Chapter 2
KONSTANTIN
She’s grown into quite a beautiful woman.
Sitting at my booth at the back corner of Otrava, I watch Ivy Andreev as she works. Tonight, I’m lucky because she’s serving so I can keep my eye on her more easily. Usually, she’s in the back office, stepping into the kitchen or dining hall only two or three times a night.
But it’s busy tonight, especially with Christmas fast approaching. The fact that they give away free meat pies during the holiday season only increases their business.
But I’m not here for the food. I have my own restaurant and prefer my menu.
I’m here for her.
She doesn’t know it, has no idea that many years ago, I swore a blood oath to watch over her. I know she thinks I’m a creep, some kind of stalker, but it doesn’t matter. My vow is more important than her thoughts.
Just as I’m taking a sip of sbiten, my phone dings. I swipe the screen to get to the text message. It’s from Viktor, my sovietnik, my advisor.
Antonov is on the move. On his way to you.
Vadim Antonov. Just seeing his name makes me grit my teeth. The Antonovs didn’t use to be a rival family, but Vadim came along, and now we are at war. Maybe not war, exactly, but there’s enough tension and distrust that none of us sleep with both eyes shut.
Tapping on the screen, I reply, Follow him. But when he gets here, hang back. Want to see what he’s up to.
I take another sip of my drink and watch Ivy as she serves the patrons, a wide and real smile on her lips. Unlike some of the other servers, she isn’t fake. She genuinely enjoys people and seeing them happy. My phone dings again and I look down at it.
Do you think he’s found out about the girl?
Viktor is talking about Ivy. I glance at her again as my jaw tightens. I’ve spent too many years protecting her, making sure the Antonovs, especially Vadim, never find out about her.
No, but it’s best to be safe, I reply.
A sudden loud noise has me pulling my gun from the back of my waistband. I’m not the only one on edge. Several of the other guys stand and pull theirs as well. I keep mine under the table, though, cocked and ready to fire if needed.
But there’s no threat. My gaze instantly goes to the waitress and the tray of glasses she’d dropped. Still, I don’t put my gun away, not while others still have theirs drawn.
Ivy rushes to the aid of the waitress, helping her clean up the shards. My eyes drop to her legs, or rather, her skirt and the way it hikes up high on her shapely legs as she kneels.
It’s the middle of December, yet she still has a tan. It’s natural, probably from her mother’s side. She doesn’t go to tanning booths. I would know since it’s my duty to watch over her, to know everything about her.
When had she grown into such a beauty? I’ve been watching her so long, I still think of her as that gawky teenager. She was slow to develop, but now she’s made up for it. She’s got one killer body.
She stands, straightening her skirt, and my eyes are again drawn to her shapely legs.
They’re muscular but still feminine and sexy.
She’s average height, but those long legs of hers make her appear taller than she is.
Add to that a trim waist, flat stomach, and big tits, and any guy who has a dick would react to her.
Her hands pause, and her blue eyes latch onto mine. She looks a little surprised and uncomfortable as she looks at me. I don’t look away. I don’t even blink.
Her hand raises, and she tucks a strand of shoulder-length wavy blonde hair behind her ear in a nervous gesture. The longer we stare at each other, the more I’m aware of her. The more my body responds to her eyes on me.
This is fucking ridiculous. She’s young enough to be my daughter!
She breaks eye contact first and hurries off toward the kitchen. I let out the breath I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding and sigh.
“You gonna keep that gun pulled all night?”
It’s all I can do not to show how startled I am as I look up at Alec Sidorov, head of his family and one of my somewhat friends.
It’s hard to have true friends when you’re in the Mafia.
There’s always the chance that they’ll turn on you if it benefits them.
But Alec and I have known each other since we were boys.
We used to play at each other’s houses while our fathers conducted business.
Now we’re both the heads of our own families.
“Depends,” I say about keeping my gun pulled. “What do you want?”
