Page 5 of Bratva Bride

"What kind of agreement?" Aleksandr continued, as if Lukyan hadn't spoken at all.

"Vincenzo didn't go into specifics. Merely requested a meet with us on neutral ground," Father replied. "Our contacts have been keeping an eye on New York and they've reported a lot of carnage between the De Luca's and another Italian family, the Gambino's."

"You think that's why they're requesting the meet? For help against the Gambino's?" I asked out loud, tilting my empty glass towards my father.

He immediately lifted the large glass bottle holding the vodka and poured me a shot.

"Makes sense. What's the beef about?" Lukyan asked.

"That, I do not know," Father replied. He looked around the room, taking his time and dragging his eyes over each of us, making sure to maintain eye contact for a few seconds with us all. "But I will find out."

Father's word left no debate about his intentions.

"You've agreed to meet with them?" Aleksandr asked, raising his eyebrows.

"It has always been an unspoken agreement between us to steer clear of each other. If Alessandro is reaching out, I'm curious as to why," Father explained easily. "And it has been so very boring here. Maybe a little war will liven up the place a bit," he said, winking at me.

I winked back and took a sip of my drink.

"When and where?" Aleksandr asked.

"Kansas City, tomorrow. You, along with Maxim and your sister, will accompany me."

"Oh man!" Lukyan hissed, slamming his foot on the ground. He always hated missing out. Such a spoiled brat.

Father pinned him with his glare, letting the fury from his outburst show on his face. With his jaw and fists clenched, he looked like he was gonna blow at any minute.

"I mean. . . they're totally the better choice. So right, Father, so so right," Lukyan quickly said, lowering his head.

Kiss ass.

Father ignored Lukyan altogether and opened his desk drawer with his right hand, pulling out several folders. He flung them along his desk, letting them spread out in different directions.

Lukyan jumped to his feet and grabbed them, handing them out to each of us. Clearly eager to try and get back in our father's good graces. Pointless. If he felt like you disrespected him, there was no fixing it unless it was in the ring.

I took a folder, making sure to scoff loud enough for Lukyan to hear me. He narrowed his eyes at me but stayed quiet. He knew he was on thin ice as it is.

As he moved to give Aleksandr and Nikolai their folders, I opened mine and was greeted with a family portrait of the De Luca family.

Standing square in the middle were who I'm assuming were Mr and Mrs De Luca.

Alessandro stood tall and proud, his left hand holding the middle of his tie, like the photo was captured as he was fixing it and his right arm was bent ninety degrees with Mrs De Luca's arm looped through it.

He was wearing an impeccable, grey, three-piece suit, clearly tailored to fit his build. He looked like he was in his late 50's, early 60's, with a fresh head of dark hair. His million-dollar smile might fool others, but I knew better. I could see the evil lurking in his eyes as clear as day. This man was manipulative, conniving and ruthless.

Mrs De Luca was about as much as I expected. Such a small little thing, with pale skin and long black hair. Her round face and doe-eyed expression showed her for what she was. Weak. Un-impressive. Docile. Her only outstanding feature was her entrancing green eyes. So vibrant, unlike anything I'd ever seen before.

Standing beside Alessandro was another man a few inches taller. His eyes hooked me in straight away.No. Fucking. Way.Another bi-eyed beauty! But this guy? Oh fuck, this guy is leagues ahead of Sex Eyes.

Even in his suit, you could tell his muscles had muscles. His suit bulged in all the right places, clearly tailored like his father's. A faint trace of ink peeked out at the neckline of his suit, and I was dying with curiosity to find out what was lying beneath his damn clothing.

My eyes went back to his face andfuck me,he was so fucking delicious. High cheekbones, full, luscious lips, his jaw so incredibly defined you could cut glass on it. So chiselled. So perfect. So biteable.

Wait, what? Focus, Illayana!

His eyes…oh god his eyes. One green, the colour as captivating as the rarest emerald in the world. One blue, so bright and sparkling, like the ocean on a hot summer’s day. His black hair was short and slicked back, styled neatly and he looked to be in his late twenties, early thirties. He was without a shadow of a doubt the hottest fucking man I’d ever laid eyes on. All I wanted to do was run my tongue down that delectable body and feel that powerful frame tremble from my touch.

Next to Mrs De Luca was another man. Just as tall as his father, and just as handsome as his brother, but he didn't capture my eye like the gorgeous specimen before him. His suit was nice and tailored to fit him to perfection. His black hair was styled messily, and his bright green eyes seemed to be the same shade as his mother's. His lips were curved up in a sly smile, like he knows exactly how good looking he is. This guy screamed man whore.

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