2. Mia
Mia
“ I sn’t she adorable?”
I look up at my Aunt Emily and smile.
“She’s pretty cute,” I admit.
My newest niece is nothing but a tiny bundle in my arms. My cousin Luka and his wife, Lara, are flashing me huge smiles while Roma squeals at all the attention.
Their son isn’t even two, and they’ve already brought another into the mix.
They’re obviously thrilled, and I’m happy for them, but I’d be lying if I said I understood it.
Mira starts squirming, rooting around for milk, and I quickly shoot Lara a panicked look. She gives me a sweet smile while Luka laughs and reaches down to take his daughter.
“One day it’ll be you, Mia,” he says, scooping Mira into his arms while laughing at the look I give him.
“She has plenty of time,” I hear my dad say from behind me. He pats my shoulder and then gives my hair a gentle tug. “Don’t listen to him, little witch. You’re only eighteen.”
I smile at the nickname I’ve had since I was a toddler and nod my head in agreement, because there’s no way in hell I’m going to be pushing out a baby anytime soon .
Not wanting to hang around while Lara nurses, we all start making our way to the door.
Hospital rooms aren’t made to fit my family.
When we come, we come big, so instead of a couple of balloons and a handful of people, we have enough balloons to make it look like a prom’s about to take place, a huge ice cream cake thanks to my Uncle Vitaly’s insistence that every event, no matter how big or small, should be celebrated with one, and enough people and kids to ensure everyone on the entire floor can hear us.
It’s a madhouse, and I see the relieved looks the nurses give when we pass by their station on the way to the elevators.
Lara had gone into labor last night, but it had been a long one, and she didn’t give birth until this afternoon.
Now it’s getting close to seven, and I know the entire hospital staff is ready for us to get the fuck out.
When I see Niki, I ask, “Are your brother and Talia flying in tonight?”
My cousin nods while adjusting the worn leather messenger bag he always carries around with him. I swear he suffers from separation anxiety if he can’t reach out and touch his computer. “Yeah, they should be landing in an hour. You coming over later?”
I look over at my brother, and when he raises a brow at me, I grin and tell Niki, “It’ll probably be tomorrow. I promised Sasha I’d help him with his dog.”
“You mean Satan’s spawn?” Damien asks. Our cousin walks over with a grin, nudging Sasha when he’s close enough. “Has he killed anyone yet?”
“Chort’s a good dog,” my brother says, defending the Doberman he’d rescued from Colombia when they’d gone in and rescued Max and Talia from the Amaya Cartel.
Damien laughs. “Is that why he’s not allowed near any of the nieces and nephews?”
Sasha shrugs. “He’s still learning the rules. He shouldn’t be allowed near anyone who can’t defend themselves.”
“Or anyone with a pulse,” our other cousin, Evgeny, jokes as the elevator doors open and we all step in while our parents wait for the next one.
“Just like his owner,” Damien teases.
My brother takes it all in stride. He knows he’s a bit fucked in the head.
His brain doesn’t work like everyone else’s, but he’s learned to live with it, thanks to our dad.
He must’ve noticed something when Sasha was young, because for as long as I can remember, rules have been drilled into my brother’s head.
I won’t go so far as to say that he knows right from wrong, but he does know what’s allowed and what isn’t, and that’s good enough for me.
When we step off the elevator, I see the bodyguards waiting near the parking garage.
They’ve been a constant my entire life. Our dads run the Melnikov Bratva, and as soon as the guys in our family turn eighteen, they all join.
Niki was the last one. His birthday was last month.
He’s already joined, and the new tattoo on his forearm marks him as an official member.
I turned eighteen six months ago, and I’m still waiting for that particular invite.
They keep telling me it’s not safe, but I’m committed to proving them wrong.
After our parents join us, we say our goodbyes while I hang back with Sasha and our parents. Natalya and Dominic already left with their kids, so it’s just us when my dad asks, “What are you two up to tonight?”
“Mia’s going to help me with Chort,” Sasha says, giving the half-truth we’d agreed on earlier.
My dad’s blue eyes run over us, the same shade as my brother’s, and I can tell he’s trying to decide whether or not to believe us.
In the end, he knows there’s no safer place I could be than with my brother, so he just gives us a hug and says, “Keep her safe, Sasha.”
“You know I will,” my brother says.
