Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
I ran a finger over the rim of my glass, my eyes sweeping across the large outdoor area as I tried my hardest not to glare at anyone who came close to me.
Please don’t kill anyone, Illayana’s soft voice fluttered through my head. She had sat all three of us down before the party started and pleaded with us not to cause any trouble.
I need this to go well , she’d said, staring us all in the eyes, looking every bit like our mother as she sternly told us off like she was the older sibling.
RnB music played over the air, laughter and chatter swirling all around me. The atmosphere was light, fun.
I hated it. I wasn’t a social creature by nature. I much preferred to be on my own. Parties weren’t my scene, yet here I was celebrating the birth of a man I couldn’t really give a shit about.
Despite the clear divide among the guests, people seemed to be enjoying themselves.
On one side of the lawn sat the La Cosa Nostra, the men loud and boisterous as they drank their beers and smoked their cigars.
On the other side was us, the Bratvas. A few of our soldiers, Tatiana, Adrian, Nik, Lukyan and myself.
Animosity burned between our groups. It was clear we didn’t like each other. We were being forced to get along like two naughty school kids having to play nice in the playground.
Illayana’s wedding had come to such an abrupt ending that this would technically be classed as our first social setting as a group, and it was quickly becoming evident that this is what it would have been like if her wedding hadn’t have literally imploded.
Not that I cared. I was perfectly happy to sit here and not talk to any of them.
Illayana fluttered around from person to person, doing her duties as hostess as she mingled, making sure they all had enough food and drinks. Arturo followed close behind, shaking hands with everyone and thanking them for coming.
The ‘surprise’ part of the party had gone exactly as it should.
We were all waiting in the backyard when Illayana led Arturo outside with a hand covering his eyes.
Everybody screamed ‘Surprise!’. People clapped and cheered.
Arturo acted shocked, but I could see it in his eyes.
He knew about the party, but he was playing the part to please Illayana, who—based on the mountain of food and decorations spread out everywhere—had gone through a huge amount of effort to put the party together for him.
Once that part was over with, we all peeled off into our own groups.
“Food’s good,” Nik grunted in the seat across from me, shovelling another forkful of pasta into his mouth.
His plate was loaded with a splattering of everything—pizza, chicken, steak, salads, lamb, shredded beef, bacon—the list went on.
On the plate beside that one was an assortment of sweets, cupcakes, muffins, caramel slices and custards.
It might sound like a lot of food, but Nik was more than capable of putting it all away. He’d likely still be hungry afterwards.
“You’re not eating?” he asked in between bites.
“Not hungry.” If I was being honest, I wasn’t really here. Physically, I was. But mentally, my mind was far, far away.
With Drea.
She wanted to leave. The moment she’d said the words, a tight ball of anxiety had lodged itself in my throat and hadn’t left. Panic quickly followed after that.
How could I let her go? I needed Drea like I needed air in my lungs. Blood in my veins. Food in my belly. She was everything I needed to survive, and the thought of being without her was…unbearable.
I felt like I was drowning. Being pulled under by a powerful current and I didn’t have the strength to kick free, because kicking free meant putting my family in danger. And I couldn’t be responsible for the death of another person I loved. I couldn’t.
I would not survive it.
Nik slapped $100 down, making the table shake. He pointed his fork behind me and I turned, my mood lightening slightly as I took in my two youngest siblings.
They were yelling at each other near the food table, the stirrings of a fight about to take place. I wasn’t sure what they were arguing about but I’d seen those looks on their faces before. Lukyan’s, filled with mischievousness, and Illayana’s, filled with anger and frustration.
Whatever happened, Lukyan started it. I was positive about that.
No surprise there.
I pulled out $100 and slapped it down on top of his. “On Illayana.” I dropped another $50. “Bet she knocks him out in under a minute.” My baby sister was stressed and itching for a fight, an outlet to take her anger and nervousness out on. I was confident she could do it.
Nik pursed his lips in thought. His eyes darted back and forth between them and I. “I’ll take those odds,” he said, adding his $50.
I repositioned my chair so I could get a better view and Nik and I watched, waiting for the inevitable to happen.
Their voices got louder, attracting attention from others. Illayana stepped into Lukyan’s space, her teeth grinding. Lukyan smirked.
