Page 4 of The Lazarov Bratva

“Bullshit. I would have made us look stronger than we fucking are. I’m the one who deals with the families directly. I’m the one who sees who is loyal and who is wavering. Yet Aleksander thinks niceties and parties are the way to win respect.” The glass in my hand clatters to the bottom of the sink as a wave of frustration fueled by my hangover swells in my chest.

I would do better. People would fear the Russian Mafia like in the days of old before the Italians started doing business at banquets.

“You shouldn’t talk like that,” Nastja warns. “You’re just asking for trouble.”

“Nastja, did you forget your place? You are in no position to tell me what I can and can’t do. I trust you, both of you, with my life. But do not forget who brought you to America, who gave you the life you live now and saved our family. I am your older brother.”

“I speak from a place of love, not disrespect,” Nastja says. “You know we are with you, no matter what.”

“Just keep talk like that away from Alena’s party, or we’re all in trouble,” Ivan mutters.

I straighten immediately—Alena’s party.

Of course.

Alena Orlova turns eighteen today, and I’ve been looking forward to seeing her in her prime. My promise to Aleksander to protect her with every fiber of my soul has been true since the day I uttered those words, but I would be lying to myself if I ignored how she had caught my eye.

With each visit, she grew more and more beautiful, and it has been a few months since I last saw her. I can only imagine the depths of her beauty now, and it has not gone unnoticed how her eyes never leave me when we are in the same room. She is a sheltered girl, unaware of the hardships in the world, but she does little to hide her interest, even if it is likely the fleeting crush of a teenage girl.

Still, I have entertained her in my mind often enough.

“Ivan, I need you to swing by the Petrov house for a once-over. If the cops are there, see if you can’t persuade them to look toward the Irish. Nastja, give Anders a call and see what you can get from the body in the river. I did my job, but we can’t have anything leading back to us.”

“Understood,” they say in unison. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Hanging up, the ache in my skull eases at the thought of the party. I need to talk to Aleksander anyway, and if I happen to see the birthday girl, even better.

Back in the bedroom, I grab last night’s bloodied shit from the floor and lightly slap the bare calf of the sleeping woman. She wakes with a start, yawning, and pushes one hand through her hair. As she moves, her other wrist is still handcuffed to the bed and the metal clangs as she shifts. That reminder of last night, combined with Alena in my thoughts, makes my cock throb.

She’s eighteen now. Would she survive the dark desire that lurks in my heart?

“Get up,” I instruct, tossing her the keys. “We have a party to go to.”

“Morning to you too,” she groans.

“It’s evening.”

“Whatever.”

“What was your name again?”

“Melanie,” she replies, unlocking herself from the cuff. “Charming.”

“I don’t pay for your attitude. I paid for your cunt. Names mean nothing.”

Melanie rolls her eyes and nods. “And you’ll pay for the extra hours?”

“I’m a man of my word.”

Leaving Melanie to get dressed, I head back into the lounge, buttoning up my ruined shirt as I go. It’s already late, and if I want to even glimpse Alena, I have to leave now, shower be damned. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve turned up to one of these looking less than perfect, and I take twisted pleasure in seeing Mara, Aleksander’s wife and Alena’s mother, utterly distraught at how my presence ruins her perfect dinners.

She’s a cold bitch, and my loyalty to protect the Orlova family doesn’t extend to her. Not in private, anyway.

“Hurry up,” I snap loudly to Melanie, and she yells back something I don’t quite catch.

In the cabinet, beneath empty bottles of whiskey and an overflowing ashtray, are two wrapped presents for Alena. I’d bought them on my last trip out of the country, and they have sat here awaiting her birthday. I tuck the smaller one into my pants pocket and set the other on the cabinet.

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