“I know. I still have to say it, though,” our dad says before turning his attention to me. The tattoos that cover him, along with the pierced brow and lip, definitely explain where I got my rebellious streak and love of body art from. “Listen to your brother,” he tells me.
“I always do,” I say, and then return our mom’s hug .
When she pulls back, she says, “Be careful. If you stay over at Sasha’s, text us so we know, okay?”
“I will,” I promise her and then grin when Sasha hands me my helmet. It’s dark with a pink-and-black Chinese dragon on the back of it, looking very similar to the dragon that’s tattooed on my spine.
Sasha’s has a Grim Reaper on the back of his helmet, just like the one that’s tattooed on his arm. Our cousin Svetlana designed it, and it’s become the symbol of the Bratva. That image alone is enough to spark fear in anyone who knows anything about the underground workings of this city.
We wave bye to our parents and then walk over to his Yamaha MT-10.
I love my brother’s bike, but at only five-one, there’s no way in hell I could ever manage it.
After he’s on, I climb on the back, settling my black boots onto the foot pegs before hooking my fingers under the seat.
I’m not about to wrap my arms around my brother and hold on for dear life.
First, gross, and second, I love the adrenaline rush I get when he’s speeding through traffic and I feel like there’s nothing between me and the world.
It’s liberating and freeing in the best way possible, and as soon as I can, I’m getting my own bike.
The loud rumble of his engine fills the parking garage, and I’m smiling like a crazy woman behind my helmet’s tinted visor when he revs the engine and we go peeling out onto the street.
Sasha knows how to handle his bike, but he has no regard for traffic laws, so I’m not at all surprised when he cuts around a parked car and then runs the red light.
Niki swears it’s a full-time job scrubbing all the CCTV footage and wiping away all evidence of Sasha’s constant refusal to obey the laws.
We pass a busy nightclub, and all the women in line turn at the sound of my brother’s loud bike, and they all stare as we drive by.
It doesn’t matter that I’m on the back, and it doesn’t matter that they can’t see his face.
They sense something dangerous in him, and they want more.
Women are always staring at him, but he never notices it.
When I point it out, it seems to annoy him more than anything.
They’re all giving him serious fuck-me eyes, so when we fly by, I flip them off and then laugh at the pissed-off looks I get.
The bike’s engine is too loud for Sasha to hear my laughter, but he saw what I did, and when he throws his hand back, I give it a quick high-five and laugh again.
Speeding up even faster, it doesn’t take long at all before we’re pulling into the parking lot of my favorite place in the city.
Benny’s doesn’t look like much from the outside, but it’s the perfect example of not judging a book by its cover, because inside this derelict-looking building is the city’s best kept secret—a gem of a tattoo and piercing studio.
Our parents were cool about letting me get my ears and nose pierced, and when I turned eighteen, my dad brought me here to get my first tattoo, but some of the things I want done, I don’t want my dad to know about, so Sasha hooks me up with special visits.
That tattoo on my birthday wasn’t the only thing I had done.
Later that night, Sasha snuck me over here and I got my nipples pierced.
It had hurt like a bitch, but every time I see the cute little barbells, I know it was worth it.
They’ve finally healed, and tonight I’m here for something even crazier.
Everyone assumes my brother should be the one loaded with piercings, but he’s never been into them. Tattoos, yes, and he has a ton of ink to prove it, but as far as I know, he doesn’t have any metal in him.
The bell dings when we step inside, and as soon as Benny sees us, his big bearded face spreads into a grin. “Back for more, Mia?”
I return his smile and say, “You know I can’t stay away for long.”
“True enough. I knew you were going to be a customer for life the first time your dad brought you in here. I could see it in your eyes.”
Benny is a giant bear of a man, but he’s much more of a teddy bear than a ferocious grizzly.
He warmed up to me immediately, but he’s a little more cautious around Sasha.
My brother wears his mask in front of Benny, though, which means he hides the darker bits and puts on a smiling face.
It might not be a huge smile, but it’s more than anyone outside the family ever gets.
Benny gets up and walks around the counter to meet us. “So what are we doing today? Another tattoo or a piercing?”
I grin. “A piercing. Is Molly here?”
“Uh-oh,” he says. “I think I know where this is going. ”
I smile even bigger. “Blame it on your wife. She’s the one who told me about it when you pierced my nipples.”