Chapter Thirteen - Akim
One day earlier.
“You forget to protect the queen on the board, dummy. Every time I have to remind you, and every time you end up in a checkmate position. You’re making the game too easy for me,” Boris scolds Luka as we sit in the games room playing chess. My father taught me to play the game to teach me a thing or two about strategic and nimble movement in the Bratva world, and it worked.
“Play your weakest hand first and get all your pawns out on the board early. But, whatever you do, protect the queen. She’s your greatest asset. Remember this when you marry, Akim. I chose correctly when I married your mother. I have no regrets. She brought me an heir to the Bratva throne.” I would have been close to ten years old when my father gave me his lectures, playing the game, and I’ve been a keen learner of the game ever since.
Boris and Luka are casual players, but Luka, too, was taught the same way I was. “Don’t worry about what I’m doing with my chess pieces. You worry about yours.” Boris hits the timer, pointing to the checkered board. “Your turn.” I’m to play whoever wins this match, but I’m preoccupied with other things floating around my head. Like what we’re going to do once we bail Michael Jane out of jail.
As I watch the game, Boris speaks. “How is your pretty prisoner doing at the penthouse?”
“She’s holding up. Feisty thing,” I mention.
“Thought as much. She has no respect for the Bratva.”
“Why should she? We pinned her father to the wall,” I say in a muted tone.
“It was your idea. What… you regretting it now?” Luka asks, taking his turn.
“No. It was right.” That was before I knew about his daughter. If I did, I would make different choices. I keep the sordid thought in my head.
“Have you decided what to do about Michael Jane?” Boris presses, his arms crossed in wait of his turn.
Sighing, I keep running through the idea I have. It might be risky from my end, but at thirty-nine years old, it’s expected of me anyway. From what I’ve seen about Kiara, the arrangement I’m tossing around in my head would work in the long term.
She won’t be able to resist the lifestyle, the money, and the power I can bring to her. Let alone the endless resources. A small price to pay for the losses we’ve incurred at the hands of her father. Computer science major or not, I can take her to heights she’ll never be able to make on her own. And there’s the open attraction she denies herself and me. I want her in my bed. Every night. And I’m going to have her.
“I tell you what, Kiara has a set of legs on her that give me wet dreams of wrapping them around my back,” Luka casually mentions as Boris sighs and holds me back from the reflex of punching Luka in the face.
A firestorm rages through my body. How dare he talk about her body. Whether anybody knows it or not, Kiara is fucking mine, and my brother won’t touch a fucking hair on her head if I have anything to do with it. Subtly, I knock his pawn over and move other chess pieces onto his end of the board. Shocked, Luka’s eyes fly up.
Boris chuckles, shaking his head as my brother flicks me a perplexed stare, still not understanding my motives.
“Luka, I think you might want a clamp for your big mouth. Akim is sweet on the young woman. You should have seen him at the bar when she first duped him. Ana Benito. Is that what she called herself?”
In a reflex reaction, I slap Boris on the back of the head instead. “I should bang the two of your heads together,” I warn. “If staff would have been doing their job that night, they would have realized she gave them a fake ID. She’s smart.”
Boris rubs the back of his head. “Ouch. That hurt.”
Luka repositions his pieces, mumbling under his breath. “You fucked up my board.”
“I don’t give a fuck about the board. And, Luka, you’re not going to wrap anything around anything other than you lips around the muzzle of my gun as I shove It down your throat,” I propose smoothly, exchanging seething glances with them both.
“Alright. Well, that settles things. But she did get past us all. She’s good,” Boris remarks with admiration, the fire inside me settling. Kiara provokes reactions in me that I’ve never felt before, and it’s unnerving.
Luka gives me a sidelong glance, regrouping and making his next winning move and last attack.
“This game is too easy. Checkmate,” he says cheerfully to Boris, raising an eyebrow in my direction. “Boris is right. Judging from your reaction, my brother is sweet on the villainess. And you can get mad all you want about what I said, but the real question is, what’s your plan? This Michael situation is a fucking problem, and you know it.”
I’m bewitched by Kiara, and there’s no rhyme or reason. What she presented is not what she is, but still, I find myself wanting to claim her. I brought her those hideous hoodies and sweatpants which do nothing for her svelte, toned figure, but given her hobby of being a hacker, it maybe fits her weird aesthetic.
She’s not exactly a woman to take home, but my mother probably would have loved her. She wasn’t one to suffer fools, even if she did spoil me with love all the time. Kiara should enjoy her leisure wear now because I refuse to let her wear them in the future. I’ve already lined up the right boutiques for her to shop. She’ll get used to her new attire whether she likes it or not.
