Page 29 of The Ecstasy of Sin (Brutal Brotherhood #1)
The propofol must be fully flushing from her system now, but hopefully the warmth and comfort of my bed keeps her relaxed enough to sleep off the grogginess that’ll hit once she’s fully awake.
I wonder when she last slept in a bed like this—one that didn’t squeak or sag, one that smelled like comfort instead of mildew and fear. I’ve always been a sucker for an expensive mattress, and mine is as lush as they come.
She’ll sleep so well, she’ll never want to leave it.
The thought warms my cold, dark soul like a slow-burning fire.
My eyes flick around the room, the curtains are drawn to keep most of the morning light out, and a new idea begins to take shape in my mind.
This place isn’t good enough for her. I’m going to find a property out in the middle of nowhere, surround it with prison-grade fencing and build her the home of her dreams .
Maybe I’ll get a couple more dogs. I may even move my brothers in, because the four of us are more efficient for defense than anyone I could hire.
Rolling onto my back, I grab my phone from the nightstand and open up the Brotherhood group chat.
RYKER
Eric Malone fucking bailed on tonight. One of my crew told him he was up against Dom.
TORIN
That’s why we keep telling you to keep your mouth shut about your main eventer.
RYKER
Not my fault he’s a little bitch.
GHOST
So, there's no fight?
RYKER
Of course there is. Maksim took Eric’s place.
TORIN
As in Dimitri fucking Volkov’s brother?
RYKER
The one and only.
GHOST
We really need to do something about those fuckers.
TORIN
He’s been pressuring you to sell his drugs in your club for months, and you sign up his brother to fight Dom?
RYKER
He knows the stakes. He knows men die in my cage.
GHOST
You crazy son of a bitch. You want Dom to kill him.
TORIN
Does that mean we’re officially Team Killian Kinahan?
Dimitri and Maksim’s efforts to carve out a foothold in Toronto’s criminal underworld has escalated lately. Their crew is just one small branch of the Bratva, but they’ve got heavy homeland support.
They must be under a lot of pressure to fill the void the Italian mob left behind when they were wiped out.
A quiet war’s been brewing between the Russians and the Irish, and the only thing keeping it from getting loud and bloody is the influence me and my brothers have over the city. No one takes power unless they have the Brotherhood’s blessing.
And the Russians don’t. They want us to accept their authority. To serve. To play pawns on their board while they crown themselves kings. But the Brotherhood bows to no one.
Killian Kinahan and his Irish syndicate have been here longer. They respect my brothers and I, and have no interest in getting involved with us outside of hiring us to tip the scales of power in their favour.
We made a promise long ago to never move forward with any major plays unless all four of us were on board, and Ryker took a long fucking time to agree to finally taking action.
He’s the one that will be at the forefront dealing with these fuckers, so I can’t say that I blame him for taking the time to think on our options.
If Ryker wants me to kill Maksim tonight, that means he’s finally agreed to our previously discussed plans.
Russians out, Irish in. We let allies take the vacant seat of power in Toronto, and in return, they stay the fuck out of our business.
It’s a win-win, so long as Killian understands that any attempt to overthrow us will result in not only his death, but the eradication of his entire fucking bloodline.
If Maksim dies tonight, that means things are about to get ugly.
My incentive to protect Wren just skyrocketed.
I glance down at my woman, still resting quietly beside me, before adding my two cents to the conversation.
ME
Consider Maksim dead.
RYKER
Look who decided to join us.
GHOST
How's our new sister?
ME
Sleeping.
RYKER
Pics or it didn't happen.
ME
Consider yourself dead, too.
TORIN
For fuck's sake.
ME
Be at my place tomorrow night around 11PM so we can sort this shit out. Also, I’ve got a proposal.
GHOST
Colour me curious. What proposal?
ME
Military-grade compound. For the four of us, Hunter, more dogs, advanced security systems. Safety.
RYKER
Safety? You getting soft on us, killer?
TORIN
He’s got something to lose now.
GHOST
Well I’ll be damned. He wants us to be roomies again. Just like old times.
RYKER
Glorified guard dogs! Unless we’re all sharing a bed…
ME
I’m going to tear your spine out of your ass and hang you with it.
RYKER
Love you too, big guy.
ME
Tomorrow. 11pm.
GHOST
Alright.
TORIN
Yep.
RYKER
Yes, Daddy.
GHOST
…
TORIN
You’ve got a death wish, Ryk.
Shaking my head and fighting the urge to laugh, I set my phone aside and turn onto my side so I can watch Wren until she awakens.
My idea just keeps sounding better and better.
It’s not like my brothers aren’t already crashing on my couch most nights, or spending half of their lives in my gym. This just makes sense.
They don’t have to sell their homes, they just have to claim bedrooms in mine. Between the four of us, and Hunter, Wren will be as safe as anyone can be.
I made the decision to drag her into my world, and that comes with the responsibility of shielding her from the fires of hell that will eventually rise to meet us all.
Especially now that I’ve got the green light to massacre Maksim Volkov.