father’s office a few days later, trepidation curling down my spine. He’d called an impromptu family meeting. Very unlike him. He was a meticulous planner and scheduled any kind of meeting in advance. Whenever he’d call us all together to his office out of the blue like this, it usually meant something was going on.
Aleksandr and Lukyan were already seated when I arrived, Aleksandr spread out on the three-seater couch (his usual spot) and Lukyan in one of the two armchairs in front of Father’s desk.
“Father not here yet?” I asked, taking a seat in the chair beside Lukyan.
“No,” Aleksandr grunted.
Lukyan looked at me. “Tatiana make it to New York okay?”
“Safe and sound.” It killed me not being able to go with her yet. I had every intention of going. There was no way I could handle being apart from her, even if she wasn’t pregnant. The fact that she was just intensified all of those protective, possessive feelings I already had towards her. Times a billion.
I just had to talk to my father first and let him know I was leaving. He hadn’t been in the best of moods since returning. You’d think he’d be happy, having been rescued and freed from Talon’s stupid gladiator games. But he’d been the exact opposite: moody, withdrawn, downright fucking sullen.
Part of it, I suspected, was because he’d been searching for Talon and hadn’t had any luck in finding him. The man was hell-bent on revenge, and I honestly didn’t think he was going to rest until he got it.
The other part, I’m sure (though, he’d deny it), had something to do with the red-haired woman. Autumn. His mood had turned even more sour after her departure, to the point that the soldiers and the staff were afraid to talk in his presence, in case he snapped and bit their heads off (something he’d been doing a lot of lately). If someone even breathed around him, he threw a fucking tantrum. Father was already short-tempered, but this? This was something entirely different.
“Do you know what this is about?” I pulled my phone out, double-checking it was on loud just in case Tatiana called me. If she needed me, I didn’t want to miss the call.
“Not a single clue,” Lukyan responded. “You, Zander?”
“No idea.”
That didn’t bode well.
Father stomped into the room a few minutes later, that dark, angry cloud that had been following him around for the last few days hanging over his head.
He looked around the room. “Where’s your wife?”
Considering only one of us was married (for now), it was easy to guess he was talking to Aleksandr.
My brother frowned, getting to his feet. “She’s upstairs.”
“Get her here,” he snapped. “What part of ‘family meeting’ did you not understand? She’s family, isn’t she?”
Aleksandr hid his surprise well. Just a slight crinkle at the edge of his eyes showed that he was startled by Father’s order, but he did as he commanded, leaving and reappearing a moment later with Drea in tow. His little cartel wife looked a little nervous as she stepped into the room. Surprising, considering how sure of herself she was, the confidence she’d always displayed. Was she nervous…scared of my father? A lot of people were, so it wouldn’t be entirely surprising, I guess.
She cleared her throat awkwardly and came to stand in front of my father. “Hello, Mr Butcher—I mean, Mr Volkov—it’s nice to meet you. Well, I guess we’ve met before. Not sure if you remember. You probably don’t, it was a long time ago. Well, not a long, long time ago, but it was before you were kidnapped and everything—” she winced and shook her head. “Sorry, uhm, Aleksandr said you wanted to see me? Maybe? Or was he wrong? I can go.”
Her rambling put the first bit of amusement on my father’s face I’d seen in days. There it was—that tiny, little twinkle in his eyes that showed he found the whole thing utterly humorous.
“I remember you,” was all he replied with.
“Okay. Cool. Well, I remember you. Obviously.” Aleksandr frowned down at her as she continued to ramble. “I mean, who wouldn’t remember you, you know, ‘cause of the whole ‘kkkkkkkkkk’.” She swiped a finger across her throat. “You’ve killed a lot of people. How many people have you killed anyway? Do you know? Do you keep count? I keep count—” Aleksandr slapped a hand over her mouth to get her to finally stop talking.
Lukyan snickered.
“Right.” My father cleared his throat with an awkward cough and moved to his chair behind his desk. But he didn’t sit down. He just held it open, staring pointedly at Aleksandr. Lukyan and I shared a look with one another, our faces mirrored in shock.
“Father?” Aleksandr questioned, confusion in his eyes.
Drea forcibly removed his hand that was still covering her mouth. “He wants you to sit down,” she whispered out of the side of her mouth.
“I know that,” he hissed back. That was what was confusing him.
