Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
I jogged up the stairs towards the top floor of the house, heading for Illayana’s room. The slightest trickle of surprise fluttered through me. I had to give it to the kid, he had balls.
I expected him to be quiet. Meek. Docile.
Based on what Father told me about him, I thought he’d be a shy kid who was afraid of his own shadow.
Not some disrespectful little shit who had no problem speaking his mind, even if it got him into trouble and reminded me too much of Lukyan for his own good.
I could definitely see glimpses of Mikhail in him. They had the same eyes. The same dark blonde hair. The same stubborn streak a mile long. If Dayton inherited Mikhail’s ruthlessness and business smarts, he’d be a force to be reckoned with when he got older. But only time would tell on that.
Tatiana, my sister’s best friend, came bounding down the stairs. “Hi Aleksandr. Bye Aleksandr,” she said, running past me and out of my field of vision before I could even respond.
I shrugged, continuing up the stairs. I rounded the corner at the top and froze when I saw Illayana and Lukyan in the hallway. “Why do you two look like you’re up to no good?”
“No reason,” they both responded at the same time, and my suspicions grew tenfold.
I know those two better than anyone else in the world. When our mother died and our father was so overcome with grief and rage he went on a killing spree, I was left to pick up the broken pieces of our family.
Illayana was only eleven when the Voznesenskys murdered our mother. Lukyan was thirteen. At twenty-four, I didn’t know shit about taking care of kids. Up until that point, my life had consisted of training, fighting and being one of my mother’s personal guards.
The look on my younger siblings’ faces right now was one I’d seen many times over the years—primarily when they were about to do something they weren’t meant to be doing. Something that would get them into trouble.
I narrowed my eyes. “Right,” I said, letting the trace of suspicion I felt linger in my voice. I waved to the pile of suitcases next to them. “Come on, let’s get your stuff and get down to the car. The plane is waiting.”
They both shared a look with one another.
“Alright, seriously. What’s going on with you two?” I barked.
“I wanna talk to the girl. The one you took from Nero’s,” Illayana breathed out in a rush.
“No,” I growled instantly, leaving no room for debate on the matter. I didn’t need my little sister peppering Drea with question after question. Especially since I hadn’t seen her since our little…incident.
“But—”
“I said no, Illayana. Now get your shit and move it.” I grabbed one of her suitcases in each hand and walked away, confident they would follow.
Father was waiting in the foyer when I got downstairs.
All the stress I’d seen when I was in his office was gone, hidden behind the Pakhan mask he kept in place around others.
Father was an expert in compartmentalising his emotions.
You would never be able to tell something was wrong just by looking at him.
He made sure people only saw what he wanted them to see; a strong, ruthless leader without a worry in the world.
“Your sister on her way down?” Father asked, adjusting the cuffs on his Armani suit.
I nodded. “She’s right behind me.”
The guard standing by the front door opened it and I walked outside. A black SUV was parked in the driveway, Dayton leaning casually against it. He was still dressed in the same clothes; ripped jeans and a black shirt with a denim jacket, his hat flipped backwards.
He looked up at the sound of the gravel crunching beneath my feet as I made way towards the car. He scowled and looked back down at his phone, dismissing me. The cuts on his face were angry and red, sticking out like a sore thumb on his pale skin.
Raised voices reached my ears. Nik and Tatiana were locked in a heated argument halfway down the driveway (what else was new?), screaming and yelling at each other like they did the majority of the time.
They were like two opposing forces, constantly fighting against one another, refusing to accept there was something deeper, something more meaningful going on between them.
Frustration radiated from Nik, his hands in his hair as if he was a heartbeat away from ripping it out in sheer exasperation. Tatiana was smirking, as if she was enjoying putting my brother through such turmoil.
I couldn’t hear what they were arguing about but whatever it was, it was driving Nik crazy.
I thrust one of the suitcases in my hands at Dayton, the force jostling him. “Put these in the trunk,” I said, dropping the other one at his feet.
Dayton grumbled but didn’t argue. I grabbed the keys from Sam—one of our men, who drove the car here from the garage—and unlocked it, popping the boot open.
Lukyan stepped outside of the house a moment later, carrying one of Illayana’s suitcases in one hand and a duffel bag in the other.