“Here it is. She’s about to blow.”
“I see it, I see it.” Illayana had little tells that told us when she was at her breaking point, that moment before she lunged and attacked. And she was displaying them right now. Lowered brows. Laser-sharp focus. Clenched fists. It was going to happen.
Arturo’s eyes widened in a panic. He knew exactly what was about to go down. His gaze quickly swept across the dessert table. He picked up what looked like a chocolate cupcake. He wrapped one arm around her shoulder, pulling her in close while he held the cupcake up to her lips.
Illayana covered Arturo’s hand with her own, taking a bite as she continued to glare at Lukyan.
Her husband slowly began to turn her away, his head lowered to her ear as he whispered something to her.
She took hesitant steps as she allowed Arturo to lead her away, still scowling at Lukyan while taking small bites of the cupcake.
Just like that, the fight had dissipated.
Nik and I looked at each other in bewilderment.
“Fuck,” he chuckled softly, shaking his head. “How did we never figure out we could distract her with food? That would have come in handy years ago.”
I grunted, taking back my cash. Arturo seemed to know our sister better than we did at times.
Nik picked up his money, tucking it away.
He ate the rest of his food without saying another word, a comfortable silence hanging between us.
Once he was finished he pushed both plates away, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
He took a sip from his drink, placing it down on the table and giving me a hard stare that meant business.
“Were you ever going to tell me?”
I stiffened. There was only one thing he could be referring to. My gaze cut to him, but he spoke before I could reply.
“Don’t lie,” he said sternly, his eyes narrowing into slits.
Sighing, I glanced away. This wasn’t something I was wanting to talk about, especially right now when my mind was plagued with thoughts of Drea. But the cat was out of the bag. Might as well get it over with.
I would have preferred to discuss this in six months, when it was too late for him to do anything about it, but life didn’t always work out that way you wanted it to.
If it did, I wouldn’t even be in this situation to start with.
“How did you find out?”
He leaned back, satisfaction streaking across his face when he realised I wasn’t going to lie or avoid the conversation. “I put a bug in Father’s office.”
My head whipped back to him. “You what?”
One side of his lips tilted up in a small smirk and he lifted a shoulder innocently. “I’m a nosy bastard. I wanted to hear the conversation with Grandfather.”
“You could have been there for the meeting.”
Nik snorted. “And have to actually talk to the man? No thank you. My way was better. I got to listen in without having to see him. Win win for me.” He studied me with soulful eyes. “I didn’t get a chance to listen to it until this morning. You don’t have to do it, Zander.”
“Yes, I do,” I answered automatically.
“No. You don’t. Fuck Grandfather and this stupid arrangement he made with the Tarasovs. Let him deal with it. It’s not our responsibility.”
“If you listened in then you know exactly what will happen if we don’t honour this deal.”
Anger swept across his face. “He wouldn’t. He’s bluffing.”
“Do you honestly believe that?” I asked, giving him a hard stare. Because I knew for a fact that he didn’t.
He stared back. “No. But there has to be something we can do. You shouldn’t have to go off to Russia and marry some woman just because our crazy, senile grandfather told you to.”
“That’s exactly what I have to do, because we both know Sergei has the capabilities to make something happen to Illayana with a click of his fingers.”
He blew out an irritated breath. “Fine. You make a valid point. But that doesn’t mean you need to be the one to do it.”
I shook my head. I knew he’d do this. “No. Nik.”
“Zander, just hear me out—”
“No, you hear me out,” I snapped, making him clamp his mouth shut. “This is the first and last time we’ll ever be having this conversation, so listen up. I’m going to be the one marrying her. Not you. Not Lukyan. Me . The decision has been made. It’s final.”
“But—”
“Are you willing to give up Tatiana forever?” Whatever words he planned to say next died in his throat.
“I still don’t know what happened between the two of you—and believe me, I will get those answers soon—but what I do know is that you marrying another woman will make Tatiana run in the opposite direction.
Any chance of mending what you broke will be impossible with you tied to another.
Is that something you want? Are you willing to shut the door on you and Tatiana permanently? ”
His eyes flew to the woman in question, who was dancing and laughing with Illayana, her blue sundress twirling around her as she spun in a circle, her face tilted up towards the sky and sunlight beaming across her face.