Page 26 of Deadly Knight (The Bratva’s Elite #2)
Every second Sunday, Katya finishes her therapy session and takes three buses to the outskirts of the city to her parents’ house for lunch.
I hate the fact she attends therapy to address all the shit my love for her brought to her life.
She shouldn’t feel so broken that she seeks others to fix her, even if I get it’s best she doesn’t bottle everything up.
It’s healthy to talk about it. But fuck if it doesn’t tear me up that she requires this kind of support.
“And then there’s us.” She sighs. “If my first instinct is to run away, what kind of Bratva wife would I be to you in the future? You need someone strong.”
If this is making her feel stronger, maybe she’ll come back to me one day. I’ll wait a lifetime until she realizes she’s always been perfect.
Even her changed career path bothered me at first. While admirable, the single event swapped her goals.
In another life, if I had known the levels my father would be willing to go to, I could have prevented it, and she would have gone on to do what she’d always dreamed of.
The only thing that makes it all better is the fact she seems happy in her new role, able to twist the bad in kids’ lives and assist them through their own horrors.
After her session, she hops on the bus outside her therapist’s office and begins the journey out of the city. When the bus is out of sight, I return to my car and follow her there.
A few minutes into the drive, I tap Lev’s contact information on my phone. The connecting ringing sounds distract from the constant honking and shouting from the traffic forever plaguing Toronto streets.
“Da,” Lev says in greeting.
“Please tell me you found something.”
“Nyet.”
“Fuck.”
“I really am trying. Continuously pinging cell towers.”
“I know you are. It’s frustrating being stuck. Unless I stalk every inch of the city, he could be anywhere.”
“Zeno’s reaching out to every contact in the Cosa Nostra, and those he has around the globe. Seeing if anyone’s had eyes on Ivan. We’ll let you know if anyone reports anything.”
“Thanks. I have a second request. Could you get me the names of all the male staff at Emerald Youth Centre in Toronto, Canada?”
He grunts, a noise befitting Lev, who’s more content to watch and observe than speak. His own lessons learned from years beneath his father’s thumb. “Your requests get stranger and stranger by the second.”
“I’m aware. Can you do it?”
“Give me twenty.”
Click.
Papa, you can’t hide forever. Not with Zeno Mancini and his connections helping scour the fucking planet. Although I’m not convinced he’s anywhere outside of Toronto, Zeno’s efforts are appreciated.
He’s a Cosa Nostra Capo, the Italian mob made up of the Five Families—five bloodlines ruling Italy, other places in Europe, and some of the United States. His presence in our lives has been a surprise, but no less than Vanessa’s.
For a long time, Vanessa was merely my younger cousin by a year, most often sent away to boarding school in other parts of Russia.
When she was home, I did my best to be there for her, since neither of us have siblings and her closest connection was Anastasia, Lev’s twin sister, who wasn’t always allowed in the mansion.
A year after Katya’s absence, when I had to get more involved in the organization, Vanessa graduated and moved back home, allowing us to become closer in our shared grief of managing what life in the Bratva is like.
Ursin, my uncle and the Pakhan back then, treated her like shit, forcing her to make nice with politicians’ and businessmen’s daughters and smile for the kind of men he planned to wed her off to.
It was a role she had no desire to be in and didn’t allow her to train in the business she felt was ingrained into her system.
So I took it upon myself to teach her on the side, in private so neither of our fathers realized.
Losing Ursin to Erico Rossi of the Famiglia a few years ago was both heartbreaking and a relief for her, and as his only heir, she was determined to become the Bratva’s next Pakhan, despite her gender—something that bothered the Bratva’s ex-Elite members.
She succeeded and wiped out the era that hurt Katya and me, my father included, moving us into a new time.
No one saw the war with Mancini’s family coming, but the bigger surprise was the way Zeno broke down Vanessa’s defenses and made her care about another person. Years of fighting to prove herself made her cold, a shadow of who she really is, and now, she’s a blend.
As though thinking about her prompted her to reach out, my screen flashes with her text.
Vanessa
Haven’t heard from you in a few days. Lev says you haven’t found anything yet. Zeno’s reaching out to every connection he has.
I unhook my phone from its car mount and, with the help of the endless red lights holding up traffic, type:
Me
Tell him thanks.
Vanessa
How’s Katya?
Me
Alive.
Vanessa replies one more time about keeping her updated, and when I’m about to rest my phone back into the mount, Lev texts a list of four names.
Henry Johns
Theo Markman
Luke Turner
Caleb Carter
The first three have worked at the centre since before Katya, but the fourth is new.
Me
Find me what you can on Caleb Carter.
Stupid name.
Lev
Does this have something to do with your father?
Me
Kinda.
Lev
Anything in particular I should be looking for?
Me
No. Just everything. Thanks.
I drop my phone into the console and focus on the remainder of the trip, anticipating the information about Caleb Carter. Even his name sickens me.
Fuck, I hope he has skeletons in his closet, if only to give me reason to remove him from Katya’s life permanently. Then she can return to not smiling at other men and making it more and more difficult to restrain myself from killing someone.
After a long and very irritating journey to Katya’s parents’ neighbourhood, I park down the road from the quaint house they bought after moving here. The area is quiet, as usual. At this point, I’d almost prefer my father do something to draw notice.
Minutes later, Katya’s bus pulls up to the stop and she exits from the back door, waving her thanks to the driver before heading down the road to her parents’ house. I fall back against my seat with a sigh, irritated once more at the slow progress of all this.
The city is too big, and if he’s not inside Toronto, then he’s likely in one of the other numerous cities and towns within the Greater Toronto Area. Lev from afar, Zeno’s connections, and me pacing the streets are not enough.
That’s when another idea strikes.
Me
Correction - another favour.
Lev
You’re as demanding as my sister is when she’s on her “make everyone else diet like me” kick. What do you need?
Me
A list of every gang and criminal organization in the GTA. I think they might be able to help for the right price.
Lev
Have you spoken to Vanessa about this? Most of Canada is controlled by the Corsetti Organization, and if word got back you’re making deals on their territory, they’d see it as an attack. A war isn’t what she needs.
Me
Then get me a contact to the Corsettis.
Lev
It’s like you’re not even listening to me. These aren’t small favours.
Me
I’m only asking for a list and a contact.
Lev
Because you have a plan. That’s the part making me nervous.
Me
My father hurt someone I love. Finding him isn’t only a matter of what he did to Vanessa.
Lev
…I feel like I should know who that someone is, considering I’ve known you for years.
Maybe. Lev got the same story I told Vanessa and anyone else who asked: Katya broke up with me and moved away. Not where, why, or any other specifics.
Lev
I’ll get back to you soon.
Me
Thanks.
Lev
But only after you tell Vanessa you’re about to piss off the Corsettis.
Me
Maybe.