Alec grins. “Is that any way to treat an old friend?”
“So we’re friends again? Last time I saw you, you flipped me off and stole a crate of whiskey from me.”
Without being invited, he sits down at my table. Leaning forward, I uncock my gun and tuck it back into place.
Alec shrugs. “What’s a little theft between friends? Besides, I was only paying you back for stealing my customer from me.”
“Ha! I didn’t steal Bjorn. He got tired of paying your high prices. He practically begged me to take him on.”
Alec’s smile slips as he glances up at the door. The chime above it dings as Vadim walks in. My mouth thins, but that’s the only outward sign of my anger and disgust. Inside, though, my blood boils. I want nothing more than to walk over to him and slit his throat, feel his blood spill over my hand.
“And this place went to shit just like that,” Alec says, watching Vadim walk over to a table and take a seat without being shown to one first. “Well, I’m outta here. I can’t stomach being in the same room with that son of a bitch.”
I nod in understanding as Alec rises and leaves. Vadim is a cocky little shit. I know he saw me when he came inside, but he takes a seat with his back to me. He’s trying to show the others that he’s not scared of me, that I’m no threat to him. That’s a mistake that will cost him one day.
The chime jingles again and Ivy’s boyfriend walks in.
I watch them go to a table, their arms stretched across it as they hold hands.
Disgusted, I look away and start searching the internet.
Alec’s theft of my whiskey made me consider my security measures at the warehouse aren’t as efficient as they should be, so I spend some time learning about new systems.
Only a few minutes go by when a sudden tingle slides down the back of my neck. It’s not unpleasant and I know before I look that I’ll find Ivy watching me.
Our eyes meet from across the room. She doesn’t look away for a few seconds and I hold her gaze. What would it be like if we met under different circumstances? If I weren’t bound by the blood oath? If I weren’t twice her age?
But she has Frank Gilgran. Honestly, I don’t know what she sees in him.
He seems to be a nice guy with a good job, but he’s just so…
boring. He’s good looking enough if the way other women look at him means anything, but he reminds me more of a lost puppy than a protector.
And that’s what Ivy needs. Someone strong enough to protect her, to stand up to her when she gets stubborn.
She turns her attention back to Frank and I go back to researching. The next time I look up, Ivy is going back to work and Frank is watching her go, his face full of longing and sadness.
Vadim stands then, drawing my attention, but he only goes to the men’s room and then returns to his table.
Another hour goes by and the club is mostly empty. Soon, they’ll be closing the doors and locking up. Vadim finally decides to leave, but instead of going out the front door, he sneaks his way past the kitchen staff to the back door.
Ivy is still in the kitchen—I can just see her through the windows on the swinging doors that separate the kitchen from the dining area. Rising, I toss a healthy tip on the table, then leave via the front door.
Vadim is up to something. I can feel it, but the way he snuck out the back door is suspicious enough for me to check it out.
The cool night air hits me when I step outside. Pulling my jacket tighter, I walk around to the back of the club. There’s a narrow alley here, barely lit by one street light, but it’s enough for me to see Vadim and another guy.
Ducking behind a wall, I watch the other man approach. Once he steps out of the shadows, I recognize him. David, the sovietnik for the Volkov family. The Volkovs are not allies, really, but they’re not rivals either.
Curious, I watch as Vadim approaches him. David starts begging for his life.
Fuck. Antonov’s going to take him out right here and now.
Sure as shit, Vadim puts a single bullet in David’s head. My mouth tightens, but I don’t get involved. It’s not my fight, but I’m sure the Volkovs will want to know who took out their man.
The sound of someone gasping catches my attention and I jerk my gaze over to the back of the club. My heart drops.
Fuck! Ivy is standing there, her eyes so wide I can see the whites of them in the dim light. She witnessed everything!
I glance over to Vadim and my blood goes cold. He knows she saw him, too.
After all these years of keeping Ivy off Vadim’s radar, she has just become his next target.