Page 64 of Forgotten Vows
Almost as if he sensed my ire, he sighed again and took my hand. “I will be back, Raisa. Nothing could keep me from you two.” He stepped closer and kissed my cheek before leaning in to whisper in my ear. “Nothing except this need to find the ones responsible for ever endangering my family.”
I swallowed hard, stunned at the nefarious deadliness in his tone. This wasn’t a bluff. It wasn’t him talking big. He meant every word.
So as he released my hand and retreated, looking at Lev once more, I watched him stride down the hall and leave us.
With nothing but his vow to protect us to keep me hopeful about the future.
27
IVAN
Walking away from Raisa and Lev was the last thing I wanted to do right now. I’d done it once before and I swore to never abandon them again. Actually, I hadn’t known Lev existed when I broke it off with Raisa that summer years ago.
I was committed to being there for them.
Just not right now.
They would be here, waiting for me, so it wasn’t like this was a grand farewell. I would handle business and come back to them. It was different, and it helped to keep that perspective. Yet, it pained me deep in my heart to have to leave now.
Raisa was strong. She was no wallflower or dainty little weakling. She’d raised Lev to be a strong, brave boy, too.
She’d never admit that she wanted me close so I could comfort her, but I saw the vulnerability lurking in her eyes. I wished more than anything that I could be the loving man she wanted me to be. In the aftermath of what happened at Lev’s schooling location, though, what she really needed from me was the ruthless killer. The enraged father. The furious lover.
I would stop at nothing to eliminate any threat to them, and that was the only way I could put one foot in front of the other and walk away from them.
Going straight to Luka’s study, I braced myself for the questions. I didn’t want to relay information right now. I wanted to act. Raisa no doubt wanted me to explain what the hell happened too, but even that would be a delay.
I had a hunger to inflict pain. An urgency to fight and kill.
Fortunately, it looked like I wouldn’t have to stall for my uncle. One of the Dubinin guards who’d come to the scene and rushed up to the roof videoed it all with a body cam. I didn’t have to explain anything. The Boss knew.
“What in the fucking hell?” he growled as I entered, just finishing watching the video, the frame frozen on when I killed the man. “Another goddamn mole?”
He slammed his hand to his desk as he sat. Fury emanated from him in waves. “First, that piece of shit who called himself Gabriella’s father. Then that fucking maid who almost got her killed. Now a mole trying to interfere like this?” He cursed some more. “I’ve had it with liars and assholes who try to ruin this family.”
The concept of someonewithinthe family acting against our interests would always incite my uncle. It pissed me off, too. Loyalty was critical. But I was also relieved that the man I shot on the roof didn’t mention Konstantin himself. That it was someone in the Dubinin side who thought to take or hurt Lev. Luka’s acceptance of Raisa was sketchy, and I didn’t want him to have any more reasons to look at her with a speck of suspicion.
“And here I was convinced motherfucking Konstantin Petrov must have risen from the dead to pull this bullshit.” He shook his head.
Again, it was a minuscule comfort, but I had thought the same thing.
“I’ve got a good idea where to start looking,” the guard said. “Up near Brooklyn.” He nodded. “There are some old-fashioned holdouts over there who are always ready to complain about what it was like when Konstantin had power.”
Luka groaned, letting his head fall back. “That dumbass never should’ve had power to begin with.”
An alliance of Bratva ruling parties was a tenuous thing. But Luka tried to abide by the mandates and codes of conduct the best he could. Families faded from power or shifted over time. With some, generational interest waned and other stronger names picked up turf and assets. While we were at the top of the predatory cycle of life, we wouldn’t do well to call every other Bratva organization in existence our enemies. Konstantin Petrov had veered too far from the concept of being a friend, though. He was a rival within the loose confederation of us all.
“I can take you there,” the guard told me, then Emil, almost as if guessing we’d team up. “A whole bunch of old-school loyalists.”
I nodded, glad that Emil did the same. We were both ready to move on it.
“And this time,” Luka said as we moved to the door, “find out if that idiot is still alive.” He held up a finger. “Find out before you kill them all.”
Emil and I exited with the guard. He detailed the specific area he thought the mole might be coming from, but on the ride there, he expressed how disappointed he was that we had to deal with liars at all.
“After all that business with Gabriella and Miguel Lopez…” He shook his head. “What’s the matter with people?”
A lot. A lot was wrong with those who coveted power unintended for them.
