Chapter 15 Kole
fifteen
Kole
Red tinges my vision as I storm into the dining area from the kitchen. If my father had my mother killed…all this time, I thought Alexei had something to do with it.
“Ni—Nikolai!” Mikhail Vasiliev looks at me like he’s seen a ghost.
My father’s guards keep their hands on their weapons. “Holy shit, I think he got bigger,” one of them mutters.
Somehow, I am not hit with a bullet, nor am I stopped in any way as I rip the comm out of my ear and stalk up to the man I called father. Wrapping my hand around his neck, I push him against the wall. His chair falls to the wayside, and Alexei steps carefully out of my path of destruction.
The man I used to be so afraid of stares at me with wide eyes, before they wildly look around the room.
“Stand down,” Alexei gives the order to my father’s men, and surprisingly, they listen. “I would like to see how this plays out.”
“Kole!” Lisichka cries out, the accent that I love so much falling back into her voice. “Sugar Bear, you were supposed to wait!” Her heels click on the tile as she walks to me. Then she huffs, crossing her arms. “Well, I suppose it is more fun this way.”
Father’s eyes nearly bug out when they land on Jo, the reality of his situation sinking in. “You—” he chokes out, but I squeeze his throat tighter.
“It’s mighty nice to meet you, Mikhail,” her grin is sharp and cutting, “I’m Jo Harding, Destroyer of Alphas.”
A laugh of disbelief leaves Alexei, and I turn my head to snarl at him, holding my father in place even though he struggles against me.
“Alexei, if you get in our way, we will kill you,” Luka’s voice sounds behind me, and Alexei scoffs.
“Why would I get in your way? You’re doing the hard part for me.”
Curious.
Father’s eyes bulge out, and I let off his windpipe a little. “You traitor!” He spits at his former right-hand before turning to Jo. “And you! You murderous little bi—” Not wanting to hear his vitriol against my omega, I tighten my hold again before turning back to Alexei.
“Explain. You were also using this as an opportunity to overthrow Otets?”
Alexei considers me for a moment before nodding. “It does seem that perhaps we could have been on the same team this entire time.”
“What exactly are you getting at?” Illya asks, his tone rightfully suspicious.
“And what did he mean about you being in love with my mother?” I growl, my hand tightening around my father’s neck.
“Fellas,” Jo cuts in, looking around at all of us. “Why don’t we have some men babysit Mikhail here in the back while y’all figure out what to do now that you’ve found yourselves tryin’ to take over the same crime family?”
If anyone else had suggested it to me at that moment, I might have torn their head clean from their body. But coming from my lisichka, who I would give my very soul to the devil for?
It is the best damn thing I’ve ever heard.
“That,” Alexei lets out a sigh, “is an excellent idea.”
Two tables have been pushed together, and now Luka, Illya, Alexei, Jo, and I sit together, our plates empty. Father is being held in the back by Sam, one of Illya and Luka’s men, and one of Alexei’s men.
With all of our guards at the ready, the room is tense, but it’s not as tense as it could be, considering we seem to have a common goal with my father’s right-hand.
Alexei will need to answer a few questions before I let him leave here alive though.
Like what the hell my father meant about him being in love with my mother.
“Who else do you have with you?” Alexei asks, and I hesitate to tell him about West and Hayden, who are nearby for backup.
“My other two mates,” Jo lifts her chin defiantly, throwing caution out the window.
I suppress the urge to facepalm.
“Other…two mates?” He frowns, looking between the four of us. “So you have six total?”
A growl raises in my chest at the implication.
Jo snorts out a laugh while Illya and Luka raise their hands in front of them, stumbling over denials and explanations.
“We would never—”
“It’s not like that—”
What, now they think Jo is not good enough for them?
“You should be so lucky to have an omega like mine.” The snarl leaves me, and then my lisichka is sliding off her chair and into my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing a kiss to my jaw.
My hands slide around her waist, and even though I can’t scent her with the blockers she has on, her mere presence calms me considerably.
“They didn’t mean it like that, and you know it,” Jo tuts, shifting her hips as she gets comfortable. She turns to Alexei. “No, the Vasiliev twins are not a part of my pack. We just needed a reason to set up the meetin’ with Mikhail to distract him—”
“Hold on there, Sestrenka,” Illya cuts in, and my alpha settles even more when he calls her “sister” in Russian. “We must not give away all of our secrets just yet.”
My omega rolls her eyes. “We’re obviously all on the same side here, but sure, go on.”
Luka gives her a look, then turns to Alexei, who is now looking at us with a perplexed expression.
It seems that neither of us want to lay all our cards on the table.
Luka and Illya do not say a word.
This entire plan hinged on the dinner being with our father. I ruined that when I lost my temper and stormed in too early.
Though, perhaps it would not have mattered anyway, given that Alexei clearly had plans of his own.
“Listen,” Jo huffs after a moment, “this ain’t about your feelin’s, you don’t have to be afraid to talk.
” She turns towards Alexei. “You clearly know who I am. And if you know that, then you also know I would not be workin’ with these two bozos if they were plannin’ to keep traffickin’ omegas…
which means, they want out of the sex-trade business. ”
He hesitates amid Illya and Luka’s noises of protest at being called “bozos”, but he nods.
