Page 10 of Bratva Knight

Aleksandr was in his office, dealing with the aftermath of the attack. He’d spent the last few hours driving to all the homes of our fallen soldiers to deliver the news of their deaths personally. Every single one of them had taken a toll on him, but the worst one by far was Dayton.

Dayton was Mikhail's son. His long-lost son that he had no idea about until recently. Mikhail sent him here to be trained. He’d grown up as a civilian, not privy to the life of organised crime. And as such, he didn’t really have the stomach for some of the things he’d witnessed. Apparently, the kid had thrown up and cried after watching someone die. Something like that was dangerous for a man like Mikhail, whose reputation determined whether or not he lived or died.

So Aleksandr was assigned to train him. Toughen him up. Teach him how to fight. How to hold a gun. How to shoot. After spending a bit of time together, they had grown somewhat close. That kid had somehow managed to worm his way into my big brother’s guarded heart. I don’t think evenhenoticed how much so, until the kid died.

I’d only ever seen Aleksandr break down like that one other time: when we found our mother’s body. And it had taken five men to subdue him in his fit of rage.

So you can imagine my surprise when that tiny woman, Drea Ortega, Don of the Los Zeta Cartel, had managed to do it all on her own. It shocked me right to my very core. It left me completely speechless.

I’d known from the start that they shared some sort of connection. Aleksandr wasn’t merciful—furthest thing from it, in fact. He had no problem hurting whoever he needed to to get the answers he wanted.

But with Drea, there’d been hesitation, reluctance. And then flat-out refusal. He’d even gone so far as to hurt one of our own men because he’d struck her. Never in my life had I ever seen him remotely protective or possessive over a woman. Until her.

Arturo’s pacing stopped the moment Illayana’s door opened. He marched towards her, grabbing the sides of her face in a tender embrace. “You’ve been crying,” he whispered softly, resting his forehead against hers.

Illayana closed her eyes briefly, breathing him in, a loving smile creeping onto her face. “I’m fine.”

Arturo looked deep into her eyes. “No. You’re not.” He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, caressing her cheek.

“Aw, you guys!” Tatiana gushed, fanning her face like she was about to cry. “You’re so cute!” The annoyed look Arturo threw her way suggested that he didn’t like being called “cute”.

I got to my feet and Illayana stepped away from Arturo to give me a hug. “Thanks for coming to check on me, Nik. You really didn’t have to.”

I patted her on the back, not saying a word. Of course, there was a part of me that was concerned about her. After she ran out of Father’s office upon hearing the news of his disappearance, we were all worried. I had started to follow her when Tatiana stopped us and said she would handle it.

But I’d be lying if I didn’t say that themainreason I was there was because of the beautiful blonde bombshell standing next to her.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” I said, pulling back.

Arturo swooped right back in, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and steering her back to her room. “It’s late. You need to rest.”

Illayana didn’t fight him. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, T. Well, later today, since it's like 3 a.m.,” she chuckled.

“Catch you then, girly,” Tatiana winked, waggling her fingers in farewell.

Once the door shut behind them, our eyes locked, the air around us charging with sexual tension. Neither one of us could help it. Our gazes were drawn to one another, determined to find each other even if we were lost in a sea of people. It was out of our control.

“You’re staring,” Tatiana sang, humour in her voice.

I arched a brow. “So are you.”

She laughed softly, and it was the most beautiful sound I ever heard. It felt like it had been a lifetime since I heard her laugh like that. A genuine one, from the heart, not riddled with contempt or annoyance.

“Alright, you got me there.” She gave me the smallest playful smile before it shifted to her other smile—her fake one. The one she always wore around me.

From an outsider’s perspective, it looked like a normal smile. Like she was happy to see me. Happy to talk to me. But I could tell the difference. The tiny crinkle at the corner of her lips. The way her eyes dulled the slightest touch when she looked at me. The disdain layered in her voice when she spoke to me. It all showed that she hadn’t forgiven me for what happened.

“I’m…uh, gonna get going,” she said, turning around and heading for the stairs.

I knew what that meant, and I wasn’t fucking having it.

“It’s three o’clock in the morning, Tatiana. You’re not running home.”

“Give it a rest, Nicky. I’m not in the mood to listen to you throw a tantrum right now.”

Annoyance flared inside me at her dismissive tone. I followed her down the stairs, trying to rein in my temper. Tatiana combated anger with anger. I wouldn’t get anywhere if I yelled at her and told her what to do. She didn’t take commands very well (at least, not outside of the bedroom).

“I’ll drive you home.”

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