
Other women are like snowflakes to me. They settle on the back of my hand, make me admire their beauty for an instant and melt. They mean nothing to me.
The woman who means everything to me decided to punish me in the worst possible way. She torments me in every second of my life.
But I will wake her up even if I have to go to hell.
The sound of light footsteps settles in my ears as slim arms wrap around my neck from behind. A wet mouth touches my cheek and the scent of green tea teases my nostrils.
“I’m busy,” I say.
Lizzie leans forward and glances at me with disappointment.
“Go to your room,” I say.
“Are you going to visit me tonight?”
“I don’t know yet.”
She snorts. “Who is that woman? The one who’s just left the library?”
“None of your fucking business.” I shake her off me.
She sometimes forgets about the rules.
No questions.
No jealousy.
No plans.
I saved her life. The man who wanted to buy her would have killed her.
She’s alive, useful to me and she shouldn’t demand more. I thought she knew about this.
“I’m not going to repeat myself,” I say as I rise from my seat.
“They asked me about Reyes,” Lizzie says. “The Bratva. Who’s Reyes?”
The Bratva assassins interrogated Lizzie on the evening they invaded my house three weeks ago. She was sensible enough to faint and remain unconscious so she only ended up with a concussion and a broken arm. The cook wasn’t that lucky. Two men raped her and one of them slit her throat. She was only thirty-two but fortunately, had no family; another splinter in my heart I won’t be able to take out, another life I wanted to save and couldn’t manage.
“I’m warning you for the last time, Lizzie,” I say. “One more question and you’ll end up six feet under.”
She sobs and backs up.
It’s clear to me that her days are numbered. I tried my best to save her, but obviously, she doesn’t want to be saved. I thought she would be wiser.
I leave the library and go to visit Reyes, meandering through the dark corridors. Two secured doors guard Reyes’s bedroom. I go through them and walk in.
“Hello, darling,” I say. “Are you going to surprise me tonight?” Reyes doesn’t emit a single word so that means she’s not going to wake up tonight. “No? You fancy rotting in this bed? Fine.”
Dropping into the chair, I move closer to the bed. Our bed. I sleep here when I’m at home.
“You want me to get rid of Lizzie?” I ask. “Fine. I’m bored with her.” I prop my elbows on my knees, sinking my fingers into my hair. “They don’t mean anything to me. None of them.” I straighten. “Every man needs a pussy from time to time to sink their dick in. That’s all.”
Silence answers me as always.
“What’s your fucking problem, Reyes? You’re a corpse. You want to be a corpse. And you’re unfuckable in your current condition.”
The silence rings in my ears. I place my elbows on the edge of the bed. The delicate sound of Reyes’s breathing settles in my ears.
“I need two more years and everything will be like you always wanted it to be. I promise, Solnishko moye. Two more years. Da?”
My eyes absorb the unearthly beauty of her face, now tinged with a corpse-like pallor, making her olive skin tone look a bit greenish. Brianna has her eyes and her hair though a few grey wisps mark Reyes’s like silver threads. She’s shorter than my daughter, fragile like a butterfly.
I fall on my knees and bring her hand up to my lips, placing a kiss in the hollow of her palm. “Reyes, wake up, please. I’m begging you. Wake up.” I blow air onto her cold lifeless hand and massage it. “Wake up, Solnishko.”
Reyes decides to ignore me as always.
“No? Fine. I’ll buy you a coffin then. You want to sleep in a coffin, woman? Fine. You will get your black coffin with scarlet upholstery.”
Reyes ignores my threats as always.
