Chapter 9
nine
Jo
Lacing up my black combat boots, I stand from the bed and check out my reflection.
Dark jeans, a black tank top, and a leather jacket complete the look, while my high ponytail really reinforces the whole badass vibe I’m going for.
My winged eyeliner is sharper than the knives strapped to my thigh, and I look like I’m ready to slit some throats.
It’s the perfect combination for meeting some more of my in-laws.
“You know, I had a dream that you seduced me wearing an outfit like that once,” Hayden pipes up behind me, and I shift my gaze to him in the mirror.
He’s leaning in the doorway of the bedroom, looking fine as hell in a T-shirt and unbuttoned green flannel that brings out his eyes.
“Oh yeah? And how did that dream end?” I flutter my lashes as he walks towards me, placing reverent hands on my waist.
“Well, it started with your boot on my chest and ended with me jizzing in my boxers like a damn teenager.” He leans down, running his nose up my neck. “Fuck, you smell good, Fireball. More…potent than normal. Maybe we have time to—”
“Spray her with a scent neutralizer?” Kole offers, prowling into the room, spray bottle in hand.
His plain black T-shirt stretches tight over his muscles, immediately drawing my eyes to his biceps.
Hm. Maybe that’s where I should bite him when we bond.
“I do not need my brothers getting a whiff of you and trying to keep you for themselves.”
My brows shoot up. “Oh? And I’m just some possession they can steal from their baby brother?”
“Not at all,” he bares his teeth in a feral grin, “they are just the only family I am on good terms with, and I would hate to lose that after I help you murder them.”
“Oh, Sugar Bear,” I purr, taking a step forward, “you are doin’ the opposite of gettin’ my scent to go down—ack!” I sputter and cough as a cloud of mist hits me in the face.
“Sorry, Lisichka,” Kole winces as he keeps spraying my body. “My brothers have just pulled into the compound. I panicked.”
“You better not have messed up my makeup,” I grumble, spinning when he twirls his finger in the air so he can spray my back, “that took me forever to get right.” Since I’m facing the mirror again, I’m able to double-check and make sure my eyeliner hasn’t smudged.
“Don’t worry, Siren. You look as gorgeous as ever.” West walks into the room, his light-blue button-up shirt a stunning contrast against his mahogany skin.
Sam follows close behind him, his black leather jacket adding to his gruff energy. “Though you may not want to trust our judgment, considering we’d all genuinely think the same thing even if you were painted in clown makeup.”
I frown, tilting my head. “I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not.”
Hayden shivers. “Nope. No clown makeup. I hate clowns.”
“I also despise them.” Kole nods seriously. “I will still love you, but will not touch you should you decide to dress in clown attire.”
A smirk tilts at my lips. “Well, damn. There goes my outfit plan for tomorrow.”
Sam rolls his eyes. “If everyone is done fucking around, we have a meeting to attend. Illya and Luka Vasiliev are waiting for us in Declan’s office.”
***
We enter Declan’s home without knocking, my expression one of complete neutrality as I walk in front of my guys. Kole’s words as we left our own home moments ago echo in my mind. “They will test you, Lisichka. They will say things to see how you react. Just be who you are, and we will be fine.”
The guys follow me through the house until I make it to the double doors of Declan’s office. I pause in front of them, taking a deep breath.
“Should we knock?” Hayden whispers, and I shake my head, taking another breath. I can do this. This is my first foray into the mafia world as Jo Gallagher, and I will be successful.
I have to be.
Without a word, I place my hands on each of the door handles and push them open. Pasting a charming smile on my face, I walk into the office, giving a nod to a pensive-looking Declan before turning to Kole’s brothers. “Gentlemen. So sorry to keep you waitin’.”
Two identical men, almost as big as Kole, give me appraising looks as they stand to greet us.
Light brown hair in slicked-back but tight curls brush the collars of their shirts, and their eyes, which are almost identical to my giant, twinkle with warmth as the one on the left reaches his hand out.
“You must be Jo. I am Luka, and this is my brother, Illya.” The fact that he barely has any sort of accent speaks to the fact they must have moved to the States very young, or they were born here.
I shake his hand, my nose twitching slightly at the inoffensive scents of driftwood and something citrusy. When I switch to Illya, the same scent greets me. Huh, I wonder if them being twins makes their scent identical.
Surprisingly, despite the fact they’re identical twins, I have no issue telling them apart. Luka’s aura screams “bad boy”, while Illya might have a permanent stick up his ass.
An observation that’s reinforced when Luka smirks. “It is nice to finally meet the Destroyer of Alphas in the flesh. You are just as beautiful as the rumors say.”
So far this whole introduction is much more informal than I would have expected, but I’m willing to excuse it as the fact we’re basically family.
So I ignore the snarl that comes from Kole, and I tilt my head. “Oh? And just where are these rumors comin’ from?”
The twins take their seats again, making my hackles rise. I’m no longer confused about the intention behind their actions—that is a clear sign of disrespect.
I thought Kole said they would help us? Why would they, though, if they clearly think so little of us?
“Well,” Luka smirks, “mostly my imagination. Plus, knowing the kind of women Kole would bring home to fuck.” My omega rears her jealous head at the words.
Who the hell does this guy think he is, talking about women my alpha has brought home in front of me?
The rage in my chest coils as he just keeps talking. “Always gorgeous, always—”
Before I know what I’m doing, a snarl rips out of me as my hand rips my knife out of its sheath and plunges it in the cushion of his seat—right between his legs. One inch up, and he could forget all about ever fucking anyone ever again.
