Despite what Kazmer had said, it was another two hours before Marek opened the door. He wasn’t as explosively angry. Instead it was more like a rolling boil of rage. He didn’t even look at me as he stormed through the room. I watched as he disappeared into the bathrom, shutting the door and turning the shower on.
Gauging my chance of success, I got up and undressed before turning the handle of the bathroom. It was already starting to steam, which meant that Marek had the water on way too hot. Shutting the door behind me quietly, I stepped up to the shower door.
“Rosaria…I can’t talk right now…”
Opening the door, I stepped into the shower. Marek turned around, surprised when he realized I was completely naked. With my mouth firmly shut, I reached out and took soap bottle from his hands. Taking the scrubber that was hanging off a hook, I lathered up the soap and started to scrub his back. Marek looked like he wa
Shock. Horror. Confusion. All of it ran through me as I registered what Marek said. He was so angry that his accent was heavy. It took me a minute to one, realize he was speaking in English, and two what words he was saying. I did some mental math. If Bronya was twenty-nine at the time…then I was around eleven. Four years of that, I would have been fifteen. My eyes widened.“He…he was right…”“What?” Marek all but growled out.I looked down at knees, my face falling a little. “I was fifteen. That’s when…when I had the abortion. I didn’t let anyone know though. Least of all Enzo. He must have just thought he failed. Bronya was probably already back in Russia with the Petrov’s.”Something cracked and I saw Marek’s hand grabbing the arm of the chaise. He was lost in his rage. Moving to straddle his lap, I grabbed his face in my hands.“Hey, muzh, com
Marek was on edge going back to the penthouse. We didn’t feel anyone following us, or at least I didn’t, but he continued to be in business mode the entire drive back. It made me think something else was going on in the background but Marek would have told me if it was something important. Lec pulled into the underground and up to the elevator. Keenan unbuckled his seatbelt and got out, opening the door for me. I looked from him to Marek.“Are you…not coming up?”Marek shook his head. “I’ve got some business to attend to for a bit. I’ll be back later this evening. So don’t worry about dinner or staying up for me.” He reached out and gently pulled me closer, kissing my lips. “Be safe.”“You too.” I slid out of the car and shut the door behind me. “One piece?”He smirked, nodding. “One piece.”I stood there with Keenan as we watched them leave and disappear back on the street. My lips pursed and I sighed.“You don’t know where they went, do you?”“No. Lec didn’t say anything but he looke
The nightmares came in full force. One after the other. Memories of the past. The pain and the suffering. Sitting in that metal chair as my father did everything he could to break me. Enzo, nearly succeeding, as he recreated what Father did. Except without the boundaries. I felt myself slipping. My heart shutting down as I sat in that chair, tied up to with leather straps on my wrists and ankles.Unable to move or to run. Only able to take what was being done to me. No matter how strong I was. No matter how much of a fighter. My father and Enzo would be a looming figure over me as I sat in this chair. I was at their mercy. I was torn down only to be pulled back and torn down again. Over and over.You could be stronger than any man alive but there was difference between having strength and having fight. I had strength. What I didn’t have for so long was the fight. I’d lost it somewhere along the way. Maybe it was watching my friends die, the people I cared for die, watched as they all
“Stop, Marek!”I rushed over to him, pushing the weights off him before he decided to crush himself. He looked up, surprised. As he sat up from the bench, I wrapped my arms around him. Marek could still breathe as I held his to my chest since my breasts were so small but still. I held him tight encompassing him as completely as I could.It had been three days since his outburst. It didn’t get better. I was getting better but his mood continued to darken. He would be close but it felt like he was still too far to reach. Worse, Marek wouldn’t talk to me. As much as I asked what was wrong, he refused to even look at me. Going so far as to slam doors in my face.Lec, who had been keeping an extra eye on him as well, texted me this morning that Marek was going too far. He was trying to force himself and break himself in the gym today. Pushing nearly double his personal record, Lec finally tried to stop him. He called me down when Marek pulled
I found myself back at Goddess Divine. It felt like a lifetime ago that I’d stumbled my way, nearly dead, to this one spot. The only sure spot I knew the Russians had taken over this close to the neutral border. Marek wasn’t happy as he led me in, especially since it was two in the morning but he got a call we couldn’t ignore.The bouncer let us through without a word from Marek and we stepped into the loud and dark club. I slowed, falling behind as I looked into the main area of the club. It was dark but there was nothing seedy about it. It lived up to the name Goddess Divine. It had a more ethereal feel, with how the dark drapes were coming down from the ceiling and how the room seemed to flow like water. Maybe it wasn’t a goddess of light but one of darkness, still divine, still beautiful but nothing heavenly.Aleksei used to describe the club to me and the fact that it was his favorite. He promised he would sneak me out one night and we would go dancing. A promise that would never
