2. Chapter Two
CHAPTER TWO
V iktor, Russia
I briskly strode down the corridor and slipped out the back door, making my way to the rear of the property. A swim was in order. It hadn’t been too long since I had immersed myself in those frigid waters, but I needed it now to clear my cluttered mind, and maintain control over my emotions, which threatened to consume me.
But rather than the anger I was accustomed to, the silent rage I often carried, there was a small sense of hope, and dare I say, excitement.
With a nonchalant disregard for the weather, I shed my clothes, paying no heed to the multitude of old scars that stretched and pulled, as I exposed my body. My skin bore the painful reminders of a life steeped in brutality; cigar burns, whip marks, and a few knife wounds that had never healed properly.
I plunged beneath the icy surface, the chilling water offering solace as it enveloped me. My strokes propelled me farther from shore until my chest ached, the world above obscured by the depth.
I surfaced, gasping for air and savoring the sensation of cleansing relief. For a moment, the ceaseless chatter inside my mind quieted, granting me a fleeting respite from the turmoil within, and the voices that haunted me.
I turned my gaze toward the shoreline and noticed a figure standing at the spot where I had left my clothes. As I drew nearer, I recognized Roger, holding a plush robe.
Inwardly, I sighed. I didn’t particularly fancy a robe at this moment. In fact, I relished the sensation of my veins running ice-cold, the bone-chilling feeling that washed over me once I left the water, and the air painfully dried me until my skin gave way to numbness.
But seeing that Roger looked intent on standing there and ruining my peace, I came to terms that my brief respite in the lake was over.
I swam to shore, then upon reaching it, stepped out of the lake.
Roger’s serious expression signaled there was business to attend to, and I knew him well enough to recognize that this was Bratva business. Being cast into the shadows all my life had afforded me the luxury of studying people in various situations, including Roger’s subtle tells.
Rather than put on the robe he handed over, I patted myself dry with it and put on my clothes. “What’s happened?”
“Your training begins now,” Roger replied.
He turned on his heel and strode away, expecting me to follow like an obedient puppy.
“Roger.”
My godfather turned around, looking somewhat surprised that I was not following him.
“If you ever again talk to me like I am your dog to order around, you will be the first I eliminate. Godfather or not, I know your allegiance is with Alexie, and truthfully, that makes you useless to me, regardless of what my father thinks.”
“What will your father say when he hears how you threatened me?”
“I have little care what my father thinks at this point. I am set to take over, and I will have the same respect you would have given Alexie.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “What has changed, Viktor? You are not the man I knew. You seem more... confident.”
What he didn’t know was that, in addition to anonymously tipping off the Don that my brother was sleeping with his wife, I had secured a failsafe in the event of my disappearance. If there would be peace again with our allies, it will be under my reign. Should I meet my demise before I ascended, then my family would feel my wrath from beyond the grave, and the Italians would avenge me.
“My days of being a whipping boy are over,” I offered. “That is all you need to concern yourself with.”
“Whipping boy? We only sought to strengthen you-”
I strolled past him, heading toward the house. “There is nothing left to say about this. If you are not with me, then you are against me. I no longer have the patience to abide those who wish to see me fail. If you want to join my brother in America, you may leave and do so, but you will not stay here and pretend to be loyal, while undermining me in his name. I will simply eliminate you from the equation.”
“Understood.”
For once, my godfather seemed impressed.
He cleared his throat, struggling to keep pace with me. “Before we address our current business, you need to identify the men who remain most loyal to Alexie,” Roger instructed.
I nodded, contemplating the implications. “Yes, and we should deal with them immediately.”
Roger shook his head. “No, I will send them to America to your brother. It’s better than losing their lives in this power struggle between the two of you.”
“Why bolster my brother with reinforcements? He is essentially retired. He has no need for men.” What I didn’t say: let him meet his fate alone, like a stray dog in a foreign land. It was what he deserved. “Whatever twisted schemes he’s orchestrating over there, he can do without us.”