It was Father’s chair. It’s where he sat. Where the Pakhan sat. Offering the seat to him held a significant meaning, one we all understood.
When Father was kidnapped, the role of Pakhan had gone to Aleksandr by default. Now that he was back, though, his previous position was now his once again, and Aleksandr returned to being his second-in-command. Everything had gone back to normal, the status quo restored. At least, so we thought. Until now, because it wasn’t just his seat that Father was offering. It was his position.
Before, Aleksandr had no choice but to fill the role. With Father gone, someone had to step up. We all assumed that when he returned, he would take back the role permanently, but what he was doing now suggested otherwise.
Father said nothing, staring Aleksandr down. Waiting. We all waited to see what he would do. He was still young in terms of leading the Bratva. At fifty-four, he still had a good ten or so years before he even needed to think about stepping down.
So why was he offering it to Aleksandr now? Over a decade early?
Determination and pride shone in my brother’s eyes. With his shoulders back, head held high, posture perfect, he marched over and took the seat that was offered, conditions and all.
The shutter of a photo being snapped rang out into the air. We all looked at Lukyan, his phone in his hand. He bared his teeth in an innocent smile.
“What? We have to document this. It’s a special moment.”
I rolled my eyes.
Father moved to the corner of the room, grabbed another chair and wheeled it over, placing it right beside Aleksandr’s. He looked pointedly at Drea, waiting again.
Drea glanced behind her. “Is he looking at me?” she whispered.
“Duh,” Lukyan whispered back, and Aleksandr cut him a scathing glare that had him snapping his spine straight.
Despite the initial nervousness she’d had upon first entering the room, Aleksandr’s little cartel wife walked over with perfect confidence and took her rightful place beside the new Pakhan.
Father nodded, satisfied. He sauntered over and stood in front of Lukyan. He arched an eyebrow.
“I’ll just go sit over there,” Lukyan said, getting up and moving to the couch.
“Father—”
He raised a hand, silencing Aleksandr from saying another word as he sat down gallantly. “During my absence, both you and your wife proved that you have what it takes to not only fill the role of Pakhan, but fill it well.” He stressed the last word, pride ringing in his voice.
Aleksandr swallowed thickly.
“I see no reason why that has to change just because I’m back. I’ve spoken with the soldiers, with Ivan and Vladimir, and they did nothing but sing your praises. You held strong in the face of overwhelming uncertainty. Didn’t crumble under the pressure, but thrived. And your wife”—his gaze shifted to Drea—“managed to pull off one of the biggest infiltrations I’ve ever witnessed. She showed where her true loyalties lay, and that she would go above and beyond for you. Which, my son, is one of the greatest gifts men like us can ever hope to get. It’s my time to step aside and your time to shine. Both of you.”
Aleksandr’s mouth dropped open. He looked at me, back to father. He seemed to struggle to know what to say back. I couldn’t blame him.
To say that I was completely and utterly shocked would be the understatement of the fucking century. Based on the looks on Aleksandr and Drea’s faces, they clearly thought the same thing.
“What…uh,” Aleksandr licked his lips. “What will you do now, then?”
“Usually, there’s a transition period when new leadership is underway, but based on what I’ve heard, you don’t need it. I’ll still be here, though, in case you need me or need any advice. But ultimately, you’ll be in charge.”
“Oooo,” Lukyan perked up. “Does that mean he gets to boss you around for once?”
A very interesting question.
Aleksandr arched an eyebrow, waiting for Father to respond.
He gave the tiniest hint of a smirk. “I’m nothing if not respectful of the proper chain of command,” was all he said on that matter. “The meeting is yours, son.”
Aleksandr sat up a little straighter, determination stiffening his spine, and cleared his throat. “First order of business, the Cosa Nostra. I’ve coordinated with Arturo and a strike is underway against all of Franco’s establishments to try and draw him out of hiding.”
“Interesting,” Father commented. He’d been brought up to speed on everything that had happened since his disappearance. There was a lot to go over.
“With our combined forces, it will be easy to beat the men he’s left behind,” Aleksandr continued. “The only problem will be who gets to kill him once he’s found.”
“I will,” I growled. “After what he did to Tatiana, that kill is mine.”
“Ordinarily, I’d agree with you.” Sympathy flashed in his eyes. “But after all the trouble he’s caused Arturo, he’s also entitled to a piece.”
