29. Valentin
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
VALENTIN
The Scotch burns as it slides down my throat, but the flames aren’t enough to erase her from my mind.
It’s been a week since I threw Lexi out of my loft, and her cries still linger, haunting me.
I’ve been drowning myself in alcohol since then, but no amount of drunkenness can wash her taste from my lips.
I slam the glass down on the table, harder than I need to.
I look past the half-dressed women in front of me, trying to ignore the energy of the club. This is Bratva territory—our kingdom.
So, why does it seem like I’ve become a stranger to myself? Is it because I’ve lost my sense of identity without her by my side?
She’s out there right now, planning to destroy me with those beautiful, deadly hands. Soon, I’ll see her again, with lust for blood in her eyes.
A blonde slides into the seat next to me, her lips painted red, her cleavage on display. “You look lonely,” she says, her voice as silken as chiffon.
Against my better judgment, I somehow lift my gaze to the stunning woman before me. If it had been months ago, I would have wasted no time, already having her in the back with her skirt lifted and my cock long since buried in her.
“Not interested,” I reply decisively, turning my head away from her and focusing on the crowd, my gaze drifting aimlessly.
“Come here, darling. I’m very interested,” Petrov chuckles as he pats his knee, and the blonde effortlessly settles onto his lap.
“Brigadier, are you seriously still hung up on Elise’s little sister? What’s her name again? Lexi, right?”
The sound of her name on his tongue surges a possessive rage that roars through me, immediate and overwhelming.
“I almost had her,” Petrov whispers, his voice deadly quiet.
“She looked so fucking innocent on her knees. I took too long with her, you know? The feeling of her pink lips on the tip of my cock. I almost tasted her. I was about to thrust my cock into her mouth, but that fucking maintenance guy interrupted us.”
For one terrifying moment, I see Lexi on her knees, tears streaming down her face, pleading with him to stop. The image chills me to the bone, and I take a deep breath, struggling to rein in my anger before I crush his windpipe. Why didn’t she tell me?
“Is that how you got that scar on your face?” I point my finger at the cut across his cheek.
“I’m going to make her pay for that,” he snarls, fire blazing in his eyes.
“Watch yourself,” I warn, my voice dropping to a dangerous register that makes hardened killers back off. “No one kidnaps a Brigadier and gets away with it. She’s mine to kill.”
“As long as you let me have some fun with her first.” His eyes bulge, filled not with fear but with a fierce rage. A boisterous laugh erupts from him. “Anyway, we’re not here about the girl.” He lifts his glass in a toast, and I tap mine against his. “We’re here to declare war on the Savins!”
“Fuck Andrei!” I say, my voice steady despite the earthquake happening inside me.
“When I heard that you were fighting with Andrei, I knew it was time to meet. We have to take down those bastards.”
An unexpected wave of sadness washes over me, but I quickly push it aside. I never imagined the Coalition, the world’s largest Bratva, being torn apart like this from the inside.
“Maybe,” I say, anger bubbling up in my veins.
“The Savins are always looking to change things for their own greed. When will it end? They’ve invited Elise to the Coalition table, a woman leading the Bratva! Their father would turn in his grave.”
I clench my teeth at the mention of their father, who was my best friend.
He pulls the girl closer by her hair, locking his lips with hers in a deep, forceful kiss, his spit remaining on her mouth. I can’t help but wonder if he’s kissed Lexi, too.
“It only gets worse,” Petrov says, his light brown eyes glinting with disdain. “Even the Colonel has become weak marrying that redhead and letting her work for his army. It’s time we return the Bratva to the way things used to be.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I say, forcing steel into my voice. “We don’t have the men to overthrow Andrei.”
“And that’s why the Bratva needs you. The men in the Bratva respect you, Valentin. They will follow you.”
He takes a long, drawn-out sip of his drink. “You should have been named Pakhan, not Andrei.”
I never wanted to be the Pakhan. That role was destined for Andrei. He was the right choice. On the day he received the Pakhan ring, my pride swelled. I was the first to bow and kiss it, honoring his rightful authority.
That memory is vivid in my mind, as if it happened yesterday.
I’m lost in thought when the sudden presence of security disrupts me.
The man leans in to whisper something to Petrov.
After a brief pause, Petrov nods, granting approval for whatever is being asked.
“Seems that your girl is here to kill me. Maybe even you.”
A smile tugs at the corner of my mouth. “Is that so?”
Good girl. Lexi has arrived just as expected.
“You scared?” he mocks, as though fear is the only reasonable response I should have.
“Not at all.” I smile as I lean back in my chair, crossing my legs over my knees.
“Don’t underestimate her.” He points at the scar across his cheek. “She’s crazy, you know, just like her sister.”
I take a sip of my drink, savoring the liquor slowly as I wait for her.
So, Lexi, you actually came here to murder me?
That thought should terrify me. Strangely, it only brings a tickle to my cock because it means she’s at least thinking about me.
My heart races, sensing her presence in the air around me.
And that’s when I see her.
Time feels as if it is paused entirely. The breath escapes my lungs in a hurried rush, and in that moment, I lose all sensation of my body within my own skin.