Page 54 of Viripotent

It slips out without meaning to and she takes offense, pushing at my shoulder and twisting away from me. My fuck up has the beauty leaving, and she latches on to the age jokes speaking slowly and loudly.

“I... have... to... go... now... old... man.”

She flashes a dazzling smile as she turn and tries to hide her laugh as she bursts out of the office. She doesn’t lower her voice as she brings her audience into the pantomime my life has become.

“Give him apple sauce and make sure he doesn’t fall. Broken hips are a problem with the older generation.”

Valentin’s smirk comes above her head as he nods, listening to her command.Viktor is looking up at her with a wide smile as though he’s meeting his idol and Vitali is stood on his crutches looking between the two of us.

I’m sure I was cursed at birth. A witch put a fucking hex on me, so I’d never know peace. I rub my temple as two sets of footsteps and the crutches clicking move closer indicating more theatrics. Even Viktor is struggling to hold his usual scowl. The little traitor. Vitali’s limping form doesn’t dim his dumbass excitement or his approval.

“I like her, I always wanted a sister, and it looks like she’ll turn you into one.”

There’s no tantrum as the other two agree and I mark this moment as the beginning of losing control of my own fucking family.

Vitali stays on babysitting duty despite Viktor being the grown up reminding him to do his therapy and Valentin lingers waiting for them to leave. He doesn’t bitch, since seeing proof of the reason I’m doing this shit in the youngest of us limping he’s calmed down with the dramatics. Making himself useful, he asks for something not many people have the spine to and fewer would be considered on my part.

“Promise me you won’t take it too far.”

It’s not needed when I would give them anything they want. They even had the option not to follow into the Bratva considering they rejected their Russian roots while they were in school and took on the Americanized shortening of their names with everyone other than me.

Nodding my head because the only people worth my word are under this roof, he pulls his phone out showing me a picture of a little girl. She’s younger than Viktor and there’s a splitsecond where I contemplate killing him for the first time in his life before he speaks, clearing his name.

“Who does she look like?”

I don’t make it a habit to look at children, the dark web forums have altered the way my brain views the images, so I never pick up any details or I’d become a psycho killing everyone in my path.

Taking his phone, I look for any familiarity, and my brows come together when it hits.

“She’s Kadare’s granddaughter, not by blood. I saw her when I was dropping Inessa off at Steorra and I checked it out, her birth parents aren’t registered but it’s him. Even without DNA she’s his fucking double.”

My voice is low as I check that the door is closed and look back to the device.

“Is she Viktor’s sister?”

Leno’s features are obvious and that fucking slimy rat disappears before we can ever trap him. I know my brother wants to kill him for his part in how his son came into this earth, but I have my own reasons for keeping him alive.

Valentin is rarely quiet, or hesitant, and he drops down into the seat opposite me as he scrubs a hand over his head. His face contorts, and he avoids my eyes as he says, “That bitch isn’t his fucking mother, whatever else fell out of her cunt has nothing to do with my son.”

I pass his phone back and shrug.

“You fucked her, it should have been something you thought about. But if she is his sister, that makes her doubly ours. Go change the records to show that cunt is our bloodline.”

He nods and drags his ass to the door. Pausing before he opens it, he turns to me, looking like a child.

“You won’t hurt a kid, right?”

He doesn’t allow me to answer and shakes his head, gaining more strength.

“She might grow up to be a cunt like him, but we’re nothing like Anika or Len, so you’ll let her decide?”

I nod once and he relaxes smiling to himself.

“Yeah, thought so,” he reaffirms his thoughts.

TWENTY-TWO

Vlad

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