#Chapter4
Russia
The smoke of expensive cigar fogs the entire room. Even when it clogs the throats of four men, none of them dared to open their mouths in protest. The moment they entered the study of the greatest Mafia boss, they made sure to leave all rationality behind. No one comes here to open their mouth or judge the ice-cold man sitting behind the giant desk. All they have to do is bow their heads, answer what's questioned and follow the orders religiously. One mistake can cost them a bullet on the forehead within a fraction of seconds.
The four bulky men stood taunt at a good level of 6ft with their backs straight and wearing black suits. Their frosted eyes rested on the grey carpet under their feet. Sweat beads dripped from their forehead as the Godfather of the underworld, SvetozarVolkov barked orders in Russian. Even in his 50's, he is as authoritative as the first time he sat on this chair at the age of 23. His one glare can make a buff man piss his pants. The rough edge of his voice makes hearts swallow in terror. There were silver hairs lining near his ears, giving off the sign of old age. He dragged puff after puff of burning cigar once in a while in a classy way. The blues of his eyes shined wickedly as his man informed him about a recent successful drug deal.
/"The Egyptians agreed over the contract of Rouble 30 million, boss. But the cops are crawling at all ports making it extremely difficult to pass our containers across the borders. Last night we were this close to losing an entire truck loaded with drugs on..../" One of the men started only to get cut off by Godfather himself.
/"Enough. No excuses. I don't understand why you people bring such small issues in front of me? You are wasting my time. Get the families of those bastards on gunpoint and force them to let the products cross./" The Godfather of Russian Mafia spat slapping the desk with his palm making them flinch. /"I want things done within 2 days. Now, leave./" He yelled and they all dashed out as if their lives depended on it. Rats. He thought with a scowl and threw the used cigar in a bin before lighting another in frustration. A sharp rap on the door caught his attention.
/"Come in./"
The door opened slowly and Ricardo Romanoff enters. SvetozarVolkov’s right hand and most trusted man. The man was in his early 50's and even took the bullet on several occasions saving the Boss of Russian Mafia. Ricardo's eyes and throat burned as the poisonous smoke touched his senses. Holding his breath, he walks towards the balcony doors and opens them first to let the fresh air in, without acknowledging the Boss. Once done, he stood in front of Svetozar and nodded his head in greetings.
/"Good evening, boss./" He said politely.
/"Did you find where he is?/" The Mafia head barked and Ricardo shook his head negatively.
/"No, sir. My men are still working on that. It seems like he has disappeared from the surface of the earth. All his mansions and penthouse have been checked thoroughly. Even the private islands are scanned, still, my men failed to locate him./" Ricardo informed and Svetozar's expressions darkened.
/"Then find him soon, Ricardo. My gun is desperate to kiss that son of btch. I can't rest knowing that he is streaming out there freely after killing my daughter. Get me Valentine Romero dead or alive before this month ends or else, I will kill you for your tardiness. Leave./" Svetozar pointed coldly, staring in the silver eyes of Ricardo, who stood there unfazed except for the usual clenching of his fists. Nodding, he backed away and headed towards the door but paused remembering something.
/"Boss, don't smoke too much. It will kill you before your enemies./"
Then he leaves closing the door softly behind his back ignoring Svetozar's poetry, fabricated of colourful words that can shed hairs of ears.
Once Ricardo slipped out of the study, a cold mask replaced the blank one. He walked silently in hallways of the ancient mansion where generations of Volkov family had breathed. Taking the stairs, he reached the exit and saunters towards his men who were waiting to take orders.
'Come out of your cave Romero, the jackals are already out to hunt you down.'
He thought before instructing his men and after settling in black Mercedes, drove away.
Somewhere in Ireland.
Crystal
I inhaled the salty air of the beach and closed my eyes. The waves of Irish sea collided with my already submerged feet making me sigh and shiver. My copper hairs flew along with my white sundress with a gentle breeze coming from the South. The dark clouds made it all breath-taking, hiding the scorching sun. The temperature was 17 degrees Celcius, so it wasn't that cold. It was raining since morning, but once the drizzling stopped at the early hours of the evening, I begged Valentine to let me out. The walls of the house were suffocating me. I was losing my cool by staring at the same dull walls from the moment I opened my eyes. The area on my arm, where an IV was connected, itched. Due to weak immunity, I wasn't able to digest food so the doctors used other means to keep my body's requirements balanced. I was advised to have liquid eatables rather than solids. Valentine was outraged at first but slumped back knowing my body failing to digest, isn't in his hands. How lucky I am to have such a husband in my share. Someone is happy with me somewhere to give me such fate. Valentine has ignored work to take care of me for the past two weeks. He stayed with me all the time and tried to indulge in conversation about old memories that I don't remember. We watched many movies and I discovered how Valentine hated horror ones. He would jump every time when the female lead either screams or get attacked. It was comical to watch such a muscular man biting his nails and looking at the screen in anticipation. I feel blessed to have such a darling man beside me.
My body shuddered when another gust of air hits my face. Immediately, a warm fabric was draped around my shoulders. It was his jacket. His arms wrapped around my waist and chin rested on my shoulder.
/"Let's go inside before you catch a cold./"
On cue, the dark clouds in the sky thundered.
/"It's about to rain, again./" He declared ushering me inside while I groaned when the mansion came in view. Valentine chuckles at my reaction and cringed when tiny drops of heaven landed on earth. I love the cool feeling it left on my skin. A smile reached on my lips and I looked up at the dark sky. An unknown yet familiar feeling crossed my chest.
/"I love the rain./" The words escaped my lips before I could've stopped them. Valentine froze and stared at me, scanning my features thoroughly as if searching for something.
/"What?/" He asked coming closer and I looked at him confused before shaking my head.
/"I don't know what came over me to say that. Forget it. Let's go inside./" I mumbled shyly and forged towards the mansion. By the time we reached the warm cocoon of the house, our clothes were completely drenched.
Once changed in fresh clothes, we rested in the living room. He was sharing some of his childhood stories fondly. During this conversation, I discovered that Valentine has a younger sister as well. Her name is Valerie. She is literally the queen of Italy. Her fashion standards were higher than the big bang clock itself. Attitude, etiquette and good looks are the best traits of her personality. Moreover, she is a chatterbox. When Valentine was talking about his sister, I saw a light and joy in his eyes that he lacks often. No doubt, the siblings share a strong bond.