Page 19 of Brutal Union (Ruthless Mafia Kings #8)

“Don’t take out my knife, Nik,” I warn, my voice sharp as I straighten—ignoring the scream of pain racing up my side. “You pull it, and the next one will go in your thigh. And we all know how many major arteries are down there.”

Nik grits his teeth, lips curled in pain as he glances at the handle protruding from his shoulder. “To what do I owe the pleasure of you torturing me?”

“We’re just getting started big bro,” I mock as I snap my fingers. “Close the door.”

He turns, still swearing under his breath—but before he can do it, the door swings wider.

Another shadow enters. I don’t hesitate. My second blade is already airborne.

But this time, there’s no thud. No scream. Just a snap of motion—clean, fast—and the sound of steel being caught midair.

Aleksandr steps fully into the room, casually inspecting the knife between his fingers, spinning it once like it’s a toy.

“That’s no way to greet your little brother,” he says with a crooked grin.

I roll my eyes. “You’re lucky I didn’t go for your neck.”

“You’re lucky I’m faster than Nik,” he tosses back, sauntering toward me like I didn’t just try to injure him. He sets the blade down on the edge of the mahogany desk. “Though I gotta say… you’re losing your edge. Half an inch to the left and you would’ve taken out his jugular.”

Nik glares at both of us. “I swear, it’s like you two have actual murder in your DNA.”

“We do,” Aleksandr and I say in unison.

“I will let this attempted murder slide, since I am assuming this has to do with your townhouse exploding thirty-six hours ago,” Aleksandr’s tone is rigid as he slides his hands into his front pockets.

Nik shuts the door behind him with a grunt, a sharp inhale escaping as the movement tugs at the knife still lodged in his shoulder.

“Nice way to let us know you’re alive, by the way,” he mutters, wincing.

Aleksandr looks down at Sho, jabbing a thumb in his direction. “Sho is supposed to be dead.”

I swallow hard, but Sho just leans back in the chair, casual as hell, lacing his hands behind his head like he’s sunbathing.

“They’ve been saying that for years, Alek,” he drawls, grinning. “At this point, it’ll probably take the entire Japanese military to take me down—and that’s only if they catch me in my sleep. ”

“I told you to be silent,” I snap, slicing my gaze at him like a blade.

Sho leans forward dramatically, then takes his thumb and forefinger and zips his lips, pantomimes locking them, and tosses the imaginary key over his shoulder.

I roll my eyes. “You should be more concerned with your own life than his.”

I move across the room toward the crystal decanter on the cabinet, the sharp click of my boots filling the silence. I take a page out of Boris’s handbook and pour a single glass—only one. A not-so-subtle reminder that this is not a friendly meeting.

Aleksandr watches me closely, arms folded. “And why exactly should I be worried for my life?”

I snort softly, the scent of oak and smoke curling up from the rim of the glass. I take a sip—burning, bitter, perfect—and fix him with a cool stare.

“Because someone here hired a man to kill me,” I announce to the room with a dramatic flair. “And that person will not leave this room alive.”

Nik’s, jaw is tight as he steps forward—still clutching the hilt of the knife in his shoulder. “Everyone agreed to the transfer of power, Nadia. The council voted unanimously. I renounced my claim. You’re the head. No one here is challenging that.”

I raise an eyebrow, swirling the amber liquid in my glass. “Funny. Because assassins usually aren’t in the job description for peaceful transitions.”

Aleksandr exhales through his nose, shaking his head like I’m testing his patience. “I told you before,” he says evenly, “I don’t want it.”

I tilt my head, mocking sympathy bleeding into my tone. “You don’t want your birthright?”

“You know me,” he says. “If I wanted it, I would take it. I told you before Nadia and I am only repeating myself because you are my sister, but I do not want it.”

“Then why do I still feel knives at my back?” I snap, the words slice across the room. Everyone's eyes are on me. “Why do I wake up to bombs and men in my face with guns? Because if it wasn’t you, brother, then it’s someone close enough to make it look like it was .”

Sho shifts behind me, still silent, but I can feel his eyes burning into the back of my skull.

Nik’s voice cuts in again—tired, but firm. “No one in this room made that call, Nadia.”

I lower my glass, fingers tightening around the crystal as I level my stare at him. My pulse remains steady, but my rage makes my skin hot, simmering just beneath the surface. I swallow steadily, focusing on the steady tap of my index against the crystal.

“Then why,” I say slowly, “did he say your name, Nik?”

His brow furrows. “Who said my name?” His voice rises, his steps closing the distance between us.

“Bhon Lee,” Sho answers before I can. Calm. Matter-of-fact. Like he’s reading a grocery list instead of naming the most feared killer on the planet. “I recognized him. Did some digging. He’s real high-end. Quiet. Precise. Expensive. ”

Nik snorts, trying to deflect. “If he’s that good, why are you still alive?” He shoots a glance at Sho, his tone sharp. “Sounds like I wasted money.”