“So you will kill these loyal men?” Roger allowed. “That is a lot of blood to carry on your hands, and it might cause problems within the ranks.”
“Arrange a meeting with these men. I will speak with them. They can make their choice then and there. Those who choose me will live. Those who ask to join Alexie in America will get a bullet in their head.”
Roger nodded.
“Anything else?” I asked as we neared the drive.
“I am your right-hand man until you fill that position yourself for your father,” Roger informed me. “You will be his second.”
“Not even Alexie filled that role for my father,” I commented. “Why have I been presented with this honor? Are you retiring?”
“Your brother was still learning,” Roger admitted. “To be frank, he relied on me excessively. No one should require such pampering. You will be different, won’t you?”
I remained silent, for there was no need to voice my commitment. Roger understood the gravity of the situation, and he was aware of my unrelenting drive to surpass my brother. It was an inevitability.
“Good, I’m pleased we agree,” Roger acknowledged my nonanswer.
I looked into his eyes and sensed sincerity, detecting no ulterior motives.
Roger had always been a tough read. While I believed he had the Bratva’s best interests at heart, I didn’t always trust his judgment. He held too much power for a man of Italian birth, and while he may be a friend of my father’s, I never forgot that he was initially a bargaining chip, sent here to maintain peace.
The elder members of the Bratva trusted him implicitly, but I understood how rapidly loyalties could shift. I resolved to keep a close eye on him and ensure that his decisions aligned with my own interests.
“Sir?” A panting soldier approached us, though he was addressing the wrong man.
“Do you need something?” I inquired before Roger could interject.
The soldier glanced at Roger, then back at me after receiving some hidden permission. “You’re needed down at the wharf.”
“What is the nature of the situation?”
“We have apprehended a rat.”
This was business.
I began walking toward our waiting vehicles, a rare smile gracing my lips at the news. This was exactly what I needed. I needed to pummel someone until they revealed all their secrets.
We climbed into the vehicle, and the foot soldier drove us to a warehouse in the wharf district. The air was heavy with the lingering scent of blood. I inhaled deeply, savoring it. This was my element. I might have been a timid child, but now I was a merciless man. And no one had seen my true capabilities yet.
I relished the sensation of making our enemies beg, and the wretched soul before me was no exception. I would extract the answers I sought from him before ending his life.
“Has he revealed anything?” I asked, approaching the guy who had been stripped naked and strung up from the rafters with heavy chains.
“No. Not yet.”
I removed my outer layer, rolled up my sleeves, then donned brass knuckles. I exhaled softly, centering myself. This wasn’t the same solace as the icy waters outside my house, but it would suffice.
He didn’t see it coming. I slammed my fist into his face, shattering a few teeth. His agonized screams sent shivers of satisfaction down my spine. It was a thankless task, but someone had to do it.
The rat spit and sputtered blood and chunks of enamel all over. Emitting a low growl from the back of my throat, I grabbed the pliers from the table to my right.
“If you don’t talk, then I will make it so you never talk again,” I warned quietly. “And since death is too easy for a rat, this means I will be forced to maim you, and let you live as a walking example of why you don’t betray me.”
One of the men grabbed his head and forced his mouth open. “Is that what you want to be?” I asked. “Do you want to be a shell of a man, blind and deaf, missing all his fingers and toes, teeth and nails, his dick and his tongue?”
I reached in with the pliers and broke a tooth off. The man hollered in agony.
“I have all the time in the world to take you apart piece by piece. It will be slow. It will be painful. And worst of all, you will live through it.”
Panting, the rat spat his blood out. “Y-you have no idea what’s coming for you.”
The men in the room tittered even as I chuckled. While his threat might worry lesser men, especially after the incident with Don Ricci, I was thrilled to hear that I had an adversary to vanquish. Not even an hour into training to become Father’s second, and I was receiving threats.
