Prologue #2
The fear was real. It was absolute and powerful.
Nothing was changing it, and more than that I knew I deserved the feeling and probably the punishment that would soon be rendered.
It did not make me any less frightened or willing to admit I had done anything wrong.
In my mind I had not. I was as stubborn and hard-headed as my father, head of the Russian mafia in Texas.
The summons to come to his office had left me sick to my stomach and breathless.
In my heart and head, I already knew what this meeting was about, the betrayal I had committed by going behind his back to aid the Serpent Sinners, namely Prime and his club.
I just could not seem to stop myself from responding when they asked for help, though this was not an excuse my father would accept.
The mafia interests were supposed to come first and not be jeopardized by my emotions.However, it was our organization that had asked for Prime’s aid first, and I was the one who’d taken poor Vikki back to the hellhole she had escaped only recently.
So, I felt we owed the club some small favor.I had made one of the ultimate mistakes that are rarely if ever forgiven.
I had gone behind my leader’s back and used his power, his name, and his arsenal to rescue an inconsequential member of a local MC and to protect the rest of the MC from harm as if it were my right.
Some would say I had let my soft heart bring about my downfall.The truth of the matter was I didn’t have many rights in Petrov’s eyes.
I was his daughter, but only a commodity to him rather than someone he treasured.
It was my beauty, the long silky, blonde tresses and the perfect curves of my body, that he prized.
I was only worth something as long as I remained a virgin to be united with another high-ranking member of the mafia for an advantageous alliance.
I was kept almost a prisoner, though one given a gilded cage, except for the times I have defied him.
Prime and the Sinners seem to bring out the defiance in me, a fact that made me feel more equal in their realm than in my own.
“Boris, do you know why I have been summoned without being allowed a moment to change my clothes or eat breakfast?” I dared ask the tightlipped driver who had demanded I get in the car without taking time to properly dress for an audience with my father.
I couldn’t help but look down at the skin tight leggings and overlarge sweatshirt I was wearing and find them totally inappropriate and embarrassing.
My hair was still in a simple braid hanging down my back the same way it had been when I fell into bed the previous night.
My face was bare of makeup, and I wore no jewelry, not even the signet ring that was proof of whose daughter I was.
I looked too much like a teenager to properly stand up to Don Petrov as an equal, which he already refused to allow me to be.
I was merely a female to be used to further his agenda.
“It is not my place to speak of mafia business. My superiors do not confide in me so I cannot speak of things I do not understand,” Boris answered in standard style.
I barely held back a snort of disbelief and rolled my eyes in protest of his statement.
No one was more aware than I that secrets were almost impossible to keep, and doors were never completely soundproofed from the most trusted and faithful of my father’s men.
Boris definitely knew why I was being brought in.
After all, as a male, he had more right to the information than I did.However, I chose to take him at his word and pretended I was letting him in on my secret.
It was a way of gaining his sympathy and trust, a manipulative action I was very good at using.
It was why some of Petrov’s men had so willingly followed me into this mess and had not blamed me for their various punishments.
“It is my fault, Boris. I betrayed my father’s trust. I made improper demands of his men, using them for unauthorized purposes, and he will say I wasted too much of his arsenal to do a task that should not have been our duty.
Maybe, I should feel bad about it, guilty to a degree.
But I do not. The Sinners have become more than an alliance.
To me, they are friends.”“That is dangerous territory, Zoe,” Boris finally spoke something truthful.
“No one outside the organization can be trusted as a friend, and some inside it are not to be trusted either. The Sinners are useful, but not part of the faithful.”“I know what the rules say, all the trust no one stuff has been drilled into me all my life. This is different. Prime and his club have done things for father that have caused severe injuries, death and more to their club members, yet they have not gone against us in retaliation. They work within father’s guidelines.
“I felt we owed them this aid in return for their loyalty. I could not accept that Aguilar was allowed to try to torture a man to death or hold women and young children as property to do with as he pleased and blame it all on our organization. I am aware of who the true enemy is and that is not Prime. Aguilar must be stopped, and if helping the Sinners is the way to bring him down then I will not end my defiance of father’s orders,” I emphatically stated.
“I would not use that tone or those particular words when speaking with Don Petrov. His anger is at an all-time high and he will make you suffer for not just your betrayal, but for what Aguilar is doing to his reputation. Be careful, child. No one is immune to his wrath,” Boris replied.
“Not even flesh of his flesh.”He was correct, and though I was completely aware of that particular fact it still hurt to hear it said out loud.
I longed for my father’s love and had yet to feel it.
I would have argued simply for the sake of denying my personal pain, but my cell phone rang at that vital moment.
When I saw the call was coming from Prime I was not certain whether it calmed me or frightened me more.
If he needed me I would go despite the chance it would bring about my death.
Father would have no choice if I disobeyed his summons in order to go to Prime instead.
There were others that would demand he do the proper thing.I closed the glass barrier between Boris and I.
He could see me in the rearview mirror, and he was frowning.
He could easily reopen the barrier if he chose to, but he gave me the honor he thought I deserved as the daughter of his boss and allowed me the privacy to speak to my caller without being overheard.
I doubted I would keep that type of honor for much longer.
Father was going to definitely have me spied on after what had occurred.I grinned slyly as I took the call.
Sneaking around was one of my best talents