Page 13

TWELVE

Vlad

M y attention is pulled from whatever bullshit story Len is currently lying through. Inessa stands far too fucking close to the prick who was at the last dinner. I didn’t give a fuck what she did before my name was attached to her. Now that she’s my bride no one will disrespect me by treating her like a whore.She will be publicly afforded the respect of my name and that chuski won’t touch what’s mine.

She steps around him and goes to her business partner’s side, and I make it half a step when a hand lands on my forearm discreetly. Valentin keeps his voice low and angles his body away from the other fuckers as Dima closes in on my other side.

“No blood on your engagement, save it for the wedding night.”

He tries to disguise his comment as Viktor pops his head up, curious as to what we’re talking about. He doesn’t drop his mean mug and keeps his back straight, knowing it’s not safe to allow any of the people around us close.

My lips quirk and we both know I’m lying, but he doesn’t say anything to stop me.

“It would be rude not to accept his wishes.”

He can act like a petulant child at home, once we leave the sanctuary of those walls we all know how to present ourselves. We all do it and match Dima’s grumbly-ass personality when we’re not naturally inclined to be moody. We find enjoyment in misery, it’s the Vartanov way of life.

I step through the crowd allowing them to create a buffer between the other guests and the one I’m going to speak with. He’s a clueless fool, leading himself away from the safety of witnesses as he walks into the night. Pavel doesn’t turn as he walks closer to the edge of the house and stands off to the side of the steps leading inside. He tips his head back and takes a deep breath of toxic smoke. This is why the Bratva is going to shit, all the men are too concerned with their vices, from smoking to drinking, that they lose their awareness.

He’s an older man, old enough to be Inessa’s father in society’s eye, making his perverted stare even more sinister. He doesn’t notice me as I join him on the plush grass, and it takes a second for him to snap out of fear. People are dumb as fuck; they feel uncomfortable in silence and fill it with their confessions without realizing.

“Pozdravleniya, I was going to find you after speaking to your bride.”

His fingers shake as he taps away the excess ash and the low lights coming from inside the house highlight the way his Adam’s apple bobs in his throat. I love this part, watching how they lose that grip on the mask and struggle with their perverted admissions because they know it’s wrong.

He’s a lying fuck and can’t look me in the eye. His gulp is audible at the dark undertone of my voice as I follow tradition.

“K chyorty.”

I mean it literally rather than as thanks and his eyes dart to the side. Tapping his back with too much force, my smile widens, and I keep any emotion of the topic out of my question.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

I stare in the direction of the venue where my bride will be. It isn’t a lie, Inessa is beautiful, but those beautiful packages only lead to pain.

It hurts because of the beauty.

He relaxes, being an even bigger dumb fuck, and blows out a steady stream of smoke as he sinks into false security. Continuing with the false niceties, I bullshit further, seeing how much I can get out of him.

“Given your shared history, I’m sure you agree with me. After all, Inessa has told me everything.”

Fear comes back, and he turns to stone under my hand.

Assessing his chances of survival, Pavel relaxes again, thinking I’m not a threat. His voice is steadier and the excitement in his eyes is disgusting.

“You know what young girls are like, they see an older man and become a tease trying to entice him.”

Young girl and older man are not things that should be said in the same sentence. He doesn’t give a timeframe of when he was lusting after her, she’s only in her early twenties and this sick chuski is reliving a memory.

He looks at me with camaraderie around a drag of his cigarette, before saving himself at the last minute as sweat beads across his temple.

“She was eighteen the first time I saw her at her parents’ house. I’m an honorable man and refused her advances despite the short dresses she would wear.”

Even if she was fucking naked, he should keep his dick to himself. She was already promised to my family at that point, destined to be a Vartanova, and not meant to be tainted with his unworthy touch.

Smiling easily, I grip his shoulder and he physically crumbles, the little bitch. My hand moves of its own volition as my fist flies into his crotch and the air leaves him. I keep him standing with my hold on his shoulder, my fingers digging into his suit and creasing the material. My threat holds too much excitement at the promise of him overstepping.