“Because the Yakuza outbid you.” I snarl the words, fury exploding from my chest as I hurl the glass across the room.

It shatters against the wall—just inches from Aleksandr’s head. He doesn’t even blink.

No one does.

The room is dead silent.

“You tried to have me killed?!” I roar, voice ragged with betrayal.

“No.” Nikolai shrugs, like this is all some tedious argument he’s already tired of.

“ Liar ,” I hiss, the word ripped from somewhere deeper than my lungs.

He steps forward again, jaw tight. “If I wanted you dead, Nadi, you’d be in a goddamn coffin. And you know that.”

I move before I even register the decision—muscle and instinct overriding pain.

Every step I take is a fight against the urge to launch myself at him. It takes everything in me to stay controlled. When I reach him, I hook my foot around his ankle and yank hard. Nik stumbles, crashing to the floor with a grunt, his injured shoulder hitting with a dull thud.

He barely has time to react before I plant my boot near the hilt of the blade still embedded in his shoulder—not pressing, but close enough to remind him it’s still there .

My gun’s out a second later, the safety clicking off as I lower it to his temple, steady, and unshaking.

“What do you want your last words to your children to be, Nik?” I ask, voice low but lethal.

His eyes widen, panic flickering behind the anger. The blood is starting to soak through his shirt, warm and spreading—but I haven’t moved. Haven’t broken a sweat.

“Choose carefully,” I whisper, steel threading through my tone. “You’ll only get one sentence if you’re lying.”

“You really think I would get someone else to kill you?” he grits out, voice strained. “You think I’m that much of a coward? I trained you. I made you.”

His words cut deeper than they should. Rage curls up from my chest, but I don’t explode—I freeze, lock my jaw, let it simmer under the surface.

“You’re not stupid,” he presses, cruel now. “You think I’d waste Bhon Lee on you ? Nadia, you’re reckless. Emotional. You don’t think beyond your rage. Why would I spend that kind of money on a girl who was already going to burn herself out?”

My jaw tightens. I want to move—want to break something—but I hold.

I slowly lower the gun, hooking it under his chin, as I bite my lip, until the taste of metal tickles the tip of my tongue.

This is all I can do not to kill my own flesh and blood, because despite my murderous tendencies I guess this is my soft spot.

Not wanting to look my brother in the eye as I kill him.

“You think because I’m not you—or him—that I’m weak?” I ask, quietly now. “I’ve bled for this family. I’ve killed for it. I’ve killed for you . ”

Nik dares me, pushing his head into the barrel as he glares at me “I trained you to kill for me, but you weren’t raised to lead,” he spits. “ I was.”

The breath leaves my lungs like a knife to the chest, and before he can react, or I can talk myself out of it I remove the gun from his chin and plant my boot on the hilt of the knife still embedded in his flesh and press down. He screams through clenched teeth, writhing beneath me.

For a moment, all I can do is stare at him—broken, bruised, defiant. And still wrong.

I wipe at my face with the back of my hand that’s holding the gun, forcing myself upright. My legs wobble as I push down the knife even deeper into his flesh.

“That’s true. You trained me to kill, Nik.

” I look down at my brother—my protector.

The first man I have ever loved and the one man I vowed to die for.

“You trained me not to think twice about the target. You trained me to be ruthless. You taught me to hide my emotions. You turned me into a weapon. The best weapon in the game.”

I pause, my voice flat and cold. “But still…you and Alek were the only two people my heart ever bled for. And now, you’ve stolen that from me. I can’t trust you.” My eyes shift past Sho to land on Alek. “And sadly, I’m not sure I can trust you either, because I am sure I cannot trust anyone.”

I turn back to Nik, watching the fear roll through his eyes.

. “You’ve shown me that I should’ve killed you the moment I found out you lied about being the leader of the Bratva.

I was weak to let you live.” I adjust my jacket.

Straighten my spine. Wipe the blood off my lip, before I point my finger in Nik’s face and continue .

“You may not know this, because I gave it to you so freely but loyalty is earned. And both of you are at square zero. Until you prove yourselves to me, you are strangers.” I let that sink in before finishing, watching the steady vibrations of Nik’s Adam's apple.

“Whether you like it or not. The Bratva is mine now. I am Queen. Alek, you may serve—as a Queens-man. But you, Nik?” I lean closer to his face, tapping the gun against his cheek, the only sound around us is our heavy breathing. “You are nothing.”

“Nadia-” Nik coughs.

I take one step back, finally releasing the pressure of my foot off of the knife.

“This is your last warning, Nikolai,” I say, cold now. Steel in every word. “Next time you question me like I’m some emotional little girl instead of your fucking Queen , I will bury you myself.”

I lean in, close enough for him to smell the blood on my breath.

“Brother or not.”