“You’re so fucking stubborn.” I stroke her head and correct the comforter around her body. “Wake up. Brianna needs you. She doesn’t want to talk to me. She needs you.” No answer so I sit on the tiled floor with my legs folded and splayed. “Maybe I should get drunk. You can smell vodka if you want to.” My fingers sink into my hair. Melancholy seeps into my mind. “Do you remember when we got drunk together for the first time? You were so horny. So fucking funny.” I allow my mind to bath in this memory for an instant-Reyes’s mysterious smile and gleaming eyes, her tiny hand stroking my cock, her little tongue on my neck and her filthy mouth. “Do you remember our first kiss? We were so drunk with each other. So fucking intoxicated. So madly in love. Are you still in love with me, Rey?” She is, no doubt. She must be. I will never allow her to stop loving me. “I have a real family, Rey. They’re good people. Good like Kolya. Good like the others. They want to meet you. Wake up.”
My thoughts travel to my Bratva comrades who once stood on my side, who respected me, who died for me. Only Kolya and I survived out of the ten of us. Their faces float through my mind, Vasil, Andrei, Damian, Yurij, Matvei, Anatoly, Ilja, and smart Natasha. Natka for us. Our computer geek. The woman who destroyed Boulder’s marriage. All my comrades.
I have such comrades on my side again. They’re my family. It costs me a lot of money to keep this family outside of jail, but it’s worth the effort.
I couldn’t manage to build a strong friendship with Boulder, but I could with Zane. He’s a son to me.
Boulder, well, he keeps some secrets only to himself and so do I.
Chapter 22
Zane
Brianna stands with her hands raised dramatically, her face frowning, a red flush on her cheeks. I know she wants to kill me and possibly our kids by the way. Her eyes shoot snaps of lighting and I expect an explosion of complaints in Spanish.
“Zane,” she yells. “There is butter on the floor. All around the floor.”
“Tyler loves eating butter,” I say and throw my two-year-old son over my shoulder.
“Does Daisy love eating soap? My God, I will kill you.”
My three-year-old daughter coughs and spits a few pieces of soap out of her mouth as foam trickles down her chin and her eyes turn glassy.
Brianna loves our kids but she loves them even more when they are clean and nicely dressed. I just love them. Kids are funnier and more interesting than adults are.
“Two
grown up men and only two kids to take care of,” Brianna mutters.
I turn my face to Dimitri who’s sitting on the floor, cross-legged. Daisy throws her arms around his neck from behind.
“Mommy wants to kill my daddy,” Daisy says and shoots a scared glance towards Brianna.
“Mommy is joking,” Dimitri says and sends Brianna a warning glance. “Aren’t you, Mommy?”
Brianna nods as a forced smile parts her lips. She sighs, dropping into the chair and putting her palms on her lap.
Daisy giggles as Dimitri tumbles her on the floor in front of him and tickles her feet.
We exchange glances and he raises himself then puts Daisy under his arm so we can go and put the kids to bed.
It takes us about twenty minutes then we go to the kitchen where Brianna is preparing something to eat.
“Enjoyed your beauty treatment?” I ask. “You look amazing.”
Brianna’s face softens. “I like it how she did my eyebrows.” She puts three plates on the table and we start eating our supper.
“Any plans for tonight, papa?”
“Kolya and I are getting drunk,” Dimitri says. “As always on Friday nights.”
“Very exciting,” Brianna says and sighs. “You’re turning into a hermit. Take the kids to yours from time to time if you want.”
“Maybe you all could move in with me,” Dimitri says.
“Don’t start this conversation again,” Brianna says angrily.
Dimitri shakes his head, finishes his meal then gestures for me to walk him to his car. Brianna kisses his cheek and the two of us walk out of the house.
“Talk to your wife,” Dimitri says.
“She doesn’t want to live in that mausoleum you call a house.”
“What’s the fucking problem with my house? It’s big enough for your family.”
“No.”
“Think about it. The kids love my house. Tyler loves playing hide and seek in my house and Daisy loves all the bedrooms.”
“No.”
He inhales deeply. “Alright.”
“How is—“
“There are no women in my house. Only Kolya, Mike, and me. Enough space for the kids.”
“Very fucking stimulating environment for my kids. Three alcoholics. Thanks, but no.”
“Think about it.”
“How is Reyes?” I change the topic abruptly.
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