Page 61 of Climbing Everest

Kato

“ S he was…fuck. It was unbelievably hot and terrifying,” Brix says after filling me in on exactly what went down in the basement.

I’m still not super happy she was so close to that piece of shit, but I imagine the experience was cathartic. She’d been able to expel some pent-up hate and rage while getting revenge on one of the people who’d hurt her so badly.

Maybe I should have joined the three of them down there, but I’d had work to do.

And now that there’s a possible location for Dima Sidorov, I’ll have even more before I can quit for the day.

Who am I kidding? I no longer get days off work since taking over the Antoniou syndicate.

But this just adds more to my plate.

Really, though, I’m more than happy to work twenty-four/seven if it means tracking that son of a bitch down.

It’s time to get our justice, and time for Everest to finally have a chance to simply live her life without constantly fearing her father is somewhere out there waiting to finish the murder Viktor refused to commit.

The old Russian is another conversation I need to have with Everest. I highly doubt Viktor will swear his fealty to me and work for my organization, but the job is there if he wants it.

But taking a job with me, swearing his allegiance to me, would mean turning his back on his Pakhan. I don’t see that going over very well.

Brix’s expression turns…somber. That’s the only word I can put to it.

“She told Denis the doctor warned her she may never get pregnant or carry to full term. There’s a chance we won’t have the family we planned.”

“Nope. She said we can adopt ten kids if we want,” Maddox announces as he bounds into the room with Everest on his back like she did when we were kids. Except she used to almost always be on Brix’s back, since he was always a giant compared to everyone else.

I frown at Everest but she shrugs and winks at me. Maybe she was simply telling him what she thought he needed to hear. Maddox might be a little unhinged, but the psycho was also highly emotional and tended to love almost too hard.

Finding out one of his dreams of fatherhood was erased by that one night would have been a huge blow.

Got to be honest – I’m not exactly against adopting a gaggle of kids. We definitely have the resources and the space, not to mention enough love between the four of us.

One thing at a time, though.

Like marrying the love of my life.

Then tracking our enemy and ending this bullshit once and for all.

Wedding day. Fucking finally.

What Everest doesn’t know is that the three of us reserved a private cabin in Antigua for our honeymoon. We’re planning on ten days, but I’m not so na?ve as to think something won’t come up while we’re gone.

If it does, I’ll just leave Everest with Madd and Brix while I deal with whatever fire comes up. No reason she shouldn’t enjoy the vacation.

The problem with not telling her is someone had to sneak around and pack the appropriate clothing and enough of it she won’t have to worry about having laundry sent out.

I officially delegated that task to Ms. Galanos.

She was in charge of making sure Everest would have everything she could possibly need while being away from home for ten days.

Feminine voices and giggling make their way through the house and straight to my heart. I’m still not Flora’s biggest fan, but it sounds so much like the old days with the way the two of them are gossiping and laughing.

Everest and Flora hired a whole team to get the two of them ready for the wedding and since I’m not comfortable with her being out where anyone can see her, there are currently half a dozen people in the living room and kitchen.

Some are doing the women’s hair, some doing their makeup. I think they’re getting their nails and toes done, too. There is even someone in the kitchen bringing snacks and drinks as needed.

And yes, I vetted every single one of them before I allowed any of them to so much as pull through the gate.

I should probably go shower and get ready myself but, unlike the women, all I have to do is comb my hair and don a suit after washing up. How long can that possibly take?

What amuses me is the fact Everest refused to allow any of the three of us to sleep with her last night. Since we couldn’t exactly sleep in different houses, that was the closest we could get to the whole not seeing the bride before the wedding deal.

We couldn’t sleep in bed with her, but she made sure to visit us in the living room last night and got spit roasted before heading off to sleep alone.

Oh, and we’re going to see her before we all climb into the same fucking SUV to head to the chapel.

My men should be there by now, sweeping the place for anything that could endanger my girl or our guests. And yes, we invited the Pakhan. I figured it would be rude not to considering his daughter is not only the maid of honor, but the only bridesmaid standing on Everest’s side.

I wanted to find her parents and those two fucks, Eriks and Mikhail, before today.

And failed. Not for lack of trying. I had every single person I could out there looking for them, even asked the Pakhan for help. Pretty sure my pride will be bruised for a while after making that phone call.

Thing is, though, even Roman Yegorov wants to see Dima underground. Not only did he fuck with the Pakhan’s only daughter’s best friend, but he went behind Roman’s back. Turns out not only did Roman not know about Dima’s extracurricular activities, but he wasn’t paying his Pakhan what was owed.

Big no no in any Family.

With the Pakhan in attendance today, that means he’ll have his own army of guards watching over him and his daughter. More guards to ensure Dima won’t do some stupid shit like attack the ceremony or the party after.

I’ve seen a few changes Everest made to the plans I’d originally made; my girl didn’t spare a dime and pulled out all the stops. This will be one hell of a wedding, and the reception of the decade.

Brix steps into my office, his long hair hanging wet around his bare shoulders. He’s showered but hasn’t bothered to pull on anything more than the boxers Everest specifically chose for us to wear today.

All three of us have matching black boxer briefs with the word ‘groom’ plastered across our asses. I guess I should be a little embarrassed by that, but who the fuck will see it other than our wife?

And fuck yes I love that she got Maddox and Brix each a pair, too.

“Your phone off?” he asks, jerking his chin toward my desk while his brows stay pulled together deeply.

I return the frown and glance down at my phone.

Fuck. I must have forgotten to turn it back on after we fucked Everest senseless last night.

