Page 74 of Sexting the Silverfox

“Enough!” my father snarls, his shout booming across the room. “Family is family, Audrey. Blood comes before everything else. But like I said, once this whole Abramovic nonsense dies down, once we’re all cleared and back in business, once you’re settled back in New York, I am more than happy to hear a business proposal from your friend here. Consider it a gesture of goodwill. I won’t force you to marry Piotr or anyone else. How does that sound?”

“Like you’ve lost your fucking mind,” I reply. “That’s how that sounds.”

“Grigori, I would never join the Bratva,” Jason says, half-smiling. “I have nothing to gain from that, only headaches and legal complications.”

“You’re not helping,” I blurt out.

But Jason gives me a soft nod. “Audrey, I promised you that everything is going to be okay. I intend to keep that promise,” he says. “Yet I cannot lie to your father. It would be an insult to the man and the Fedorov name. So, allow me to put things in perspective,” he adds and shifts his focus back on Vitaly. “You’re her big brother. You’re supposed to protect her from all those who would do her harm, right?”

“Of course,” Vitaly replies.

“But here you are, pointing a gun at the man she loves, the man who loves her, the father of her child. Are you protecting Audrey now, or are you just satisfying yet another one of your father’s sadistic whims? We all know there is no benefit from keeping Audrey tethered to him like this, aside from asserting his dominance.”

“She’s family,” my brother insists. “Family stays with family.”

“Family by blood is a fucking coincidence. You’re related by accident,” Jason coldly says. “True family is the family you choose to love. Every day, every good day, and every bad day alike. I choose Audrey, Vitaly. I killed Arkady to keep her safe. I was ready to kill your father, as well, to ensure her happiness because I know that if I let her go back with you to New York, it would mean a slow and painful death for her. Is this what you want for your sister, Vitaly? A slow and painful death while your father picks his teeth with your fucking spine?”

There it is the raw anger in my brother’s eyes. If Anton were here, maybe we could get through to him. But even so, without Vitaly’s support, it’s useless. My father curses under his breath and bangs his fist onto the wheelchair’s padded armrest. “Enough with this nonsense!” the old man barks. “We have to go.”

“Is this how you let him push you around?” Jason asks Vitaly, mockery dripping from every word. “I thought you’re the de facto head of the Fedorov Bratva now. The almighty heir. The guy is calling all the shots. All I see is a scared little lapdog still jumping when his daddy says so.”

“You should really mind your words, Jason,” Vitaly hisses.

Fear courses through my veins, as cold as the blue in my brother’s eyes. If there is an unseen force that the universe might employ to stop a bullet from leaving the chamber of his gun, I am now praying for it, summoning it, begging the gods to spare Jason from what’s about to hit him.

“The truth will always bother those who have become accustomed to lies,” Jason says.

The smirk on my father’s lips repulses me. Bile gathers in the back of my throat as I am now guilty of an unconscionable thought. Guilty of the most terrible of sins, wishing Jason had, in fact, killed my father that night. Maybe then I would’ve been free and no longer the prisoner of a man who wants to control me simply to satisfy his own power-hungry whims.

But then Vitaly turns the gun on our father.

And everything changes.

Chapter 29

Audrey

“Ihate to admit it, but Jason does have a point,” Vitaly says.

“What is the meaning of this?” our father gasps. “Point that somewhere else, or I will shove it down your throat!”

Vitaly glances back at the men waiting by the open door. I follow his gaze and realize that they’re not moving. They’re simply standing back, hands in their pockets, watching my brother as he makes his decision. To my astonishment, they’re not jumping in to protect my father. Something is different. Something that might very well change the way the Fedorov Bratva will operate from now on.

My brother has finally asserted himself as the leader. And the men have chosen to follow him. It’s quite the blow to our father, I can see the shock in his eyes.

“I am the heir,” Vitaly says. “You already had me sign all those papers, granting me legal ownership and the administrative authority over our businesses. You had me sitting down with our partners and associates, introducing me as the new head of the Bratva. They acknowledged me. And yet, I’m still taking orders from you. It doesn’t make sense.”

“Vitaly put the fucking gun down,” our father says. “You will regret it.”

“Oh, no, the only thing I regret is not doing this sooner. Maybe things would’ve worked out better for everyone. Maybe Anton and I wouldn’t have gotten shot. We could’ve handled Arkady’s attempt to force his way back into New York ourselves. We could’ve negotiated something to keep Audrey out of his reach, too. If only you’d listened to me in the first place. But you didn’t listen. You never listen. Why put me in charge if you’re still calling the shots?”

I can tell he’s having a hard time holding up that gun, given his recent shoulder injury. Beads of sweat drip along his pale temples, but he refuses to yield. I’ve never been prouder of my brother. Never. I’m seeing a side of him that I haven’t caught a glimpse of since we were children—since the first time that he stood up to our father and ended up in the basement. To this day, I remember the moment he came out of there, merely a boy and the spark was gone from his eyes, never to return.

I’m seeing that spark again, and it fills me with a whole new kind of energy.

“Papa, you’ve gone too far,” I chime in. “Even Vitaly has had enough.”

“You need to shut up and remember your place, Audrey,” he says.

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