“And what, exactly, is coming for me, hmm?” I swung the pliers in my hand.
He watched as they circled around and around, fear watering his eyes. It sent shivers of joy down my spine. I loved the scent of terror in the air.
Since he took too long to answer, I swung the pliers around and down on his face. Blood gushed from his jaw.
“I am the next leader of the Bratva. I fear nothing.” I beat his face again, just enough that he could still answer my questions. I couldn’t break his jaw just yet.
Spitting onto my shoe, he glared at me.
I held back my anger. “Who do you work for?” I asked calmly.
He just regarded me with hatred, though it seemed a little more respectful than it had been two minutes earlier. He’s not so cocky now.
But he was a stubborn fool.
I pried his fingernail off his pinky.
He grunted as he watched me, a lone tear leaking out of his eye.
“I will ask one more time and then I will scoop one of your eyes out to keep on my bar for everyone to see.” I waited for a beat. “Or maybe you’d prefer I do both eyes, so you don’t have to witness my men tearing apart your beautiful wife and daughter, before your spirit meets theirs on the other side.”
That did it. Didn’t even need to blind the man.
Truly, I had only taken a guess that he was married with children based on the wedding band. I choose daughter because, if he’d allowed himself to be tortured to protect a paying client, then imagine what he’d do to protect his little girl.
“It’s the Italians,” he said. “They are coming for your family, treaty or not. I’m told that the Don is very unhappy with how the situation is being handled, and he is out for blood. He expected better of your father, but knows your father protects your brother, and the Don is insulted by this.”
“When?”
“I don’t know the exact dates.”
“Estimate,” I countered.
“I don’t know.”
I handed the pliers to one of my men and he replaced it with the bat. It was heavy in my hand, as I lifted it back like I was about to hit a home run, and nailed his kneecap. Screams rang out as the bone shattered upon impact. I relished the sound.
“I-I fucking s-swear I don’t know when they are going to hit. I’m no one to them, just as I am no one to you – fuck!” He cried in agony. “I’m just a low-level guy gathering local intel as they make plans. If not for the money they offered for the job…” He groaned. “It was so much. I’d have to work a decade for the Bratva to match it.”
I smiled at that. Apparently the Don meant business if he was paying my men that much to betray me.
“Do you have a name?”
“No,” he panted. “They never said.”
With a heavy sigh, I studied the rat. He was young. He probably did make diddly-squat for pay. But with age and experience, he would have risen in our ranks and made more money in time. If he’d just been patient.
Sadly, I understood his motivation to strive for something better. Sometimes a man had to look out for his own best interests, and loyalties be damned. I respected that. Did I not do the same?
The only difference being that he got caught.
And that was a problem.
I swung the bat again and broke the other knee.
The rat wailed as he swung in his chains.
Unlike my hotheaded brother, I would let the rat live… for now. Not only to let the Don know that I found his rat, but to see how serious the Italians were about their information. Because once they saw this guy’s broken body, they would know that he told me everything. I was curious who they’d send to do the job of eliminating him.
“I hope you got paid upfront,” I muttered as I threw the bat aside. If only for his family. I knew he was as good as dead, and hoped he made the most of what little time left on Earth he had. Because this was a reprieve, not a mercy. If the Italians let him go, I would be back around.
The rat finally succumbed to the pain and passed out. Moving away from the disloyal fuck, I gathered the men. I spoke quietly, giving them directions on how to handle this situation. They were to take the rat to the hospital and pretend to leave. I wanted the asshole tailed at all times, and I wanted to know who was visiting him. I wanted his family watched as well. I wanted to know everything.
I summoned Roger over. “I want his bank transactions, especially his deposits. I want to know where they are coming from.”
He nodded.
I would fuck up the Italians if they thought they could step to me. I wasn’t my brother. This was a new era. With a better leader in charge. If anyone had a problem with that, they could die.