Page 40 of Anastasia

“Does it hurt?” I asked.

I touched her bare ass, only for her to flinch in pain. It felt like her skin was heating up against my palm.

“Kiss me,” I ordered.

When she didn’t bother to make a move, I grabbed her and pulled her toward me. My lips met hers as her mouth opened, allowing me to explore. As her greedy tongue darted into my mouth, I slowly pulled away just to tease her.

“I’ll be back, Bambolina.” I smirked.

Trailing down the hall, I entered my office before shutting the door behind me. I sat down and opened a letter I had received from a worker of mine.

Suddenly, my office door opened, and my younger brother walked in. He seated himself down on the chair in front of my desk.

“When can I tell Orabella about her father?” he asked.

I noticed the looks he was giving the girl when they were together. Almost every second, he was right beside her. The way his guilt formed over his features didn’t go unnoticed. I hated how lovesick he was and it only grew with each day that passed.

“Later,” I muttered dismissively. If I didn’t love my brother, I would have told him never. I would have said that she means absolutely nothing to him, nor should she. I couldn’t understand how he could like a girl whose father was responsible for ruining our lives.

“Valentino, how long can you expect me to keep this from her?” he questioned.

“Excuse me, Vincenzo, I must’ve fucking stuttered so bad that you couldn’t understand me. I said you will tell herlater. Do you want to jeopardize what we’ve been working on our entire lives? What happened to doing this for family, huh?” I questioned.

He clenched his jaw angrily before turning to look away from me.

“One day, I’m going to be done being your cover-up. I’m going to be done with this place andeverythinginvolved with you. I don’t even care about this damn plan, Valentino! You do! The truth is, I don’t even think this is about avenging our family. This is about you making up for being a fucking coward!” Vincenzo shouted angrily before walking out of the room and slamming the door behind him.

I stared at my door for I don’t know how long. Hurt enveloped me like a blanket. My own brother thought of me as some monster. My own brother who I raised with my bare hands, looked at me with hate. I let my gaze fall to my hands, where I found myself toying with a pen as his words replayed in my head over and over again.

This is about you making up for being a fucking coward.

Valentino

We had a huge shipment coming in and I needed all of my best men to handle it. Checking my clock, I remembered how I was supposed to have a meeting with a Russian alliance of mine.

The doors opened and Adrik Zolotov walked into my office. His hair was tied back, and he was wearing his usual suit before sitting down in the chair that was waiting for him in front of my desk.

“The shipment should be there once the sun goes down. You get your weapons, I get my money,” he stated before leaning back in my chair with an unbothered look on his face.

“The money is ready for you. All I need is your part of the deal,” I informed him.

“Why don’t you do narcotics? We can make more money that way,” he wondered. His light Russian accent sometimes made it challenging to understand what he said, but after years of dealing with him—I managed to comprehend. A smirk fell on my face as I tsked.

“Drugs are messy. Weapons are easy,” I explained before getting up from my seat and walking around the desk as I buttoned the last button to my suit jacket. He stood up and nodded his head before shaking my hand.

“See you around, Valentino,” Adrik stated before sliding on a pair of sunglasses. I watched him exit the office with his men following him out the door.

“One more question; what do you know about Dmitri Ivanov?” I asked, hoping he could give me more information than what I had. Adrik worked closely under Dimitri for years, it wasn’t until Dimitri cut him off that Adrik began to build his own empire.

Adrik turned around and thought about it for a while, his eyebrows furrowed.

“About as much as I know about you,” he stated before walking away. He snapped his fingers as he walked, signaling one of his hired men to stay put as he looked at me.

Adrik was never much of a talker. He never spoke to anyone. It took him a while to open up to me.

“Dmitri Ivanov once requested to do an alliance with our Don, Zolotov, but Zolotov immediately declined the offer. He didn’t like the way Dmitri ran his business. He was too personal, and he spoke of wanting to go to war… with you,” the man informed me with a curt nod.

“Thank your boss for me.” I grinned.

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