Chapter eight | Alexander
I place my gun in the bodyguard's hand as usual and he gives me a curt nod as I stride into the pakhan's office.
I adjusted to this life long ago, since my brother and I have been brought up here after my dear father betrayed the bratva.
I've heard rumors and whispers about myself and my brother throughout my whole life, being the children of a traitor hasn't been easy.
Both of us went through hell and back to have this position, and the trust of the current pakhan, Dimitri Markov,
In everyone's eyes, he's the CEO, the one who's been ruling for over eleven years, but on the inner surface.
Three men have been behind all the work that's done in the bratva and every single evolution,
one of them being me.
which brings us to the most two dangerous men on the throne here, Romero Volkov on one hand, and on the other we have Ezekiel Minsky.
And they're both as hard as a rock to deal with, but thing is that I need both of them on my side, Romero is the most ruthless man in the bratva, and one thing about him, is that he's always a step forward.
Ezekiel is the bratva's head, the mastermind behind every attack that happens, some call him a genius, which I would agree with, considering his immaculate skills.
But he's all clear in front of people, which is why they never underestimate him and they always make backup plans when he's in the picture.
However that can be an issue as well because they're always ready for him to attack, but Romero on the other hand.
People often underestimate him, and I think that's exactly what he wants, because they never see it coming, and he always ends up getting what he wants.
This brings us to the question that's wandering through my mind,
why did the pakhan call me but not them? And the answer is definitely not something beautiful.
"Pakhan." I say bowing my head slightly as an action out of respect, he nods and motions for me to take a seat.
The old man Leans back in his chair, running a hand through his gray hair and studying me with his harsh gaze.
I remain seated in my place waiting for the purpose behind inviting me here, "I've heard you got married." He says sternly in Russian, his mouth twisted in an ugly snarl.
So this is what's the 'urgent meeting' about? Jesus fuck, "it's true." I reply casually in the same language, knowing that he's mad,
but I don't have any reasonable excuses that'll satisfy his demands.
"Do you know how fucking disrespectful that is?" He asks, his words full of anger that's showing clearly on his face.
"It was my wife's wishes that the wedding includes her family and mine only, and I agreed on that," I say sternly, carefully measuring my words.
Mentioning her in such situations is the last thing I want to do, but it's the only acceptable response because it's sincere.
"You agreed on that? You should've at least told us." He says roughly and I wait for him to let out his anger, that way is better than the anger that's building up inside him.
Him being distant from me is the last thing I want, and anger eventually forces people to become distant,
"I didn't want to break her wishes, she's my wife after all," I say and understanding slowly morphs into his face,
everyone knows that he would burn the whole world if something happened to his wife, she's the only weakness he has, so using that topic against him is on my side.
Which shows how accurate my thoughts and beliefs are,
love is a weakness and will always be one.
*:･ﾟ✧*:･
"What do you mean?" I ask impatiently the moment Valentina talks, she shrugs and motions at the guest room or better yet Ekaterina's room.
"She's impossible," she says, irritation clear in her voice and I run a hand through my hair, Valentina has been my maid since I was a child.
She never once complained about anything, so the fact that she's actually bothered by her is odd, and another thing about her is that she loves running her mind around.
Meaning that she might be on the edge waiting specifically for Ekaterina to make one mistake to bother her,
"What happened?" I find myself asking when she clears her throat loudly enough for me to hear.
"She's....drunk." She says hesitantly and I brace myself by closing my eyes and inhaling a deep breath,
and the moment I open my eyes I realize that I'm going to say something I'll regret if I get in her room.
So I just tell Valentina "I'll deal with it." I say sternly and she takes the hint as she disappears in the hallway towards her room probably.
I hate disorganization, I have rules and they should be followed, it's my house after all, and it's like Ekaterina is just in the middle, messing up everything.
So I ignore the voice that's in my mind and stride towards her door, knocking a couple of times and when her reply comes I immediately go inside.
I would've expected anything but the sight in front of me, "come on." She says in a slurry tone and I wonder how much she drank.
Just as my eyes meet the empty whiskey bottle, I'm immediately distracted again by the painting in front of me.
I definitely didn't imagine her to paint, out of all the things I would've thought she preferred, painting wouldn't be on my mind.
"That's....great." I motion at the painting and she grins, her whole face brightening up with the smile that's spread on her face, and even though her pupils are dilated, the happiness is clear in them.
And I ignore the weird feeling in my chest as I let my mind drift to the painting again, It is more than great, but I'm definitely not giving her the satisfaction, even though she does look equally satisfied with my lame compliment.
"Don't be so generous." She mutters and places her brush down, standing up as she almost falls and I find myself reaching for her.
Just for a moment I forget the whole reason why I came inside here, talking about it with her is useless, she'll probably forget it tomorrow which isn't what I want.
"Where have you—b been?" She slurs, looking at me with those big eyes,
"out," I reply dryly, not wanting to strike her curiosity even more, she raises a brow at me, looking completely unserious.
But I blame it on the alcohol, "oh? I thought you were here with me." She says, sarcasm heavy in her voice and I roll my eyes.
"Work, Ekaterina," I say, my voice ending with an edge and even though she's as drunk as ever, she does take the hint and shuts the topic.
"Okay." She murmurs and drops on the bed, and I scan the whole room, feeling a sense of a heart attack coming from the amount of pink in here.
"When did you have time to put all this?" I ask cautiously, raising a questioning brow, she laughs.
I narrow my eyes at her reaction and glare, which causes her to laugh harder, she's crazy.
Absolutely unhinged and clueless, "I knew you would like it." She says grinning at me and motioning at something behind me.
I follow her gaze to find a familiar pink teddy bear, Jesus Christ, "I don't want that thing here." I say, annoyance spreading through my veins.
"Don't worry, not throwing it at you again." She says and makes the cross sign, "I swear to god." She adds, her brows furrowing as she stares at nothing.
"You know, he's been with me since I was five, my...brother gave it to me." She says brightly, her voice filled with Joy, my brows furrow and I raise a questioning brow.
"Your brother?" I find myself asking, and a rare sad expression takes over her face, I straighten as she opens her mouth to talk.
This conversation definitely took a turn.
"Yeah..." she says letting the word drift off, I don't push the matter further, I just continue staring at her.
There's definitely a story behind what she just said, a brother?
Her loud yawn brings me back from my racing thoughts and I find her drifting to sleep, "hey." I say gently as I walk towards her.
Her eyes are droopy and they're barely opened, "yes?" Her soft reply comes as my hands find her waist and I adjust her on the bed.
Pulling the comforter up her shoulders, as she snuggles closer to the pillow and I take a step back.
Studying her for another moment, everyone has their secrets, and maybe Ekaterina's is bigger than I thought,
that night, I make a couple of calls and try to gather some information, or anything, but there isn't a single data that proves that she had a brother.
So maybe Ekaterina isn't as bright and innocent as she makes herself appear at all.