“You think I give a fuck about what that fucker is entitled to?” I was still pissed off about the role he played in Tatiana’s capture.
“He did help rescue us,” Lukyan pointed out.
“So?” The fact that he was part of the rescue party didn’t mean shit to me. I still wanted to see his head on a spike.
“So let the man have the kill. Tatiana is fine—”
“She was almost raped,” I snarled. “By one of his men. If anyone is going to kill Franco, it’s going to be me.”
“I’m just saying—”
“Enough,” Aleksandr barked out. “Until he’s found, this conversation is pointless, so we’ll deal with it when the time comes. Onto the next issue. The final two MCs responsible for the attack on our home have been dealt with.”
“Have they?” Father drawled. “That’s disappointing. I would have liked to get in on that.”
“There could be minor repercussions from other charters, like Nikolai and Tatiana faced in New York from the Brotherhood. If there are, I’ll be sure to save you a few, Father.”
He nodded his head. “Much appreciated.”
“How were they handled?” I asked.
Drea chose to answer that one. “A few of the boys and I paid them a little visit. Don’t worry, I kept up with the theme of the whole ‘V’ on the forehead thing. Nice touch, by the way,” she winked.
“Thanks.”
Lukyan cleared his throat. “So, with the MCs gone and Dominik dead, that means the threat is over, right?”
I glanced at my father beside me. He hadn’t spoken about what happened exactly, but we all knew one thing. Their feud had finally come to end, with Father victorious.
Whether he planned to explain the specific details later on, I wasn’t sure, but for right now, the topic was off limits.
“The threat is far from over,” Father said ominously. “Talon is still out there.”
“But his island isn’t. Not anymore.” I could still picture it. The flames, the screams, the smoke. Everything burning in the distance as we moved further and further away from the island, rowing to Mikhail’s submarine. Apparently, Drea had ordered complete and total destruction. Turns out, Aleksandr’s little cartel wife was just as protective and vindictive as the rest of us. She wanted the whole place to burn to ash.
So, a few of the soldiers had been ordered to plant explosives on all of the buildings while they made the rescue, rigged to explode within thirty minutes.
She didn’t care about casualties because, in her opinion, none of them were innocent. I was inclined to agree. They all knew who their boss was. They all knew what took place on that island.
Whether they were a cook, a janitor or a soldier, they all contributed to the functionality of the island. They helped it thrive. When you worked for a man like Talon, no matter the job, your life was at risk. Either by his hand, or his enemies’.
“He’ll just build another one,” Father grunted. “He’s got unlimited resources. There will be another one up and running in a week.”
“But who would even attend?” Lukyan questioned. “Word has already spread about what happened. It’s all over the news…the missing politicians, the burning island in the middle of nowhere. Even if he built another one, no one would trust that he could keep them safe. He’s lost his entire client base. He’ll have to start over from scratch.”
“He is not going to like that,” Drea frowned.
“Good,” Father blew out with an angry breath.
“He could be looking for retaliation,” Aleksandr pointed out. “Revenge for what we’ve done to him and his business.”
A dark, feral smile curled on my father’s lips. “I’m counting on it.”
“We should double the patrols around the house, in case he plans to attack,” Drea suggested.
Aleksandr nodded. “Good idea.”
“I’ll make it happen,” Lukyan said, rising to his feet.
“Before you leave, there’s something else we need to discuss.” Aleksandr held his gaze and Lukyan thumped back down into his seat.
“What did I do now?” he sighed.
“You haven’t done anything—”
“For once,” I couldn’t help but add in.
Lukyan cut me an annoyed glare.
“It’s about your stalker,” Aleksandr finished.
Lukyan shrugged uncaringly. “What about her?”
“Did you know she was the one who sent the location of the island to Drea? Or that she was the sniper who saved you in the Arena?”
His eyes widened. “She was?” he breathed out in shock. “How could you possibly know that?”
“Because I didn’t order anyone up there.” A troubling look crossed Drea’s face. “Neither did Arturo, Mikhail or my brother.”
“Okay? I don’t get what the big deal is. If what you’re saying is true, it means she saved me, saved us.”
“The big deal is, the woman is highly-trained, highly skilled, has managed to sneak in and out of our property completely undetected, and we have no idea who the fuck she is. The big deal is that she is a massive, massive threat, and the moment she realises she can’t have you will be the moment everything changes.”
