Chapter 26 #2
Father tapped my hand once, signalling he was in control of himself and I removed my hand, glaring daggers at Sergei. He’d had shit all to say about my mother over the years and yet here he was, using her as leverage to win an argument.
If it wouldn’t get me killed, I’d strangle the fucker.
“Nevazhno, kak eto poluchilos' u nas s Yekaterinoy.
My poobeshchali drug drugu, chto nikogda ne budem prinuzhdat' nashikh detey k tomu, chto nam navyazali, nezavisimo ot iskhoda.” It doesn't matter how it worked out between Yekaterina and I.
We promised each other we would never force our children into what had been forced upon us, regardless of the outcome.
Sergei rolled his eyes with derision. “Menya ne volnuyut obeshchaniya, kotoryye ty dal svoyey pokoynoy zhene.
Vy budete vypolnyat' svoy dolg. Cherez polgoda odin iz vashikh synovey prijedet v Rossiju, chtoby zhenit'sya na Ane Tarasovoy. Konets obsuzhdenia,” I don't care about the promises you made to your dead wife.
You will do your duty. In six months time, one of your sons will be in Russia to marry Anya Tarasov. End of discussion.
Father’s anger was strong enough to stifle the air, as if all the oxygen was being burned out of the room. “A yesli net?” And if they’re not? He gritted out.
“Togda tebya zamenyat.” Then you will be replaced.
Tense silence followed. Father placed his hands on the desk and pushed himself to a stand, leaning forward threateningly.
Sergei’s guards reached for their guns, watching Father’s every move, and I reached for mine, prepared to defend him.
I’ll take out the one on the right first, I thought.
He seemed like the bigger threat.
Father’s desk groaned under his weight as he brought himself to eye level with Sergei. “Vpered, prodolzhat'.” Go ahead, he whispered menacingly.
Sergei narrowed his eyes. “Proshu proshenia?” Excuse me?
“You’d never allow anyone other than a Volkov to be Pakhan .
You have no siblings. No other children, apart from Dominik and I, and we both know Dominik isn’t fit to lead.
He’d destroy everything we’ve built within a month.
” Father had slipped back into English again, but I don’t think that’s what made Sergei so angry.
It was because every word he said was true.
Father continued. “So go ahead, Father. Have me replaced. See how fast your empire crumbles without me.”
Sergei’s scowl grew, his jaw clenching and his eyes burning with anger.
His guards looked anxiously at one another, their hands still hovering over their guns.
He placed his walking stick back on the ground and stood, tilting his head to the side.
“It would be a shame if something happened to that lovely granddaughter of mine, wouldn’t it? ”
Father tensed, his whole body going rigid. The fact that Sergei was now talking in English, something I’d never seen him do before, spoke of the gravity of the situation.
“I've heard New York is such a dangerous city. So many accidents happen on their streets. Just last week, there was a woman who'd been raped and murdered in Central Park. Dreadful, absolutely dreadful.”
Father lunged and I just barely got my arms around him to hold him back before he did something that would get us all killed.
Sergei’s guards had their guns aimed at us in an instant. Sergei laughed as I wrestled to keep my father in my grasp.
“Like I said, in six months’ time one of your sons will be in Russia to marry Anya Tarasov.
I don’t care which one, you can pick. But one of them will be there, or it won’t be you who suffers the consequences.
my son.” A smug smile flashed across his wrinkled face as he took his seat once again.
“Now why don’t you tell me all about what’s been going on around here?
I’ve heard it’s been quite an eventful last few months. ”
It took a few minutes to calm my father down. Sergei’s smug face didn’t help matters, but eventually he managed to reign in his anger and sit down. He kept the hateful glare on his face as he told Sergei about The Los Zetas and The Outfit. About The Dirty Vultures and the burning of our buildings.
I was worried that when he found out we weren’t any closer to figuring out who was responsible for that, he’d lose his mind.
But he had been surprisingly understanding about it.
About most of it, actually. He seemed to understand that when you were at the top, there were plenty of people who tried to take you down. He took it as a compliment.
After two hours of going through everything, the inventory list and placing an order for more supplies, Sergei left, hobbling back to his car and driving away.
“That fucking bastard!” Father roared the second the front door shut, punching the wall in the foyer. His fist went right through it, plaster crumbling around him. “How dare he!”
“Father, calm down.”
He spun to face me, his rage unlike anything I’d ever seen. “Don’t tell me to calm down, Aleksandr,” he spat. “You heard him! He threatened Illayana.”
“I know, I heard. Losing your temper and yelling like this isn’t going to solve the problem.” I knew what would, though. “I’ll do it.”
“Do what?” he barked out.
“I’ll marry the woman.”
Father stared at me, his chest rising and falling quickly with each breath he took. The anger he was feeling slipped away, replaced with sadness. “No, Aleksandr—”
“There’s no point arguing with me,” I said, raising a palm in the air. “I’ve decided, and there’ll be no changing my mind.”
I was the only one who could do it. Nikolai was in love with Tatiana, as much as he’d try to deny it. Even though there was only the slightest chance of them working things out, I wanted him to be free to do so. To get what he wanted. What he deserved.
Lukyan was...well…Lukyan. Something this important couldn’t be left to him.
I loved my little brother, but he couldn’t be trusted with a delicate situation like this.
He didn’t do well when given no options, when forced and backed into a corner.
The last thing I needed was him backing out at the last second, risking Illayana’s life.
Grandfather would go through with his threat without a second thought.
Father looked as though he was still planning to fight me, indecision flashing over his face. “Aleksandr—”
“Why didn’t you tell me about what Grandfather had planned? About his plans to marry Illayana to the Tarasovs?” I asked, hoping to distract him from fighting me on the issue.
He huffed, walking towards the kitchen. I followed. “What would have been the point?” He opened the fridge, grabbing two bottles of water. He handed one to me. “Sergei had dictated it, expecting his order to be followed.”
“And you didn’t tell Illayana either?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. He opened the water and took a drink. “I knew if I told her, she’d do it. Not because she wanted to, but because she knew what would happen if Sergei’s orders weren’t followed. She’d do it for me.”
I nodded in understanding. Illayana would have done exactly that.
I opened my water, taking a sip before placing it on the kitchen counter. “Did you arrange the meet with the Cosa Nostra?” When he called us into his office that day, he told us Alessandro’s son, Vincenzo, had been the one to reach out. Was that true?
Father’s eyes flicked to me. “I didn’t,” he replied hesitantly. “However, I did take advantage of the situation.”
His words to my sister that day flitted through my head.
“There’s a chance a marriage proposal could be offered.”
“I would never force you to marry.”
“The choice in the end is yours, Illayana. Always.”
“You hoped she would fall for one of the De Lucas,” I stated.
Father nodded, taking another drink. “I knew they would be better suited for her than whoever Sergei picked out. I don’t know much about the Tarasov family, but I do know they’re a bunch of brutes. I couldn’t let her marry one of them. Marry into that family.”
But now I was.
I wasn’t afraid. No matter how brutish the men in their family were, I wasn’t scared of them. If they got in my way, I’d kill them.
What scared me the most was the fact that once I married this Anya Tarasov, I would more than likely never see Drea again.
Once that thought wormed its way into my head, a tidal wave of anger consumed me.