28. Elise Savin
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
ELISE SAVIN
Bratva.
A world that shouldn’t exist. The Coalition is a place rife with death and violence, a harsh reality no one should have to endure. This is where I reside, and I would do anything to keep my sister far away from its horrors.
Anything and everything.
Alexis was home. She was supposed to stay in Seattle, innocent and full of hope, waiting for me. I had planned to return there with her one day when my soul wasn’t drowning. That was the plan I held onto tightly. But, as fate would have it, things didn’t go as I had anticipated.
With a tight smile, I step out of the vehicle and circle the hood, my sunglasses firmly in place. My eyes take in the small warehouse, searching for any signs of activity. It’s quiet, but I know she’s inside. My men have been watching her for weeks.
As the engines hum around me, a refreshing breeze sweeps across my face. The sunlight radiates against a clear blue sky, and as the familiar white cotton clouds float leisurely by, you can almost feel the anticipation in the air—the calm before the storm.
The sound of Ivy’s heels against the cement blends into the background noise of hurried conversations. Security personnel are on high alert, their hands resting near the insides of their jackets, ready to draw their weapons if the situation demands it.
Every passerby could pose a threat.
“You sure about this?” Ivy questions, concern etched on her face.
“It’s time,” I reply, taking a deep breath filled with the heavy air that’s far from the pristine views of the Manhattan skyline.
Ivy bangs on the door, and within moments, a tall blonde swings it open. I lean slightly forward, locking eyes with her. Fear radiates from her.
“Elise,” she hesitates, struggling to get the words out.
“I’m here to see my sister,” I state firmly.
Her mouth opens, eyes widened in shock as she steps back, allowing us in. Ivy crosses the threshold first, and I follow her inside.
We stand in the open area of a warehouse—nothing glamorous, just some rooms upstairs and an office. This isn’t my first visit, though my sister will remain oblivious.
Ivy wiggles her brows and smirks. “Cute.”
Robyn, with the black hair, runs down the stairs, frustration evident on her face. “What the hell?” she whispers, clearly unsettled. But as soon as her eyes land on us, her expression shifts. She falls silent, stepping back up the stairs in shock, disbelief etched across her features.
I take a moment to assess the two girls—Lacey and Robyn, part of my little sister’s circle. I have gathered files an inch thick on both of them, as well as the other one, Ruby. It’s important for me to know who my sister is spending time with, even when she insists I stay out of her affairs.
“Can I make you some coffee?” Lacey asks, tiptoeing past Ivy, whose eyes follow the girl.
“That would be great,” Ivy chuckles. She’s clearly amused by how frightened the girls are to be in our presence.
A smile breaks across the girl’s face, a spark of light returning to her eyes. “Just give me five minutes.” She strolls over to the kitchen, her back turned to us as if she’s deliberately avoiding our gaze, getting lost in her task.
My feet freeze in place, drawn to the corner where I find my mini me. Every nerve in my body is alive, tingling with anticipation as if a thousand tiny creatures were scuttling beneath my skin. With each thump of my heart, I feel fate nudging me closer to her.
She exhales a cloud of smoke into the air, refusing to look at me or even open her eyes. “What do you want?”
I clasp my hands behind my back, mainly to hide the trembling. I’m not afraid of my sister. It’s not her I fear. It’s the worry that I’ve failed her as a sister, and that our relationship may be beyond repair.
“I didn’t know you smoked.”
“I don’t, but I needed something to take the edge off.” She sits up, the joint dangling from her lips, as she strides toward the table. Taking a long drag, she exhales slowly, her eyes locking onto mine. “I guess you heard the Brigadier dumped me.”
I pivot on my heel, meeting her with an indifferent gaze. I gulp, afraid that I’m the true reason for her heartbreak, but she doesn’t need to know that—at least, not now.
“I just wanted to see how you’re doing.”
Her eyes narrow at me, a spark of suspicion igniting. She tries to gauge my thoughts, but she’s never really understood me. “Go fuck yourself, Elise,” she laughs, but there’s an edge to it.
Lacey approaches, coffee in hand, her slight tremble evident as she carefully places it on the table next to me.
A single glance from Ivy prompts her to dash to the kitchen for a second cup, which she offers to Ivy.
Ivy takes a sip, raises an eyebrow in surprise, and responds to Lacey with an appreciative smile and nod.
I pull out a chair and take a seat, gesturing for my sister to join me. To my surprise, she doesn’t resist. Instead, she extinguishes the joint and quietly slides into the seat across from me.
Alexis appears emotionally drained, as if she’s in the midst of a fierce internal struggle that’s on the verge of breaking her. It pains me to see it.
Her head pulls back slightly, and a disbelieving laugh escapes her lips. “Why are you here, Elise? You’ve never bothered to visit me before.”
A heavy silence stretches between us, and my anxiety intensifies. “You’re still my little sister,” I say, reaching out to touch her hand. She immediately withdraws, pulling her knee to her chest and wrapping her arms around herself.
I let out a sigh and take a sip of my coffee. “I’m just trying to protect you.”
