Page 6 of Bratva Bride

Sitting on a couch directly in front of the De Luca adults were two small children. A boy and girl, looked to be about ten maybe? The little boy was dressed in a suit matching his father and brothers, and the little girl was wearing a white dress with a matching white hair bow in her hair.

The photo seemed to have captured them right in a moment where they seemed to be arguing. The little boy's face was scrunched up with anger, his little fist heading straight towards his sister. The little girl didn't look much happier either, her foot was hanging in mid-air, almost striking him.

How. Flipping. Cute.

After taking a good long look at the De Luca family, I raised my head and waited for my father to continue. Aleksandr, Nikolai and Lukyan were each studying the photograph as intensely as I was, like they could get all the information they needed just from that one shot.

Father cleared his throat, demanding our undivided attention and we all obliged. He held the photograph up in front of him so we could all see it. "Alessandro De Luca and his wife Isabella De Luca. Next to him is his eldest, Arturo De Luca and rumoured to be his Underboss. Vincenzo, as I'm sure you guessed, is the male next to Isabella. From what I can ascertain, he's an Enforcer for his father."

"I've heard of Arturo De Luca. They call him Shadow throughout the Vegas Underworld," Lukyan began. "Apparently Alessandro paid five million a year to have him go to Switzerland to study under Elias Huber."

"Elias Huber? The Assassin Trainer?" Aleksandr asked, surprised.

"The one and only. He was there between the ages of thirteen to seventeen," Lukyan said, relighting his cigar that had gone out. "That's what I heard anyway," he finished, shrugging his shoulders.

Elias Huber was a legend in the criminal underground. Known for his skills as a fighter and weapons expert, people came to him when they needed to take somebody out. It didn’t matter how important or how high up the individual was in the world. Rumour was he could take out anybody. There wasn’t a single bad mark to his name.

"Vincenzo is quite well known as well. Even a few of our own soldiers have heard of his brutality," Nikolai began. "Demyan told me once he heard Vincenzo had come across a rat within the family. Not long after that, the rat's body had been dismembered, and the pieces spread throughout New York as a warning to others."

I whistled, low and long. "Damnnnnnn. . . that's my kinda justice," I said smiling.

"Fuck yeah!" Lukyan agreed, raising his hand and fist bumping me.

I laughed and turned my attention back to Father. "So, this is who we're meeting tomorrow?" I asked, trying to get my head back in the game and focus.

"Da," Father replied as he poured yet another shot of vodka. "Be prepared. I want you both armed and wearing your Kevlar Vests. I doubt this is an ambush, but I won't take any chances."

Aleksandr and I both nodded.

In my mind I was already ticking through all my weapons I would be taking with me. My switchblade, my push dagger, as well as a couple of my favourite blades and some throwing knives. Can't forget my good old Smith and Wesson handgun; that beauty has gotten me out of some tough strides. Part of me hoped for a fight, it had been a long time since the Volkov's had been at war.

"Nikolai and Lukyan, I need you both to head toRussian Rouletteand settle some discrepancies with our High Rollers," Father said, motioning his hands towards my older brothers.

Russian Rouletteis one of many casinos we own in Las Vegas, as well as some high-end strip clubs and restaurants. To be honest, we have enough businesses and revenue to get out of the mafia life and go legit, but where's the fun in that?

"Yes!" Lukyan said, pulling out his gun and a knife. "How would you like it settled, Father?" he asked, raising his right hand with his handgun, and then his left hand with his knife.

Father tapped his fingers along his desk, pursing his lips in thought. He flicked his head towards Lukyan's knife and smiled. "Don't make it too quick boys," he said, chuckling.

Lukyan stood gracefully, buttoning up his suit jacket as he went. Nikolai rounded the desk and came to a stand beside Lukyan. They both gave a small bow and left.

Aleksandr moved from the couch and came and sat in the chair Lukyan was in. Father stood as well, moving to stand in front of his desk, leaning back up against it. He crossed his arms over his chest and pinned me with his hard glare.

"I'll need you to pay extra special attention at the meet tomorrow,doch'."Daughter.

I raised an eyebrow but remained silent, because I knew he wasn't quite finished yet.

"There's a chance a marriage proposal could be offered. It's the only way to solidify an alliance between our two families that can be trusted. We value the sanctity of marriage just as much as the Italians, and neither of our people would disrespect such a union."

Ah. That explains why he wants me to come tomorrow. If a union is suggested, it would most likely be one of the De Luca men to engage in the marriage.

"I would never force you to marry. The choice will be yours and yours alone," Father continued, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I won't lie to you; we would benefit a lot from an alliance with the De Luca's. New York will be open to us, and the amount of money and power to be had will make our family even stronger than it is now."

I nodded, listening intently.

"But the choice in the end is yours, Illayana. Always."

I smiled up at my father. It's so rare to see this side of him, the loving, caring side, when most of my life I've known the tough, badass, Russian mobster side. I took his hand from my shoulder and held it.

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