Lyov
It kills me to watch Milana leave me, but I can’t fight Vera. I trust her. I’m not sure I trust Andrei. He hasn’t given me any reason to believe he intends to turn on me, but it could all change once we get in front of the brotherhood.
“Come on, time to face the music,” Andrei says, nodding toward the door.
I swallow hard. Suddenly, my shirt feels too tight around my neck. I hate wearing shirts, but you have to be presentable when meeting with your pakhan.
Andrei’s upbringing in this world has put him out of touch with morality. He has more good in him than most, even if he keeps up his brutal and vicious persona.
Don’t get me wrong. Andrei is not a good guy by all accounts-none of us are. He’s just better than a lot of them. We’re all murderers in the brotherhood-even Vera helped murder her uncle. She quickly became one of us, despite the reluctance of many of Andrei’s men to accept her in that way.
It goes against the bratva way of life to take orders from a woman. Andrei has insisted that she rules by his side. She has as much power as him. A lot of the men despise it.
“What are you waiting for?” Andrei asks, narrowing his eyes at me.
“Sorry, sir.” I bow my head and walk out of the room. It’s time to find out if I made a mistake bringing Milana here. When we walked through the front door, it felt like I’d walked a lamb into the lion’s den-my lamb. The way my brothers looked at her riled me.
Alexi is standing in the hallway. “Lyov,” He calls, smiling widely. He has no idea what is going on yet, which is surprising. Alexi is Andrei’s sovietnik. They are closer than I can comprehend, as close as if they were a real family.
“Alexi,” I say, struggling to mask the worry in my voice. “What’s up with you?” he asks.
Andrei clears his throat behind me. “You’re about to find out.”
Alexi glances between Andrei and me a few times. His brow furrowed in confusion. “Don’t you wish to enlighten me before we meet with the brotherhood?”
“No,” Andrei says simply. “Enter,” he orders.
Alexi is a powerful, large man who you wouldn’t expect to take orders from anyone. The moment Andrei utters the order, his head bows in obedience. “Sir.”
At times, it’s awe-inspiring to see how much power Andrei holds. Andrei’s hand lands on my shoulder, stopping me from following Alexi. His voice drops. “Make no mistake. Vera is the reason I’m going easy on you. I will be telling the men the reason we’re going to war with Veselov. The brotherhood won’t be happy.”
I feel a shiver pulse down my spine. I swallow hard. “Sir.” “Walk forward,” he orders.
I force one foot in front of the other, despite the weakness spreading through my limbs. Andrei’s warning reminds me of how dangerous this situation is. Milana is the daughter of our enemy-a man we’re about to enter a war with. I’ve walked her into real danger.
If the brotherhood kicks off when Andrei tells them the truth, it will be hard to protect her. In Andrei’s home, I’m duty-bound to keep my mouth shut since Milana was never mine to claim anyway-not really.
Andrei ordered me to capture her. He owns her as my pakhan-as the man that runs this outfit. The moment that thought passes through my mind, my conscience repeats one phrase over and over again.
She’s mine.
I know it, and she knows it, but what about everyone else?
The brotherhood members are gathered in the room, chatting among themselves. Andrei’s presence sends a tremor through the room, and the voices are quickly hushed.
I watch as he walks to the end of the table, clapping his hands. The men are silent and focused on their pakhan. “Brothers.” His eyes meet mine, and the intensity of his gazes makes my stomach churn. There’s a spark of something in his eyes, but I can’t work out what it is. He shifts his eyes across the rest of the room, freeing me. “I’ve called this meeting because we have some urgent news.”
A few of the men glance at each other but don’t dare whisper. Andrei hates it when anyone talks while he is addressing the brotherhood like this.
“What you may or may not know is that Veselov has been overstepping onto our territory.” He grits his teeth together. “He isn’t backing down despite extensive attacks on his operations.”
Alexi crosses his arms over his chest, making eye contact with me. There’s a questioning look in his eyes. He knew I was going to snatch Milana, but he can’t anticipate what Andrei is about to reveal.
“Lyov was instructed to snatch his daughter.” Andrei looks at me again, and so does the rest of the room. “He can’t part with her, which means our only option is to go to war with the Miami brotherhood.”
Hushed whispers break out between every man in the room.
“Enough,” Andrei barks. “I won’t have any disorder in my meeting. We’re not a bunch of gossiping sissies. Lyov has claimed Georgy’s daughter, but that means nothing,” he growls.
Everyone is stunned by the ferocity in his voice as he cracks his neck. “Veselov has disrespected us too many times. He doesn’t deserve our attempts to agree to peace. We will take the full force of the New York bratva to Miami and blow them out of the damn water.”
A lot of the men turn their attention on me, glaring at me with a hatred that cuts me to the core. I know they won’t thank me for forcing war on them. It’s what I expected, but it makes this place even more hostile for Milana. I’m thankful now that Vera saved her from experiencing this.