Luka’s ignorant comments infuriate me, but I know how to shut him down. It baffles me as to why am I so protective over her in the first place.
“Yes. I’m aware. How about we play eight ball? I’m getting sick of watching you get beaten, Boris, and Luka. I’ve already buried you three to one in chess. We can discuss Michael while I whip you.”
“Alright, brother, but don’t cry like a baby when I beat you on the pool table.” Luka grins as I shove him in the direction. Luka possesses a competitive streak, even if it is at the snooker table, and I know that.
He’s my younger brother, and sibling rivalry is an all-time high between us. We both grew up under the harsh dominion of our father, but we’ve both tackled it in different ways coming out on top. Personally, on the surface I’ve thrived, burying the past hurts of losing my mother. For Luka, I paved the way. Father went easier on him, but as a result, I’m harder on him to level the score, and he works for me, not the other way around.
“You won’t. I can promise you,” I tell him. “Yes to Michael paying us back. I don’t think he has the means to. We can’t send him back out on route. That would be Bratva suicide. We’ve lost time and weapons. Not to mention now we have the Pakhan up our asses,” I tell them both, sliding all the balls into the triangle and putting them in the right order.
“Exactly. And the last thing we want is the Pakhan breathing down our necks scrutinizing our every move when we worked so hard to cement this international agreement,” Boris remarks, chalking up his pool cue.
“He won’t be for long,” I reply, letting little brother break, as two balls shoot off in different directions. “Okay. I’ve got smalls,” he commands smugly, off to a good start, but I know as well as he does, that he fades at the end of the game. “We can get Michael out, sure, but you do understand the cost?”
“Yes. I understand the cost.” Crouching to eye level, I focus on my target, driving my pool cue forward, the click of my ball knocking my brother’s out of the way and putting it into the top right-hand pocket.
“Good. Michael got complacent and wasn’t careful enough with his runs. Honestly, it’s a shame we had to throw him under the bus. He’s been working for us without a hitch for years now. Bound to happen at some stage, and it might not have been him directly, but one of his staff leaked the information to the police,” Luka mentions, and I can’t ignore the truth he’s spilling.
“Yes. And you’re not wrong,” I respond, but regardless, I plan on getting him out of jail. I’ve got plans for his daughter. Kiara triggered a part of me I’ve long forgotten, and her ability to put her life on the line for her father will be perfect for what I have lined up for her.
“How are we going to make him pay it back? His business will tank if we try to take it from him. We won’t be able to extract it from him that way, like you said,” Boris stresses, as I still myself, preparing for my next shot and pocketing it with a winning grin, not worried about his concerns. I address Luka instead, warming up to my plan at large.
“Little brother, you’ve got your work cut out for you,” I tell him, punching him on the shoulder.
“Maybe. We’ll see.” He grins back. “But let’s talk about the rules.” He nods, the tone of the conversation turning serious.
“Yes. The Bratva rules,” I quip. “What about them?” I ask, hitting the side of the ball, watching it jump up on the table.
“Well, if he doesn’t pay. We take his assets. We know he lives with Kiara in a nice part of town, but that townhouse isn’t going to cover what he owes us by a long shot. What else does he have?” Luka asks.
“Hmm. Probably a vehicle,” I say flippantly, because the proposal I have in mind is one my dear brother hasn’t thought of. Kiara’s a commodity that will bring more to the Bratva network than they think.
“You’re not taking this seriously,” Luka adds.
“Yes I am. But there’s a reason I’m the boss.” I power play as my brother misses the next ball and I play my shot.
“Well, if we let him out, we take his life. We can get enough money back on the black market. That’s the rule. So, what’s the point of getting him out when all we plan to do is kill him?” Luka presents.
“Yeah, and the Pakhan will order the hit, and we’re going to have to provide proof,” Boris concludes as I grin at them both, observing their stumped faces.
“Perfect. I’ll just take his daughter as repayment. She can help me expand the Bratva empire. She has many uses, including bringing children into the world, adding to the Utkin bloodline. The Pakhan won’t be able to resist.”
“You cunning devil. You and your possessions, Akim,” Luka says, but with a smile of approval lined on his face. “Congrats.”
“Thanks. It’s the perfect arrangement for all involved. Let’s get Michael Jane out of jail as soon as we can.”
Winking, I go on to pocket the next three balls and beat my brother like I always do.