13. Tatiana
TATIANA
B right light filtered into the room, a streak of white reflecting against the snow waking me from my deep sleep. I checked the time against the red digits of the clock and was shocked when I noted the time.
Eleven A.M.
But then I remembered. I was in Russia. It always took me several days to adjust to the time difference. Unlike my brothers.
I rolled onto my back, every muscle in my body sore, and reached for Illias, only to find an empty bed. The sheets were cold. I sighed, slightly disappointed. But then, I’d wager that Illias wasn’t a man to lounge in bed for half a day.
Sighing, I stretched out my hands and studied the ceiling. The same one that royalty studied for centuries. How many princes and princesses stared at the same ceiling?
Excitement rushed through me. I couldn’t wait to explore the castle.
I jumped out of bed, then headed for the shower. Twenty minutes later, I was dressed in a La Perla bra and panties and a white wool dress. Slipping on a pair of black Chanel flats, I made my way out of the room.
The castle was quiet. The chill in the air present.
It didn’t matter how many fires burned and how good the central heat system was, there was no warming up a Russian home. Especially one this size. I’d experienced that in our own home in Siberia. Even in Russian hotels. It was just the way it was.
I slipped through the corridor, studying the paintings. Aivazovsky. Repin. Malevich. Only to finish it with Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Monet, and…
My step faltered and my eyes widened. A ten by ten size painting of a family portrait. I recognized the twin brothers, both resembling their father. But it was the beautiful woman who captured my interest. Blonde hair. Sad green eyes. I’d seen her before. With a different family.
It was the same woman from Adrian’s picture that I dug out of that parking lot. What-the-fuck! Maybe I should be asking myself how the fuck that was even possible? I dug through my memory, trying to remember what I knew of the late Pakhan’s wife.
The answer was nothing. I came up empty.
I stared at the woman, the unexpected connection. I’d have to believe that woman was Illias’ mother. Otherwise, why the family portrait? Shit, maybe that other photo that Adrian left me wasn’t his family. But that man with her was the spitting image of Adrian with the exception of the eyes.
A gasp left my lips and I leaned closer to the painting. Adrian’s eyes were green, the same shade as this woman’s. My brows creased and my temples throbbed. C-could it be … I shook my head. No way. No fucking way.
Pushing the thoughts away, I headed for the grand staircase. But the painting never left my mind.
The smell of baked pastries entered my lungs as I started my descent with my hand on the rail and my mind on the strange revelation.
My stomach growled. I was starving and prayed Illias had enough sense not to have his cook make traditional Russian dishes. Those usually involved meat and it was something I still couldn’t stomach.
The sound of voices traveled through the air, distracting me from food. Straying to the left, the voices got stronger and louder.
“Are you fucking blind?” Illias’ voice boomed. “The Yakuza must want to take over. Amon could be the solution to it all. You allowing Dante to marry that girl will push him away from the Thorns of Omertà. We’ll lose his support, Marchetti.”
My brows furrowed. Why would Enrico Marchetti care about Yakuza? Or anything Omertà related?
“My approval has been given.” Marchetti had to be on the phone. “The wedding has been set.”
No fucking way. Marchetti was involved in the underworld? Well, that was… unexpected.
“Fuck that shit, Enrico.” Illias was majorly pissed from the sound of it. “Have his other daughter take her spot.”
“He wants Reina. You should have told me earlier Amon had eyes for her. How in the fuck was I supposed to know?”
“Goddamn it, Marchetti. Then end it,” Illias growled. “The Yakuza have tried to take us down way too many times. With that chip, they’d succeed.” Illias’ tone was low and dark. Deadly. “With Amon, they’ll succeed.”
Amon Leone? Did he work for Illias? I really needed the structure of Illias’ organization. It was way too confusing.
“What’s done is done,” was Marchetti’s response.
“No more of that.” It was clear by the equally dark tone of his voice the conversation was over.
“Speaking of weddings, it was good thinking on your part to wed Tatiana Nikolaev. I bet you planned to get her pregnant. Tatiana knocked up gives you leverage with this latest discovery and over her psychotic brothers.”
My chest cracked and an unbearable ache slashed through me. A burn ignited somewhere deep in my heart and spread wide, until it had nowhere else to go. Until it seared those fragile, invisible threads that had started weaving between us and left nothing but thorns.
Leverage. Planned to knock me up.
