Page 3 of Wicked Knight 2

The side impact sent me flying against the windshield. My skull made a cracking sound that quickly turned into a high pitch ring. Muffled voices grew louder in my head until the Russian words filtered through the fog.

“Motherfucker, I told you not to shoot.”

“He was getting away.”

“He’s no good to us dead. Fuck. I think he’s dead.”

“If we hurry, we can take him to Papa before he kicks it. If he gives Papa the information he needs, maybe we’ll still get paid.”

“And if he dies before we get there? Papa will have our heads. Shit. Fuck. Shit. Grab his legs.”

The drag across a patch of grass turned the ringing in my ears into an excruciating scream that I was pretty sure was mine. The pain was too much. But somehow, I had to stay alive. I squeezed my eyes shut and thought of Donata’s beautiful face, her smile, and her scent. She always smelled of lilacs. The flowery perfume inundated my senses as I smiled at the blue sky. Bit by bit, the dark looming over me settled in until all I saw was black.

CHAPTER2

Marriage and Family

Maxim

Present Day, Brotherhood Compound, Little Odessa, NY

“Maxim!” My younger brother called after me.

I let out a breath and slowly turned to meet his gaze. “Your yelling is making this fucking headache worse.”

“Right. Sorry. Too much Vodka last night, heh?” He chuckled then put up his hands in mock surrender. “Just wanted to ask.” He paused to look behind him before he pulled me toward the corridor wall.

The long passage that led to the main courtyard of the Brotherhood compound loomed over us in the dark. We were alone, but these days, since his altercation with the Italian pigs, Ivan was afraid even of his own shadow.

“Spit it out, Ivan.” My voice rumbled against the brick walls.

“Don’t tell Papa I messed up again. He’ll kill me this time.” He rubbed the nape of his neck. “Tell him it was your fault? You’re his favorite. He won’t even bat an eye if the bad news comes from you.”

The bad news being that our crew lost their foothold in New Jersey. I met Ivan’s blue eyes. The terror I saw in them disarmed me. After all, he was my younger brother. And he wasn’t wrong about Papa. Ivan had messed up way too many times. This fiasco with the Italians cost us what little control we had across the Hudson.

“Ivan, I wasn’t even in the country when you decided to strike a deal with Angelo Soprano. What the hell were you thinking?” I slapped the back of his head. “You’re better than this.”

“It was a sure thing. We were making money hand over fist.” For a moment, the fire in his eyes returned. Money was Ivan’s main motivator for anything he did, which was why he was always getting in trouble, always biting more than he could chew. “How was I supposed to know the Aurora woman was married to the Italian Mafia. Angelo just said he wanted her. I didn’t think it’d be a big deal.”

“You didn’t think.” I pointed a finger at him. “That’s the problem. All you saw was green and didn’t even consider the idea of asking questions.”

“Angelo is dead. That’s good. Right? He killed himself after the Alfera guy tortured him.”

“Jesus fuck.” I blew out an exasperated breath. “I suppose that is good news. There’s nothing to link us directly to him and his dealings. But the warehouse we had in Jersey, that’s gone, Ivan.”

After the Italians had rescued their woman and her child, they burned the place down. We lost a lot of men in the fire—not to mention the millions Ivan had made with the auctions. I had spent the better part of my day going through the wreckage. There was nothing left. To add insult to injury, after the ruckus settled, the local crew moved in to claim the territory and essentially left us holding our dicks.

“Oh fuck.” Ivan splashed muddy water with his boots as he paced up and down. “I’m a dead man.”

“Papa wouldn’t kill his own son.”

“No, he’ll probably just ask you to do it.” His voice quivered. “Would you? Would you do it?”

“What? Kill you? No. You’re my brother.” I placed my hand over his cheek and made him look me in the eye. “Papa is a reasonable man. Let’s talk to him. Okay?”

He nodded, blinking several times as he stepped back to wipe his face with the back of his hand. “Yeah, okay.”

“Maxim. Ivan.” Dominic waved us over from the entrance to the courtyard. “The Boss has called for a meeting. He’s waiting on you two.”

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