I was covered in blood as I loomed over my victim. If you looked from his neck up, you’d think he just got back from the most wonderful session of sexual intercourse a man could ever have. But below the next was a different story. Currently, I was flipping the last knife I had left in my hand. All the rest were snuggly using the mercenary as a pincushion.“I have one more question for you, little prick. You’ve done so well. A few…snags here and there, but over all, you’ve been one of my most pliable victims.”He was breathing heavily as he could barely focus on my face. Leaning in, I brushed some of his hair that was sticking to the sweat on his forehead. Taking a deep breath, I smiled.“Who hired you?”His head started to shake and I started to shake mine with it. “You don’t want to start this again…do you? It’s the last question, little prick. The very last one. I keep my promises
Marek walked with me in his arm up the stairs and opened the door. The that guys were standing in the hallway all jumped to attention. They looked from him to me and started to move away.“Keenan.”Keenan stepped forward, looking worried as he eyed the two of us. “Yes sir.”“Bring the car around back.”Nodding, Keenan disappeared from our sight and Marek nodded to room. “Dispose of the body. Clean up in there as well.”“Yes sir!”All the guys moved around Marek as he walked down the hall, the opposite of where we came. Turning around, he opened the back door with a push and stepped out into the night. Looking up, I tried to see if there was any light in the sky but we were still surrounded by tall buildings.“What time is it?”“Four. It will start getting light soon.”Nodding, I rested my head on his shoulder. “I’m tired.”“We can go home and sleep.”I wrinkled my nose. “I need a shower. You do too after carrying me.”“Well, I guess we will just have to save water and take one together
Marek took two weeks to nail down what exactly we wanted to do. He also didn’t want to tip off anyone, so the meeting with Santiago was set to be the week after. The fake meeting was put into his calendar. We were supposed to meet Kamilia and Damir across the city for lunch. That was the cover. It made sense to use the tunnel with the place we were going.Juri wasn’t happy about the plan. He wanted to bolster up. Have us take a caravan of bratva soldiers. Take them out with the combined power. They attacked the Baranov Bratva and they should feel the full force of it. An entire week was dedicated to Marek trying to talk Juri into our plan.Plus, as much as they attacked the bratva, it really wasn’t about them. Not really. So, begrudgingly, Juri only provided us with one of the most tricked out SUV I’d ever seen. That included the vehicles my father drove around. His paranoia meant that safety while driving was his highest priority. Juri beat him by a mile.Mostly because it wasn’t just
*** Five Years Later *** I rubbed my shoulders before lifting my glasses up and rubbing my eyes. There was a knock on the door and Ria pushed the door open with her back. She was holding a tray and stepped into my office. Setting it down on the edge, she put her hand on her hip. “You didn’t break for lunch. Again.” “I know. I’m sorry. Your brother sent a few more things for me to look at and I got engrossed in it.” Shaking her head, I reached out for her and pulled her into my lap. “How did the appointment go?” “Fine.” My eyebrow rose. “Just fine?” “Well, we figured out the issue. If that’s what you want to know.” “And?” I looked at her over my glasses. Ria had been struggling with her equilibrium lately. It started with when she was carrying something heavy, usually Alek. He was somehow in the ninety-nine percentile for his height but fairly middle of the road for his weight. Still, he would jump at Ria like he was two instead of five. Then, it started to get bad e
We pulled up to the airport in record time. Keenan dodged more than one cop and ran every red light on the way. Throwing open the doors, Lec and I made sure to do a quick sweep before letting Keenan and Ria out just in case he needed to take off with her.“Well, well. It took you long enough.”Lorenzo rolled up on us, smiling as he leaned forward in his wheelchair. There was a guy next to him and he stepped forward, grabbing our luggage as we took it out. Reaching in, I helped Ria step out of the car. She smiled and hugged Lorenzo, kissing him on the cheek.“I’m surprised you agreed. Having to leave all your women behind.” Ria chuckled but it sounded far more malicious than happy.“Yeah, yeah. I had to sell Terrance too. But I plan on getting one just like her. Terrance 2.0 wherever we end up.”I shook my head. “We are supposed to not stand out, Lorenzo.”“See here, cognato, I’m doing this out of the goodness of my heart. For my little sister.”Lorenzo handed me a folder and I opened
The speed limit wasn’t even a suggestion at this point. We didn’t have time to wait. I’d managed to get First Class tickets out of the country that would be just under the three hours but we needed to leave as soon as we could. Pulling up to the penthouse, I double parked next to the elevators. Ria was already unbuckling but she’d been quiet the entire ride from the house.Getting out, I slammed the car door shut. I’d speak to her when we got onto the plane. When I felt like we were safer than walking into a building filled with my brother’s men. Stepping into the elevator, I pulled Ria to me. Holding onto her tightly, I tightened my hand on the gun I’d grabbed from the glove box.The elevator dinged and I raised the gun, only to see Keenan in regular clothes. His eyes widened and he put his hands up immediately. I took a breath and nodded to him, dropping the gun.“Keenan? What…?”Keenan flashed Ria a smile. “I’m coming with you.”Ria looked from him to me. “But…you have family…and…”