Lukyan said nothing, his brows lowered in a deep frown.
“We need to find her and deal with her.” The underlying meaning in Aleksandr’s words were clear. “She’s following you. That means you’re the only one who can do it. You do whatever you need to do to find her, and you kill her. Understand?”
The room was silent for a moment until finally, Lukyan agreed. “Got it.”
“Good.” Aleksandr addressed a few more issues; where we sat with inventory, our new clients in New York, the progress of the new soldiers sent over from Russia. Lukyan and I sat and listened, chiming in whenever we had anything to add. Father said nothing. He just sat back and watched Aleksandr completely in his element. If there was ever any doubt about Aleksandr being able to handle this job, it was all squashed at that moment.
After he was finished, Father spoke. “I will be going away for a few weeks. There’s something I have to do—”
“Does this ‘something’ have anything to do with a certain feisty red-head?” Lukyan sang, his face full of cheekiness.
Father’s head snapped to him so fast, I worried he’d break his neck, that dark, angry cloud hanging over him that had slowly started to diminish flaring straight back to life.
Aleksandr and I both groaned. You goddamn fucking idiot.
We all knew not to mention her to him. Anytime anybody did, his mood got even worse. Darker, more enraged.
Lukyan winced under Father’s terrifying glare, hunching his shoulder in to try and make himself smaller.
Now’s as good a time as any to share your news. It might distract Father long enough to save Lukyan’s life.
“Since we’re sharing news,” I coughed. “I have something to tell you all. I’m leaving.”
That did it.
Father’s gaze whipped to me and they all spoke overtop of one another.
Father: “What are you talking about?”
Aleksandr: “Where are you going?”
Lukyan: “Can I have your room?”
We all looked to him, giving him a deadpan stare.
“What?” he shrugged. “It’s not like it’s a surprise. Of course he’s leaving. As if he could live somewhere different than Tatiana.”
There he went again, being a complete idiot one minute and incredibly insightful the next.
Aleksandr leant forward, bracing his elbows on the desk. He frowned in concentration. “Tatiana can’t move here?”
“We spoke about it and she offered, but her classes have just started. Moving back means she has to pull out. I don’t want her to do that. This is something she’s been dreaming about for years. I don’t want to be the reason she can’t do it.”
Aleksandr’s jaw clenched. “I need you here, Nikolai.”
I smiled sadly. “Respectfully, Zander, there’s nothing you can say that will keep me here. She’s pregnant.”
“What?!” Lukyan shouted. “Already?! Damn, how strong are your swimmers?”
A mixture of emotions swirled in my brother’s eyes: shock, bewilderment, happiness, defeat. He knew there was nothing on God’s green Earth that could keep me away from Tatiana then.
Of course I felt bad. We used to talk about this moment all the time when we were kids. The moment when Father would finally step down, and we would be in charge. Just eight and ten-year-old boys giggling under the blankets late at night about all the changes we were going to make.
Switching all of the passwords to “fart knuckles”. Making all of the soldiers wear capes. No more vegetables in the house. Idiotic changes, of course. But to two little kids, they were perfect.
“Oh my god! Congratulations!” Drea squealed, jumping up and down in her chair. “A baby! How exciting!”
“Two, actually.”
“Twins?” Aleksandr’s eyes widened at the revelation.
I nodded.
He got to his feet and marched over to me. I thought he was going to hit me or something, but he hauled me up and hugged me so tightly, I choked. “Congratulations, little brother.”
It took a second for me to react, stunned that my usually un-affectionate big brother was embracing me. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him back.
“Congratulations, son.” Father patted me on the shoulder.
“I wanna get in on this.” Not even a second later, Lukyan joined in, his arms encircling the three of us. “This is so nice,” he breathed dreamily.
Aleksandr grunted. “Get off me.”
“Andddd look at that, you ruined it, ya big grump.”
Laughing softly, I returned to my seat, the others following suit. “Just because I’m leaving doesn’t mean I won’t still work. I’ll coordinate with our new clients in New York and oversee the deliveries and payments. Tatiana only plans to stay at FIT long enough to gain enough credits so that, when a spot opens up at a college here, she can transfer.”
Aleksandr nodded. “So when do you leave?”
“Now.”
