Page 19 of Andrei's Solnyshko

???

I don’t know how much time has passed, but when I wake up, I find her head cradled into my side, her hair splayed across my chest and her body intertwined with mine. She’s so small, especially compared to me, and she feels fragile, but I know she’s tougher than she looks.

My Angel. I outline her curves with my finger and she wraps her arm across me and snuggles in close. My chest tightens. I knew I wanted her when I first saw her on the security camera, but this is more. In a matter of hours I can no longer breathe without her. She is my oxygen, my pulse, my strength.

Mysolnyshko,my little sun. She brings warmth, she’s a bright spot in my dark world. She’s the angel to my devil. But she’s also devilish, deliciously devilish.

I hate to leave her, but I have work to do. I kiss her shoulder and gently roll her over and sneak out of the bed. I quickly dress and check the door to the playroom, making sure it’s locked.

I head towards the office, passing the dining room and I see the vase has been cleaned up. She was terrified. Of me. I’ll never hurt her, but she’s skittish. Rightfully so. A man used her darkest secrets against her, making her feel smaller than small, and that wasn’t all. He laid his hands on her. He hit her. And as bad as that is, she didn’t have anyone to turn to. And he knew that. He took her away from the few friends she had, and she didn’thave a family to turn to. No one to love her unconditionally. I’m a murderer, but even I have a mother who loves me without judgement. Summer doesn’t have that. She’s never experienced that kind of love. All she’s felt is pain and deceit. Hurt and embarrassment.

I know the way I went about getting her was unusual, but in my life, you have to take what you want and apologize later. Neither of us is normal and we aren’t built to follow society’s rules. We both have a dark side, mine a shade darker, but we’re perfect for each other.

My brother is already waiting for me. “Lev is on his way.”

I raise my finger and intercom Roza and request dozens and dozens of pink rose bouquets. I want them placed throughout the house. The bedroom, the dining room, everywhere there’s a space I want it filled. When I was fucking my angel, I noticed a tattoo of a pink rose on her hip.

Serg raises his eyebrows. "Roses huh? Does that mean she hasn't tried to kill you?"

I laugh, "Not yet."

"And she's everything you expected?"

"And more."

"Would she say the same about you, Brother?"

"She will."

We enter my office and Lev, my head of security, is right behind us. When we arrived yesterday, I was informed that the Southwest side of the perimeter had some activity, but there was no sign of anyone on the property. Could’ve been wildlife, but my gut tells me it’s the enemy. And the fact that it happened after Carlos Caldera was escorted off the casino floor and then went missing, isn’t a coincidence. We were discreet, buttoday we discovered one of my casino employees was funneling information to the Calderas. You can imagine what happened to him.

“Any updates?”

My brother nods to Lev and he answers, “No sign of encroachment. We’ll add extra security to that side of the property.”

Sergei adds, “The word on the street is Carlos is missing and Julio is out for revenge.” His smile is vicious, “You know how I love a good war.”

“Julio should send me a thank you card. The guy was a menace. Family is family, but I doubt Julio is looking to start a war. He knows his small time gang is no match for us.”

Serg adds, “Or, maybe he thinks if he gets lucky and kills enough of us, he’ll quickly rise to the top.”

“Not going to happen.”

“Obviously.” Serg hesitates, “Maybe we should’ve given Julio the opportunity to pay off his cousin’s debt.”

“Are you getting soft, Brother?"

"You know I'm not. If a family member has the funds, we go after them. Now we're out twelve million."

"You know I couldn’t do that.”

“Because you wanted Carlos’s girl.”

“She was never his girl, and do you honestly think Julio would hand over twelve million dollars for his shit cousin. He’d kill him himself.”

“Then the blood would be on his hands, not ours.”

“We are the Bratva, we don’t care how much blood we spill. It’s done, and I’d do it again. Carlos is a loser, a woman abuser, a waste of space. Julio knows that.”

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