“Go near my wife again and we’ll have another discussion, chuski.” I let him drop and I can’t even bask in the satisfaction as heels click against the stone and Inessa paces above us.

She’s stood alone and can’t see us without the outdoor lights on, but her emotions are clearly written on her features. My ice princess bride is supposed to be a force, not a fucking wallflower. I dig the heel of my shoe into Pavel’s nasty dick and hold my finger over my lips when he mumbles in pain. His chest stutters, so I do it harder seeing how much he’ll be able to take. Here I was thinking my engagement would be boring, it’s becoming fun, and I step off his crotch to do the same to his cheek and feel his teeth try to fight the pressure.

I leave him in the ball he’s created as he cradles his dick and take the steps silently. She’s striking even in low light, and she flinches when I’m stood behind her. I don’t like the way she’s acting, not because it makes her weak. It’s a feeling I’ve had when my brothers done the same when they were children, protectiveness.They’d run away in an attempt to hide from Len or Anika and they’d always pace waiting for me in the one place that was just ours. Each time they’d look up with the widest eyes and silent pleas for me not to take them home. That same protectiveness overtakes me now.

Turning her to face me, I tilt her chin up with my knuckles and anger burns in her eyes. This woman is something else, she wasn’t pacing due to being upset, but because she was pissed. She cuts me off from asking anything and offers the information easily.

“Go choke your mother again, she doesn’t know when to shut the fuck up.”

If Inessa thinks that someone is speaking too much or saying the wrong thing, then I know there’s definitely an issue.She stares at my lips as I try to hold back my laugh or pointing out my observation. Her hiss flows slowly with a threat that she would never be able to act on.

“Don’t even say it.”

Stroking her bottom lip, her dark eyes pull me closer, and she looks up at me like I’m not a monster for once.

“What did she say, meelaya?”

The reminder has her eyes hardening and taking a step back, turning into the brat.

“I’m not living with her. I swear to God I’ll shoot her in the head over breakfast if you even try to make me.”

Scratching my lip to cover my laugh doesn’t work, and she takes a step forward as her tantrum takes hold.

“It’s not funny. I’m being serious, you’ll be drinking your coffee with her brain splattered on the table.”

“Tea.”

Correcting her has confusion pausing the whisper hissing, and she looks up at me dumbly. I smooth out the crease between her brows with my thumb and offer more.

“I drink tea, not coffee.”

My focus should be on her not killing Anika, but 99% of the population would celebrate that cunt’s death. She loses her anger, and her eyes are huge, she has delicate cheekbones that she infuses with the harshness of her personality, like this — silent and vulnerable — they soften and I trace the curves of her face.

Heavy, dragging footsteps come up the stairs, and I drop my hand from her face. Pavel’s pained groan has me positioning myself in front of my bride and she turns rigid when he steps under the lights. Without looking in our direction, he fucks off, leaving questions behind that I’ll get from the stubborn shit in front of me.She senses the interrogation and takes a step back like the small distance can’t be erased. My tone hardens as she forces me to follow her.

“When did you first meet him?”

Taking half a step forward, Inessa’s throat bobs, misconstruing my anger. She’s quick to mask her features and an exceptional liar as she deflects from the answer I asked for and turns into the ice princess.

“He’s a friend of my parents.”

Going through the years, I pause between each one analyzing her reaction as I reach adolescence.

“Ten? Eleven? Twelve? Thirteen?”

Her tell is stillness, there’s no blink, and she even holds her breath. She’s pressed against the balustrade with my hands on either side of her hips as I close the small gap between our bodies. I’ve never given a promise like this before, it’s too intimate.

“Tell me what he did, and I’ll make sure he experiences worse.”

I rarely give my word, but she’s going to be under my protection and my brain is moving her under the bracket of family, making me react in a way I shouldn’t.

My reaction of violence isn’t because she will be my wife, it’s one I would have for a stranger. My world is black and white when it comes to crime. There is honor among thieves, but not those who snatch a person’s soul while they’re still breathing. A pedophile has no honor, no integrity, and the forced tattoos aren’t enough in the new world. They’re untouchable, chuski, the lowest form of suka there is.