“Fuck you. You lost the right to tell me what to do the moment you abandoned me.” Her words are sharp, and while they cut deep, they won’t push me away. Not now.
I know I deserve her anger. After our mother passed away, Alexis left Seattle to be with me.
All she wanted was my time, but I was consumed by my career in the cartel—making deals that were anything but legal.
I didn’t want her entangled in this life.
At twenty-three, I was still figuring things out myself.
I only wanted what was best for her. I convinced myself that if I pushed her away, she would return to Seattle.
But the truth is, she’s more like me than we care to admit. Instead of leaving, she stayed. She learned how to be a killer and became the leader of her own squad. She did exactly the opposite of what I wanted.
She became me.
“I made a lot of mistakes, and I regret them, but I’ve always had your back, even when you thought I wasn’t.”
She shoots a piercing glare at Ivy. “Sending your minion isn’t the same as protecting me.” She stands abruptly, knocking her chair to the floor, and points a finger at me. “You should have been there for me!” she yells.
Alright, I see we’re diving into this now, and honestly, it’s long overdue.
“You’re my little sister. I wanted to take care of you, that’s why I started working for the cartel. I wanted to give you everything Mom never gave us. I didn’t think of the consequences. This life poses a threat to you.”
“Then you should have let me stay with you. Instead, you pushed me away, leaving me alone until I found my new family.” Alexis glances at her friends, who are stunned, standing there in silence, desperately trying to go unnoticed.
I walk over to her, gently but firmly holding her chin to make her meet my gaze. “And look where that got you.”
“You’re just jealous I managed to do this without you,” she shoots back, defensively.
“Jealous?” I scoff. “Let me ask you, Alexis, what did Petrov do to you?” I snarl, my grip tightening on her chin.
She jerks away, her eyes avoiding mine, an obvious sign that he hurt her.
“More importantly, why did he attack you?” I press, but we both already know the answer.
Guilt washes over me, a sharp sting in my chest, knowing that I’m the reason for her pain. I step back, turning to Ivy, struggling to hold back the tears threatening to spill.
Ivy grips my hand tightly as I take a moment to regain my breath, calm my nerves, and find my footing.
I turn to my sister. “I am the most powerful woman in organized crime.”
“I get it. You’re better than me, and I’m nothing compared to you,” she snaps, her eyes locked onto mine with defiance.
“That also means I have countless enemies—men who would kill me, my husband, and my son.” The mention of my son makes her shift uncomfortably.
“Your nephew, whom you’ve never met.” I see the pain in her eyes, and I understand why. I deliberately distanced her from the Savins and the Bratva, not out of distrust for them, but out of fear that others in the Bratva would discover I had a little sister.
“I needed you to stay away because I wanted to protect you.” I step closer and hold her arm. “I knew that if those enemies found out you were my little sister, they’d try to hurt you. Just like Petrov did.”
I edge closer. “Alexis, I love you more than I love myself. That will never change.”
Her tear-filled eyes gaze up at me, and I hold her tightly as if I could shield her from all the pain. She wraps her arms around me, her tears soaking into my dress.
“I love him,” she cries, her voice breaking with each word, revealing the depth of her heartache.
I rub her back, recalling the unbearable moment when I lost Dmitri, a pain I thought would never fade. “I know,” I soothe her.
I pull back just enough to rest my forehead against hers. “Listen to me carefully, Valentin is a Brigadier, and I need you to stay away from him. He’s dangerous.”
Her expression shifts. The heartbreak is evident, yet there’s also a spark of defiance in her gaze—an indication that she might be plotting her own course of revenge.
“I promise, Petrov will face justice for what he did to you. But there are complexities in play that you can’t involve yourself in. Promise me you’ll stay away from Valentin.”
I cup her cheeks in my hands, gripping firmly to ensure our eyes lock.
“Alexis, you have to promise me that you’ll stay away from Valentin,” I warn, my voice intense.
I tilt her face slightly, my jaw clenched in determination, making sure she grasps the weight of my words.
“Promise me?” I warn her, searching her eyes for a sign of understanding.
Alexis meets Ivy’s unwavering gaze, her arms crossed firmly behind her. Ivy’s intense look is a clear signal for her to pay attention to what’s being said. Alexis nods, “Alright,” she whispers.
I kiss her forehead, creating an unspoken moment of truce between us. We don’t need to figure everything out right now.
“I need to leave,” I say softly. “Once everything is settled, I’ll return, and I hope you’ll want to meet your nephew.”
“I’d love that,” she replies quietly, her body still and weary, as if she’s lost and desperately trying to navigate through her day.
“I love you,” I remind her, then step back, rejoining my security team waiting by the front door. Their watchful gaze on the girls serves as a reminder that I am in control.
I shoot a glance back at her. “Stay away from Valentin,” I growl, making it clear this is the last warning.
She gives me a weak shrug, as if she can’t help that she wants revenge against the man who shattered her heart rather than the one who harmed her. Her desire for retribution consumes her so deeply that she’s prepared to die for it.