“We are going to war. It’s simple,” Andrei finishes.
I’ve actively kept my gaze away from Alexi, out of fear of what I will see. He has been the closest to me over the years – the only man here I truly trust with my life.
“As you can all imagine, Veselov won’t be happy,” Andrei says. “As such, we need to reach out first and find out if he wishes to agree to peace. If not, we go in full force.” The likelihood of Veselov reaching an agreement is slim to none. He’s a brutal, power-hungry son of a bitch who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.
My snatching of his daughter and then bedding her will be seen as the ultimate insult. Even though it has nothing to do with him, neither of us could control the connection between us. It’s otherworldly.
I know I would have been the last of all of us anyone would expect to fall for a woman. I’ve always been a sensible, unemotional member. I do what needs to be done and detach my emotions from my actions sometimes too easily. Then, Milana came along and turned me into an emotional wreck. When it comes to her, I will do anything to keep her safe.
If she wanted me to free her and let her home, I’d do it in a heartbeat even if it would kill me to do so. Thankfully, she feels this connection between us too. It would have been heartbreaking to let the only woman I’ve felt anything for in ten years go. I would have done it, though, if it’s what she wanted.
“Now, that matter has been discussed. Does anyone have any other business we need to attend to.” Andrei glances at Alexi, who steps forward, clearing his throat.
“Yes, we all need to be on guard with the NYPD. Unfortunately, the detective doesn’t seem to want to back off the charity case.” He shakes his head, and there’s a real concern in his eyes. “Everyone needs to keep a wide birth from all police contacts for the foreseeable future. At least until we get her off our backs.”
One man, Nikov, claps his hands. “Man up, Alexi. Surely you can deal with some dumb bimbo.”
There’s a flash of something dangerous in Alexi’s eyes as he charges forward, fists clenched. It’s unlike Alexi to get wound up by an asshole like Nikov. Usually, he’s the most chilled out guy here.
Nikov’s smirk is wiped clean off his face as Alexi grabs him by the collar, dragging him to his feet.
“Say that again, Nikov,” he dares.
Nikov’s knees shake as Alexi towers over him. He has no idea what to do with himself. No one has ever seen Alexi snap like that-ever.
“Enough,” Andrei orders. “Nikov, keep your mouth shut. That’s my sovietnik you are speaking to.”
Alexi removes his hands from Nikov’s shirt, turning away from him.
Nikov breathes a sigh of relief. “Sorry, sir,” he replies, bowing his head.
The guy is a cowardly snake. Unfortunately, a few of our brotherhood doesn’t deserve to be part of this outfit. They don’t respect the men who are far superior to them.
I get the feeling my rank in the brotherhood may have dropped significantly. Most certainly, Andrei’s opinion of me is lower. I can see it in the way he looks at me.
He insists he wanted a reason to go to war with Georgy, but I’m not sure I believe that. It’s his only way to justify the war. He can’t tell the men he’s going to war with him because I’m in love with Milana-that’s too soft. It’s also not the reason.
Vera is the reason. She wouldn’t have let him harm me, because we’ve become surprisingly close ever since the morning of Andrei’s surgery. All I want right now is to reunite with my woman.
“Very good, anything else?” Andrei asks.
There’s a deafening silence as no one else speaks. “Back to work, then. Until next time.” Andrei dismisses them and heads for the door, not looking at me again.
I swallow hard, wondering where Vera has taken Milana. A panic grips at me as I charge out of the room and into the hallway, knowing Andrei will lead me to them. He doesn’t notice as I follow him down the corridor toward the kitchen.
Vera’s voice carries from the kitchen, and I quicken my footsteps. As I turn the corner, Andrei is standing behind Vera with his hands on her shoulders. “How are you two getting on?”
I walk in and move to stand behind Milana, finding my rightful place by her. Andrei doesn’t react to my appearance, even though it’s a protective move.
“I will ask the staff to prepare the spare room for the both of you,” Andrei says.
I shake my head. “There’s no need-”
“Lyov, you’ve tested my patience enough. It’s not a question but an order. Until we can ensure Milana’s safety, you will both remain under this roof.”
I clench my jaw, knowing that I can not speak out of turn again. Andrei’s patience is wearing thin. He’s not happy that I’ve forced his hand with my indiscretion with Milana.
I nod my head instead, keeping it bowed slightly.
Andrei claps his hands, making Milana jump. “Good, it’s settled.” He walks out of the kitchen without another word.
Vera rolls her eyes once his footsteps have disappeared into the distance. “Ignore him. He’s used to calling all the shots.”
Milana smiles, but I can’t find it in myself to join in-not yet. She may feel safe with Vera, but her persuasion only stretches so far. We need to be on guard while under Andrei’s roof.