The words echoed in my brain on a broken loop. He used me. Leverage. My ears rang, drowning out my heartbeat. My skin flushed hot, then cold. My soul ached but tears didn’t come. I refused to mourn a deceitful, lying, son of a bitch.
I’m going to murder that motherfucker. Just wait and see.
All I had to do was call Sasha and he’d help me take Illias down. Pakhan or no. Yet, the idea of Illias dead didn’t sit well with me. The thought of seeing the life leave his eyes sent a cold chill through my veins.
Fuck!
Maybe some torture. I’d have to think of something good. Maybe I’d bite his dick when I sucked him off. I snickered. Now, that would be funny.
A loud thud vibrated through the air, waking me out of my stupor.
“Hey, Tatiana.” A cheerful voice came from behind me at the same time and I whirled around to find Isla coming down the stairs. “You looking for the dining room?”
No, I’m looking for a way to kill your traitorous brother. Thankfully, the words remained unspoken.
“Actually, I was thinking about taking a drive,” I managed to answer, hiding all my emotions. “Maybe pick up something from the nearby bakery. Want to come along?”
The look she gave me told me she thought it was crazy to want to go out driving in the snow when there was perfectly good pastry in the castle.
“Sure.” Her answer surprised me, but I didn’t show it.
“Lead the way to the garage then.”
We walked in silence down the elegant hallway.
Both of us grabbed a coat, then continued down the hallway.
It seemed we walked for miles with a lot of twists and turns, although it was mere steps.
I was so desperate to silence the words I overheard.
They kept playing on repeat in my head, but I couldn’t think of a single question to ask Isla to distract myself.
“How was your first night here?” Isla inquired as we strode down the hallway. My eyes traveled over her. She looked even younger wearing jeans and an oversized emerald sweater that made her eyes stand out even more.
“It was good, thanks.” I threw her a side-glance. Her smile was soft, but there was silent strength about her. Yet, my mind whispered not to get too close. Her brother manipulated me. Leverage. That fucking word. “You live here?”
She chuckled. “God no. It is so cold in Russia during the winter months and those months are damn long. I split most of the time between Paris, London, and California.”
It was too bad. I already knew I’d like her. There was a warmth about her that kind of reminded me of my best friend. Isabella was so caring and thoughtful, but underneath it all, there was a quiet strength that was hard not to notice.
“Don’t care for Russia?” Isla asked curiously. She still wasn’t sure what to make of me, and I couldn’t blame her. She probably never even heard of me and then boom… I was her sister-in-law.
Not for long though.
I shrugged, keeping track of the turns so I’d know how to get out of this castle. “I was born here but raised in New Orleans. I prefer to stay there. It’s home.”
She nodded. “Have you and Illias known each other for a long time?”
“Depends on what you consider a long time,” I remarked automatically. “We crossed paths many years ago.” Silence followed as I remembered that fleeting moment in California when I joined my brother for lunch. He and his brother left minutes later. “He didn’t leave an impression.”
It was a lie. Yes, I forgot him, but I remembered that first moment I locked eyes with him. His eyes penetrated mine for a few seconds, full of intense darkness.
Isla chuckled. “Yet, here you are.”
“Yet, here I am,” I concurred. Fuck, did my voice sound a tad bit bitter. “Your brother is persistent.”
“That he is,” she agreed. “Although I’m surprised it took him years to leave an impression. Usually women fall at his feet.”
A memory came. My steps halted and my brows furrowed as confusion rushed through me. That was Adrian’s memory. My first time with my late husband.
Yet, why was I thinking about it and associating it with Illias?
Adrian disappeared through the entrance gripping the twins by their collars. Frustrated, I scribbled a note on a piece of napkin and handed it to the waiter.
“Can you give this note to the gentleman when he comes through the door?”
And with that, I whirled around and headed out the patio door and out to the gazebo that stood on the far end of the property, overlooking Patapsco River.
It was my last year of college. If I didn’t get a man now, I never would. I loved my brothers but they growled when a boy even looked at me, never mind anything else. It scared them all away.
So, I’d demand what I wanted. What I needed! I’d never been shy and I knew Adrian could give me what I’d been missing my whole life.
I decided that I’d seize the moment. I should feel bad that the twins got in trouble, but truthfully, they weren’t my type. And letting both of them kiss me at the same time had done little for me. It should have turned me on beyond my wildest dreams, yet I found my panties dry.