Alexander
I watch her from afar as I so often do. Her head tilts back as she laughs at something one of her pathetic little friends said, acting as if she isn’t shaken by our conversation earlier today.
After what I revealed, I expected her to be quiet and fearful of what was to come. Instead, she’s behaving the same way she normally would, which irritates me. Natalya doesn’t realize just how fucking different this year will be from any other before it.
Summer was long and boring in Chicago. All my waste of a space father talks about is the war between the Russians, Italians and Irish of the city. He doesn’t seem to realize that I don’t give a fuck about the cartel or him, for that matter. I’m not in line for the throne, so there’s no reason for me to get involved too heavily.
I’m unsure whether Natalya notices how much I watch her, but from the day we met, I knew I had to watch her. Her family is the reason everything bad in my life happened and therefore she is guilty by association.
After my ultimatum this morning, she’s been brazen enough to ignore the text I sent her and watched her read
“Bro, what’s up with you?” Aleks asks, elbowing me in the side.
I growl, glaring at him. “Keep your elbows to yourself.”
He raises an eyebrow. “You’re in a shit fucking mood for the first day. Where were you this morning?”
I shake my head. “Busy.” I dig my fork into my food, trying to ignore the desire to continue staring at Natalya. There’s no doubt I can’t keep my eyes off of her for a second this year, if my plan is going to work. She will give herself to me willingly, and I will break her once she does.
I clench my jaw as Jeanie Doyle sits down opposite me, giving me a flirty smirk. “Hey, Alexander. How was your summer?” she asks.
I don’t smile back, as she’s been after me since I fucking arrived at this school and I’m not interested. “Fine.”
Nik chuckles. “He’s in one of his bad moods.”
I shake my head. “Shut it, Krushev.”
Rosa, who is Nikolai’s on again, off again, girlfriend clears her throat. “I must admit, you are in a pretty foul mood.”
I meet her gaze, narrowing my eyes. “No one asked you, Cabello.”
Anita and Kerry sit down on either side of Jeanie, eyeing me warily.
“So, how was everyone’s summer?” Kerry asks.
I keep my mouth shut, since I have no intention of discussing my summer with her.
“Mine wasn’t great, since my father is overprotective,” Jeanie says, eyes still fixed on me. “The organizations in Chicago are all at war, except for the Estrada Cartel, it would seem.”
I clench my jaw at the mention of my family. “What’s your point?”
“Why the cop out, Alexander?” she asks, smirking at me. “Is your uncle too scared to get involved and pick a side?”
“Too smart, more like,” I snarl, glaring at her.
She’s a stuck-up and self-centered bitch who I can’t stand. To be honest, she’s hardly fucking mafia royalty anyway, just because she’s loosely related to the Callaghans. It doesn’t mean she’s anything special. It’s so far down the line anyway, even more so than my relation to the Estrada Cartel.
She is Ronan Callaghan’s late-wife’s brother’s kid. It’s why she doesn’t have the name, much like me, but my mom was an Estrada before marrying.
“Well, eventually, he’ll have to make a move,” she says.
“He won’t have to do shit,” I say, pushing aside my tray and leaning my elbows on the table. “The cartel has more power than all of you idiots put together. My uncle doesn’t need to pick sides, because he’s on his own fucking side.”
Jeanie falls silent at that, her face paling slightly as if she didn’t expect me to tear into her. After all, we’re supposed to be friends at this table, but I’ve never truly liked Jeanie. Anita and Kerry are okay, but they’re easily persuaded to do things by Jeanie.
Damien, who is thankfully often silent, stands. “I’ve got torture next period. Anyone else?” He meets my gaze.
I stand. “Yeah, I’ll join you.” I’m thankful he can read when I need to get away. “See you later,” I say to the rest of the table, heading out of the cafeteria with him.
It’s impossible to keep my eyes off of Natalya though as I walk past her table. I clench my fists as the desire to grab her hair and yank her out of her seat, dragging her publicly out of here, is strong, but Professor Luigi is watching the cafeteria like a hawk and I’d never get away with it. Especially not after he caught us alone in the classroom this morning.
“So, you want to talk about it?” Damien asks as we walk into the practically empty corridor.
I sigh heavily. “Not really. I’m just pissed about Natalya.”
He raises a brow. “Not this again. I thought you were over your vendetta to make her life hell.”
I chuckle. “No, I’m just beginning. I’ve got dirt on her family that could destroy them, and yet she fucking ignores my text?” I shake my head. “I need to teach her a good fucking lesson.”
“Shit, so my assumption that you’d dropped your little feud was wrong?”
I nod, wondering why he’s so bothered about it.
“Great, I owe Aleks a hundred bucks.”
I glare at him. “Are you saying you bet on whether I was going to stop tormenting Natalya Gurin?”
He shrugs. “Yeah, I thought you’d got over it. Aleks reckoned you were biding your time.” His brow furrows. “What exactly did she do to make you hate her so much, anyway?”
What did Natalya Gurin do to make me hate her?
I don’t think she even knows the answer to that question, but I do. Her family is the reason that the Estrada Cartel got a foothold in North America, handing all the power over to my uncle. I despise her and her family because they’re the reason they moved me from my home country and tore away the only person I ever loved. A country I belonged to, forced to live in a place where I didn’t have a full grasp on the language and thrown into a fucking academy for mafia heirs. The Gurin Bratva ruined my life, and she is a part of it, which makes her guilty by association.