Fuck the fact these are my mate’s brothers—a line has been crossed, and I will not tolerate it.
It vaguely registers that Declan is muttering something about replacing the upholstery. West and Hayden tense behind me, while Kole and Sam move behind the twins in a protective gesture.
“Let me clarify a few things here, Luka,” I snarl, leaning in close as one hand braces on the arm of the chair, and the other stays on the handle of my knife.
Luka’s blue eyes widen in surprise and a little bit in fear as I keep his stare.
“First—you are here because you need our help obtainin’ power after killin’ your daddy.
We no longer require your safe houses, and Kole is not obligated in any way, shape, or form to help you. ”
He gulps, and I remove my knife from the cushion, taking a step back until my ass hits the ledge of Declan’s desk.
“Secondly, and I mean this with every bone in my meek, omega body—” I pause, looking between the two of them, “—if you ever disrespect mine and my pack’s relationship again—whether that be through commentin’ on my looks in anythin’ but a fuckin’ respectful manner or bringin’ up women my alpha used to take home, I will kill y’all myself.
You know I can, too. It’s right there in my name. ”
Illya and Luka look dumbstruck for a moment, with Illya muttering what sounds like, “Destroyer of Alphas”.
And then…they laugh.
My expression screws up in outrage at their laughter, but before I can follow through on my threat of murder, Luka is holding out his hands in surrender. “I apologize—we apologize, Jo. We have nothing but the utmost respect for you and your pack. Please forgive us for our behavior.”
My jaw drops at the sheer audacity, and I prop my hand on my hip. “And why should we?”
“You must understand…” Illya stands, and Illya follows his lead. “If we are going to throw our lot in with you…place our trust in you to help with our plan to take out our father, we need to make sure you are the real deal.”
A derisive snort bursts out of me. “The real deal?”
“Forgive my impertinence, but you have no idea what we went through when your conviction was announced.”
“What you went through?” Kole looks down at his brothers with his arms crossed. “How could her conviction have affected you in any way?”
“You were already in Thornfield at the time, Nikolai, so you would not know.” Illya shakes his head before turning back to me.
“Our father…he was very threatened by you. An omega, somehow able to take out what he views as the ‘superior’ designation? First, he was paranoid. He started upping the volume of omegas being sold, just so there was less of a chance of a Jo Harding copycat coming into play. He became increasingly suspicious of us when we did not share his paranoia. More so when we suggested we wanted to open our own club and move away from trafficking. This was when we had given up hope of being able to remove him from power ourselves. Then, he somehow convinced himself that you never actually killed anyone, and it was all a facade to strike fear into the hearts of alphas.”
“So,” Luka sighs, running a hand through his hair, “we needed to do our own due diligence to make sure you really are who you say you are, and not some…”
“Omega who took credit for murders she didn’t actually commit,” Illya finishes for him.
“After that display, though, please consider us both thoroughly convinced.” Luka gives a sheepish grin.
Huffing, I cross my arms. On one hand, I can see where they’re coming from, and how they need to cover their asses. On the other hand though, I worked really, really hard to commit those murders and don’t appreciate my efforts being dismissed so easily.
“I s’pose…” I sigh, sticking the point of my blade into Declan’s desk next to me.
“Dammit, Jo, this is new!” Declan grumbles behind me, and I ignore him.
“I can understand. As long as we’re clear movin’ forward, that behavior will not be tolerated.”
“Of course not.” Illya nods once, and Luka matches his movement. “And as a show of good faith, as well as to prove our intentions, we bring you this gift.”
My brows shoot up in surprise as Luka pulls a box out of the inside of his jacket, about eight inches long and four inches wide. He hands it to me with a flourish, and I take it, a little dumbstruck.
A…gift?
“Open it, Lisichka,” Kole encourages, and it’s at that moment I remember what he said about his brothers saying things just to see how I’d react. When he told me, I had imagined them maybe implying they were more on board with the trafficking than Kole had been led to believe, not this.
Glancing at the rest of my guys and only seeing nods of acceptance, I crack open the box. A small gasp leaves me as I take in the steel dagger. The handle is ornate, with pearl and gold inlaid into an ebony wood grip.
“What does that say?” I ask, my finger running along the etching on the metal in awe. The characters are Russian, running down the center of the blade.
“Destroyer of Alphas,” Illya offers. “Our way of proving that we not only condone your actions, but fully embrace them.”
A small smile tilts at my lips, and I take the dagger out of the box, running my finger down the edge of the blade. “Well, it is mighty pretty. Consider yourselves forgiven.”
The room seems to let out a collective breath at my words, and when Declan stands from his desk and offers his seat to me, I take it. Illya and Luka seem to take that as their cue to sit.
“It doesn’t bother you?” West asks, moving to take a seat next to Luka. “The whole…‘Destroyer of Alphas’ thing?”
Luka arches a brow. “Does it bother Nikolai? Or…” He motions with his hands towards Sam, who is still standing behind him, and Hayden.
“Nope,” my pyro moves to sit on the other side of West, his silver lighter now in his hand as he flicks it open and closed, “‘cause Fireball only takes out pieces of shit who deserve it, and we don’t fit into that category.”
“And we do?” Illya arches a brow.
Hayden smirks. “I guess we’ll find out.”
Illya opens his mouth to say something else, but I clap my hands together. “Now, now, boys. Let’s save the fightin’ for later, hm? Right now, we have a plan to map out. Let’s figure out how to best kill Mikhail Vasiliev so we all end up with what we want.”
Luka smirks. “Then we shall begin.”