She smooths the lapels of my suit and strokes her hands up my chest as she leans into me. Her voice is softer, and I don’t mind listening to it for once.

“Are you my own personal devil giving out punishments wherever you see fit?”

Holding her chin between the knuckles of my forefinger and middle finger, I don’t have an answer and wait her out. She holds my stare, even now she looks me in the eye before she deflates, realizing I won’t buy her shit and I’m not expecting the hand on my chest to move up.

Curling her hand around my nape, she goes up on her toes fitting her lips next to my ear.

“Don’t act like you’re any different, Vlad. Thirteen or twenty-three, my body is still only worth whatever a man can gain from it.”

The sadness in her voice has my tongue turning into a lead weight in my mouth and there’s no malice on her lips as she kisses my cheek and slips under my arm. Spine straight and shoulders back, she goes back inside with her head held high.

The door to the marquee doesn’t close as a little body pushes out and Viktor checks for anyone in the vicinity before his wide smile comes out. He runs at me when he could just walk up the few steps and he slams to a stop at my feet. Excitement floods him and he loses the mean mug he’s been practicing for years as he rushes out.

“Pakhan said I was strong.”

Stroking his hair back, I massage the top of his scalp lightly with my fingertips, coaxing information out of him.

“What else did he say, malyshonuk?”

His smile dips and I turn alert, ready to slaughter whoever the fuck thought they could hurt my family.

“Len said I’m just a little boy and have to stand outside, so I don’t know.”

Keeping my fingers on his scalp, I guide him with me down the steps away from anyone else who could overhear. My family are too important for anyone to know their value, they’re the only things worth bleeding for, worth dying for, and more importantly, worth living for.

Standing off near the shadows, I crouch down so we’re the same height and keep my voice low in case some fucker has escaped the boring-ass posturing inside.

“What do we say about Len?”

He tries to fight his giggle, and loses the battle, it makes his voice go squeaky.

“Ni ryba ni myasa.”

Straightening his little suit, I adjust his pocket square and make sure his shirt is tucked in, before scowling and forcing his game face out.

He’s a child whose only comfort is within four walls and four people. My brothers, Dima, and I will all protect him, but certain threats aren’t visible and the only way for Viktor to experience some normalcy is insulated by the four of us publicly refusing to care about each other. Soon he’ll have a cousin to play with and Vitali has probably got a few kids he doesn’t know about all over the country, they’ll all come together as one and they won’t be forced to fight for a spot.

He perks up and scowls at me before his shoulders harden under my hands. Seeing that he’s ready, I straighten and remain two steps behind him to have any one threat in view as we go back to the facade inside. Valentin is beside Misha and Inessa is the closest safety for Viktor as Len moves in. Discreetly tapping his shoulder closest to Inessa, Viktor doesn’t need any other prompt and goes straight to her side. Verelli’s wife is smiles and happiness, shaking his hand and I’ve seen the work they both do at Steorra to know they won’t let any harm come to him.

Going to the bar with them still in sight, the dick follows me, needing to get whatever’s burdening him free. He has the sense to wait until I’ve got my drink and keep his voice low.

“You got rid of one weakness just to pick up another. From 3, then 2, and back to 3. Make sure she doesn’t become a fourth.”

To onlookers he’s a father shooting the shit with his son on his engagement. The reality is sinister, and I can’t control myself, half turning into him but keeping my body to the room, venom laces every syllable leaving me.

“Do not discuss her.”

Len’s brows go up and he looks at Inessa, purposefully misunderstanding. The sick fuck wants me to say her name, so many years of those letters not leaving my tongue, the muscle doesn’t remember the pattern. Tapping against my thigh, I remind myself of what made me, what kept me, and what I need. The repetition doesn’t work, and I go blank on the outside as he fills with twisted satisfaction saying her name.

“Oh, you meant Vanya.”

Fighting the urge to rip his fucking tongue out, I hold myself rigid. There’s not a single tic allowed in my muscles because that delicate thread keeping back my rage wouldn’t be able to withstand it.