Juri threw his head back and laughed. “You can’t leave the bratva. This is your family, Marek.”“I can. The contract we signed when you became head of the bratva allows for me to request leave once in my lifetime.”Ria looked at me, shaking her head. “Marek, it’s…it’s okay. You don’t…”I smiled down at her and brushed her cheek. “The both of us have done our time, zhena. I’ve been thinking, what it would be like for us to live normally. The two of us, raising a family, without the darkness looming over us.”“Request denied. Now, moving on.” Juri waved his hand but Kaz caught his wrist.“That’s now it works, Vor.”Juri yanked his hand out of Kaz’s grip. “Why the hell not? I’m Vor. I decide who comes and who goes. Who can leave and who can’t.”“Right. But there are consequences to saying no when one of us asks. Marek’s contract being the severest one of all of us.”Kam nodded from her lean against the bookshelf. “Da knew that if Marek was forced to leave, forced to invoke the contract,
I stared at the papers in my hand. Ria, somehow, had finagled an early release from the hospital. With the condition that she would come by every week to make sure she was healing properly. Now though, we were facing the black SUV that would take us to my brother. Her hand slipped into mine and she squeezed it. Really, it should have been her that was afraid. Instead, I was the one hesitating.Kam came up behind us. “Come on. I have to go too.”I helped Ria into the back seat with Kam before I walked around and got in the front with Wren. He was one of Juri’s men who did a lot of his driving. Keenan had been the only one to come to the hospital. Lec or Boris hadn’t shown up, which disappointed me a bit. Still, their oath was to the bratva, not to me directly.The ride was quiet and I kept glancing back at Ria. Her elbow was on the windowsill and her chin resting in her hand, looking at the city. I never really thought I would get here. Where I would put someone above the bratva, above
*** Marek’s POV ***I ran my hands through Ria’s hair. She was sleeping soundly next to me in my hospital bed. Kam had warned her multiple times that she was not to walk anywhere. Ria still snuck into my room after the night shift and crawled into bed with me. I’d never kick her out though. I don’t know why they didn’t just put us in the same room.In the past, I never really worried about things. If something bad happened, I just fixed it. End of story. The lack of light in Ria’s eyes made me add her emotional wellbeing, not just physical, to the list. She was still trying to force herself to not feel. Part of it I knew was because she was waiting to hear what Juri had to say. I wish I could tell her she didn’t need to go that far but I knew better. Even I didn’t know what was going happen next.The door opened and I heard an exaggerated groan. “YA klyanus'. Yesli ona budet prodolzhat' v tom zhe dukhe, ona naneset nepopravimyy vred svoim nogam.” [I swear. If she continues like this,
Three of us stepped over the debris of the hole we made of the entrance. After a quick debate, Lorenzo told us he could cover himself and not to worry about him. He deployed the drone he had left and it was hovering above us. Keenan and I were leading while Marek was just behind us.A few shots came from the second floor and I adjusted, looking up and taking quick shots as I moved. If anything, I knew this place like the back of my hand. I knew every squeaky board. Every blind corner, every room and every loud hinge. It was easy to know where the guys were coming from but there were only a few.“They are holed up in the study. Only a few guards left. Most are injured or confused. They aren’t organized and aren’t poised to attack.”I motioned for the guys to follow me as I raced up the stairs. Turning to the left, I walked down the open walkway before I turned down the very last hallway. At the end of this hallway was my father’s study. It was where he brought men after they had done b
I unbuckled the seatbelt and stood up, looking out the windshield. Sure enough, Lorenzo had pulled up against a brick wall that was part of the closest neighbors boundary. Tapping him on the shoulder, I walked to the back between Keenan and Marek. With a flick of a button, the top of the van started to retract back. I pulled down the metal ladder and climbed up.I had a perfect view of the guards house and the gate . My lips pursed and I stepped back down a couple stairs.“This will be fine. Their numbers went up though.”“Cause he’s back.” Lorenzo pulled out a laptop from the door and opened in. “Yeah, it’s nearly empty inside the house.”I nodded and looked over the top of the van again. “Confirmed location?”“In the study. Ferrari is also in there.”Smirking, I shrugged. “Two for one I guess.”“You need to ensure that he doesn’t run.” Marek added and I looked down at him.Frowning, I dropped down and took hold of the bulletproof vest he was putting on. I shook my head.“You’re not
I couldn’t tell if he was angry or if he was just pouting. Either way, Marek refused to look at me the rest of the drive. He did end up falling asleep and I worried we would need to drop him off with Kamilia but he waved us off when I told him the plan. We were quiet as we drove through the city and back up the way to the hell I literally had just escaped.It sent of jolt of nerves through me but I knew if there was a time to do it, now would be that time. Enzo was gone, we confirmed that. With Juri blowing up locations and knocking in doors, the security wasn’t what it normally was. If we waited even a day, Enzo could regroup and come back to bolster Father’s forces. That and with Marek in hand, Juri would probably stop his assault. He wouldn’t have the excuse of trying to find Marek anymore.“Set up where you can be covered and I can see the entrance from the top of the van.”“I know!” Lorenzo snapped at me.“If you don’t want to do this…” I turned my head to him. “It’s okay.”He gr