I didn’t want anything to interrupt us. If it was truly an emergency, one of the guards outside would have alerted us or whoever was calling would have tried all three phones.

I have three missed calls from the guards currently manning the front gate.

“Fuck,” I mutter. Since Brix apparently knows what’s up, I don’t bother returning the calls. “What happened?”

“The Pakhan is at the gate not so patiently waiting for permission to enter.” His brows are still knitted together so tightly a deep groove has formed between them.

“I’ll take it by your expression he’s not here to check on his daughter.”

I push to my feet as Brix shakes his head. “No. He said he’s got information we need to hear.”

“Today? He couldn’t wait until we get back?”

Brix doesn’t respond as we both make our way to the front door and step onto the landing as the black town car pulls forward. Apparently, Brix gave the go ahead to allow the Pakhan access.

Being as his baby girl is inside our house, it might have been seen as disrespect or even an act of war had he been barred from entering.

“You think maybe you should at least put on some pants before meeting with the Pakhan?” I mutter to Brix as he stands beside me on the front stoop. Yep. Still in his boxers with wet hair in the currently thirty degree weather.

If he’s cold, he’s not showing it.

“Until I know why the fuck the Russian is here on our wedding day, I’m not doing shit,” he grumbles in his deep voice.

Fair enough. There’s only the one vehicle, but in our world, that doesn’t mean shit. As far as we know, there could be snipers in the distance with their scopes narrowed in on the two of us.

Once the vehicle parks directly in front of the stairs, a guard steps from the front passenger seat and moves to the back to let the Pakhan out.

“To what do we owe the honor of a visit?” I ask, trying my best to keep my voice and expression neutral instead of showing my annoyance and suspicion.

“Let’s talk inside,” the older man says with a jerk of his chin toward the front door.

Normally, I’d say fuck no to that order when Everest is inside, but his guard isn’t joining him, simply standing beside the vehicle with his hands clasped in front of him.

That and Flora is inside. Don’t want our rival thinking we’re holding his daughter hostage or refusing him to see her. Again, that could be seen as an affront.

Brix grumbles a displeased sound but steps aside as Roman climbs the steps.

He’s somewhere in his forties, but the years haven’t been kind to him.

It seems after his wife was murdered, the weight of grief pressed down on him so hard his shoulders hunch forward a little, and there’s more gray in his hair than I would think a forty-five-year-old man would have.

Or maybe that’s just my age showing, and he looks older to me since he’s old enough to be my father.

At least he shows me respect where so many others treat me as though my younger age keeps me from running my father’s empire.

I lead Pakhan Yegorov to my office and nod at Brix, silently telling him to track down Maddox. The two might technically be my employees, might be my enforcers, but they’re the closest to brothers I’ve ever had or ever will.

We run this syndicate as a unit.

“Where’s my daughter?” the Pakhan asks as we step through the door to my office and he lowers into the winged back chair in front of my desk.

“They’re in the kitchen being dolled up. Something about natural light,” Maddox says as he enters with Brix on his heel, donning a pair of sweats to cover his special-order boxer briefs.

Roman grunts a sound and nods, then crosses his ankle over his knee.

Brix takes a seat at his own desk while Madd sits on the edge. I sit in the chair across from Roman and rest my elbows on the armrests.

“What can we do for you?” I ask after a few beats of silence.

“This is a situation where we can help each other,” he says, a ghost of a smile teasing the corners of his lips. “I’ve gotten word about your in-laws and the two guards who remained loyal to Dima.”

That last part makes his lip curl. Oh, he’s pissed. It doesn’t matter who each of the guards is assigned to individually – their loyalty should always be to their Pakhan, or in our case, their Don.

Doing otherwise … yeah, Mikhail and Eriks are both fucked.

“So we take them out for you,” I say rather than ask.

Roman studies me for a beat and I’m prepared to defend my age, my ability, whatever the fuck he attacks. He isn’t the first elder to doubt my place as Don.

“I have no problem taking out my own trash. I figured you would want a little revenge. I hear your wife is good with a hammer.”

My nostrils flare on a deep breath the same time Brix says, “How the fuck would you know that?”

Because…who the fuck from our organization has been chatting with the Russians?

“Believe it or not, your wife and my daughter have very few secrets, and my daughter was very…proud,” he says with a dark grin, “of the way she took control of the situation and ended one of the men who abused her.”

Well, fuck.

The last thing I want is Everest sharing secrets about our Family with the Russians – or anyone else – but how the fuck do I tell her not to confide in her lifelong best friend? And it’s not like she gave out financial information or any form of secret that could endanger what we’ve built here.

I also can’t imagine she bragged about killing Denis but was probably looking for confirmation from someone else that she isn’t evil or sick for not feeling guilty about torturing that cocksucker’s life.

In my opinion, he still got off way too easily, crushed testicles included. I’m still surprised Madd and Brix didn’t torture him a little longer before killing him.

“I’ll leave it up to you – I can send my men to take them out, or I’ll leave it to your…family,” he says with a slight shake of his head. I get it; I’m sure there aren’t a lot of men out there willing to share their wife with two other men.

Especially not in our world.

I glance over at Madd then Brix. They each dip their heads in a short nod. Decision made without uttering a single word.

“We want this one,” I say.

The four of us spend the next hour coming up with a plan while the women are completely unaware of the meeting. We’ll fill Everest in after the ceremony and reception. Otherwise, she’ll be either pissed or anxious – or a combination of the two – the rest of the day.

If my wife deserves anything, it’s the most beautiful day and the wedding of her dreams.

And I’ll sure as fuck do everything in my power to make that happen.