“And,” my clever omega continues, “if you were not on the same page, you would have had your men kill us all where we stood the moment Kole burst in here, correct?”
“That is correct,” Alexei answers, with more confidence this time.
“Now,” Jo continues, shifting so her elbows are on the table, “there’s still the question of what you were goin’ to do with Mikhail’s forces after removin’ him as head of the family. Were you tryin’ to take the power for yourself?”
Alexei sighs, running a hand over his face before turning to me. “You…you are on board with everything your brothers are doing?”
Frowning, my hands tighten their grip on Jo. “Yes.”
He smirks, tilting his head. “Then…maybe I should let them kill your father and then turn everything over to you”
Pushing my shock away, I shake my head. “I don’t want it.”
“Why would you give it to him and not us?” Luka snaps. “We could solve this whole issue by having Nikolai go into the kitchen right now and bark at the bastard to sign the amendment that nullifies every asset going to you upon his death.”
“Luka—” Illya starts, but Alexei stands suddenly, cutting him off.
“Did you even read the document?” he snaps. “Or did you just hear about it through your little spies?”
Luka’s mouth gapes open.
“That’s right,” Alexei spits, “I’ve known all about your little plots for years.
You’re lucky your father isn’t as smart as I am.
” He braces his hands on the table. “The document states that all assets go to me if either of you two were the ones to cause his death. And that, you idiots, is why I was orchestrating his death. So that the two of you could inherit without any issues or questions on leadership, but now, I’m wondering if you are up to the task, considering how royally you just fucked all this up. ”
“Well, shit.” Luka rubs his jaw.
I tense considerably. I am an idiot. Luka and Illya were stringing Father along perfectly until I lost my temper. If it were not for the fact that Alexei had apparently already gotten Father’s men on his side, we would all be dead.
“They did not fuck it up—I did.” I frown, even as Jo leans back and rests her head on my chest. And then, the strangest thing happens.
She starts to…purr.
I feel my muscles instantly relax, the tension in my shoulders easing as Jo uses her omega magic to calm me down.
“What the hell is that?” Luka gapes, and I tense again, making Jo’s purr grow even louder.
“Shut the fuck up,” Jo snaps, “I’m calmin’ down my alpha, so let me do my damn job. I’m tryin’ out this little thing called ‘not fightin’ my instincts’.”
“So you are not only the Destroyer of Alphas, but the tamer of them as well.” Alexei tilts his head in interest.
“Only three alphas.” Hayden’s voice has me whipping around in my seat, and when my eyes land on him and West being led into the restaurant by two of Alexei’s men, I let out a low growl. They are being pushed in by the muzzle of a gun. “And a beta, if you want to get technical.”
My omega stiffens when her eyes land on her mates.
“Alexei?” Jo asks in that sugary sweet voice that promises violence as she stands from my lap, running her hands down the skirt of her dress.
“Would you pretty please explain to me why you have two of my mates at gunpoint when I thought we were makin’ such good progress? ”
Before anyone can blink, she is standing behind him, her brand new blade at his throat as she leans down next to his ear. Twenty guns immediately point at my mate, and I snarl, standing from my seat and sending my chair clattering to the floor.
“Stand down, men.” Alexei raises his hands in surrender as the guards hesitantly lower their weapons. “Apologies. We did not know they were your men, we only saw a pizza delivery van get suspiciously close to the restaurant.” He taps his ear to demonstrate that he too is wearing a comm-device.
Jo scowls down at him. “And what if it was just a couple of innocent pizza delivery boys who wanted a closer look at a sex club?”
“They thought it might be the case until they saw the surveillance equipment inside.” Alexei shrugs, wincing slightly as the edge of her blade stays pressed to his skin.
“Are you okay, Darlin’?” Jo asks, looking up. “Doctor?”
“We’re fine, Fireball.” Hayden grins, seemingly unphased as he approaches the table and pulls out a seat. “You’re acting like this is anything but a regular Tuesday for us.”
A smile tugs at her lips. “West?”
“All good, Siren.” West nods. “No bodily harm. Where’s Sam?”
“In the back with two guards and an incapacitated Mafia boss.” She turns her head back towards Alexei. “Now, have the two idiots pushin’ them around take a big step back.”
Alexei barks, “You heard the lady. Back off.” Once the idiots in question do as Jo says, she removes her blade from Alexei’s neck, and even though he’s keeping himself composed, I can see the way he relaxes slightly.
That is, until Jo awkwardly pats his head like a dog.
“Um…sorry about that. I get a little testy when my pack is involved.”
But Alexei doesn’t balk. He doesn’t yell. He doesn’t ask what the hell is wrong with her.
He…smiles.
Turning to Illya and Luka with a shit-eating grin, he crosses his arms. “I have a deal for you.”
“Oh?” Illya mirrors Alexei’s stance. “And what would that be?”
“I want you to sign a legal document that states that if you ever bring the Vasiliev family back into the ways of Mikhail, Jo Harding will be the one to carry out your execution.”