He reached my side just as Dayton threw the suitcases I gave him into the boot, slamming it shut a bit more aggressively than was needed.
Dayton climbed into the back seat next, slamming the car door with just as much force.
Lucky for him, he’d managed to keep quiet the entire time, otherwise I would have added another indiscretion to his count.
“Who’s the kid?” Lukyan asked, throwing Illayana’s luggage in.
“His name is Dayton. He’s Mikhail’s son.”
Lukyan frowned. “Mikhail has a son?”
“Apparently,” I grunted. “He’s here for training.”
“Uh oh,” Lukyan sang with humour. “If you’re the one doing it, I wish him all the luck in the world. He’s gonna need it.”
My brows lowered. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re a hardass. Even more so than Father.”
Nik’s angry voice cut through the air. “Fine! Get yourself killed! See if I fucking care.” He turned his back on Tatiana and marched towards the house.
Lukyan opened his mouth.
“Don’t,” Nik snapped, stomping past. “I don’t want to hear it.”
Lukyan held his palms up, not saying a word.
Like me, he knew there was no point. When it came to Tatiana, there was no reasoning with Nik. He was stubborn as hell on a normal day, but whenever Tatiana was involved, he was even more headstrong.
Tatiana had her hands on her hips, glaring after him. She took a step in his direction, stopped, shook her head and turned around, walking away.
“The sooner those two get over their issues, the better,” Lukyan said, shaking his head.
I grunted in agreement. I wasn’t sure they ever would though.
Something happened between the two of them a few years ago.
I had no idea what, and I was pretty sure Illayana didn’t even know about it.
The only reason I did was because I ran into Nik right afterwards. I’d never seen my brother so broken.
Whatever it was created a rift between them, one that despite their overwhelming sexual tension and feelings for one another, they couldn’t seem to get past.
Adrian came around from the side of the house, a large duffel bag slung over his shoulder. As Father’s personal bodyguard, Adrian usually went everywhere he did. But when Illayana agreed to marry Arturo, there were a number of families within the Bratva that were very unhappy about it.
The opportunity to marry into the Pakhan’s family was something a lot of the other families vied for. Since Illayana was Father’s only daughter, that opportunity vanished the moment she said ‘I do’.
Nobody was stupid enough to voice their displeasure outright. Questioning the Pakhan was a death sentence. That didn’t stop them from talking amongst themselves though, from causing discontent to grow within our ranks.
Father, being the overly paranoid man he was, wanted to make sure Illayana was always protected in the event someone decided to act on their anger. Assigning his top fighter to be her permanent guard was his way of ensuring she always had someone watching her back.
Adrian greeted me with a nod of his head before climbing into the back of the SUV.
Illayana walked out of the front door, her blue eyes glistening, sadness etched all over her face.
I frowned. She looked like she was going to cry. My sister never cried. I took a step towards her and froze, my back stiffening. My eyes hooked onto the necklace around her throat.
A painful memory slammed into me with such force it took my breath away, making me choke. I couldn’t stop it from taking over, dragging me under like a powerful current in the ocean. The world around me slipped away as I was thrust into the past.
“Aleksy, come help me with this,” my mother Yekaterina said, looking at me from the mirror in front of her.
She sat at the vanity table in her bedroom, holding a silver locket in between her manicured fingers.
She was in an elegant, long-sleeved black lace dress, her dark hair down with a few strands braided back.
Her blue eyes were a few shades lighter than my own.
There was the smallest amount of make up on her heart-shaped face, just enough to accentuate her delicate features.
I pushed off the wall, making my way over to her. “I don’t think this is a good idea. Maybe I shouldn’t go.”
Mother spun in her chair to face me. “Don’t be ridiculous. You have to go. You’ve been waiting for years for an opportunity to prove yourself to your father.”
“If he knew I was leaving you unprotected to attend this meet—” I shook my head, my words dying off at the thought.
I knew exactly how he would react. As one of my mother’s bodyguards, it was my job, my responsibility to keep her safe.
Ever since I was seventeen I went where she went, a constant presence looming over her, warning others away.
I never left her side when we were out of the house.
If Father knew I was even entertaining the idea, he would beat me within an inch of my life.