SWNOVELS Sasha: Chapter 44
“Are you out of your goddamned mind?”
Vasili slammed the door to his office. To say my brother was pissed off was the understatement of the century. The fucking glass of the building rattled from the slamming door or quite possibly from the force of his voice.
No matter. What’s done is done; it was time to move on.
“Do you realize the whole goddamn world watched you kidnap that woman?” he bellowed. “It was fucking televised.”
“Hmm, was it?” I snickered. “I would have never guessed from all the news vans out front.”
“What in the fucking hell were you thinking, Sasha?” he roared. “Do you know how many fucking assholes I’ll have to bribe for this shit?”
I shrugged my shoulders. He didn’t have to bribe anyone. I was capable of settling my own scores.
Sitting behind the desk of Vasili’s office, I leaned back into the chair and propped up my legs on the table. I picked up the People magazine Vasili had on his desk. My fucking brother always had that fucking magazine on his desk, but I had yet to see him read it.
“Put the fucking magazine down,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Relax, Brother,” I told him. “The bride in distress is safe and sound.”
For the most part, I added silently, snickering to myself.
I left her tied to my bed – gloriously naked and sexually frustrated.
Unfortunately, my plan backfired a bit because I’d been going around with a hard dick that refused to get the message that we weren’t fucking anyone today.
“For fuck’s sake, Sasha,” Vasili hissed, barely keeping a rein on his temper. I could see it in the vein throbbing in his neck. The one that his wife couldn’t seem to get enough of because I caught her licking it on more than one occasion. Fucking horny rabbits. Only Isabella found my brother attractive. “Are you trying to start a war? First the whole goddamn thing with Wynter and keeping her away from Liam Brennan. Now this fucking shit!”
And there it was. I was waiting for the moment when he’d bring that up. He and everyone else could go fuck themselves. Wynter, the ice skating princess, needed me, and I would never leave her hanging.
I opened the drawer of Vasili’s desk that I’d taken over and found a piece of bubblegum. The crinkle of the wrapper filled the space, probably grating on Vasili’s nerves, egging him on.
“You said you wanted to see me married,” I drawled lazily, ignoring his jab about Wynter. “So I had to find a bride.”
“I said find a bride, not kidnap one,” he roared.
“Semantics.”
I swore Vasili’s blond hair, so much like mine, almost turned red with rage. And I fucking relished in it.
I threw the gum into my mouth and started chewing. I popped the gum, watching with delight as Vasili’s jaw ticked. He was fucking pissed. No surprise there. I didn’t particularly care for chewing gum, but it was such a goddamn thrill to see the pissed off expressions on people’s faces when I popped it.
So just for good measure, I blew a bubble, waited for it to get a decent size, and popped it again.
Our eyes locked in a battle of wills. The freaky blue eyes we shared stared back at me, probably contemplating my murder. I bet my brother fought the urge to reach across his desk and choke the life out of me. He wanted to so fucking badly, but he’d never hear the end of it from his wife.
It was good to have friends in high places.
The door to his office opened and my sister, Tatiana, strode in wearing a black dress. It had been a year and she still insisted on mourning.
“So I hear you’re starting a war,” she announced. “Can I join in?”
Our family was definitely a different shade of crazy.
“You two are worse than my toddlers,” Vasili bellowed. “That’s it. Enough is enough.” He pointed a finger at Tatiana. “You will stop drinking. I don’t want to smell alcohol on you and-“
“I’ll spray more perfume,” she retorted, her speech slightly slurred.
“The fuck you will,” he roared. “You will stop drinking and taking sleeping pills. Every goddamned thing.”
Tatiana just flipped him the bird. I’d like to see my big brother try and make her do anything.
Vasili’s eyes shifted to me. It was always like this. We were the irresponsible children and he was the responsible one who had to fix everything.
Well, I knew what I was doing.
“And you, Sasha, will return the bride,” my big brother demanded.
“Nah, I’ll pass,” I told him firmly. “I’m keeping her.”
“I agree,” Tatiana chimed in. “Why should you be the only one to get what he wants and needs?”
Her voice was slurred and bitter. A bad combination.
“The two of you will be the death of me! Tatiana, you get your shit together or I’ll do it for you. And you, Sasha. You will go to Alessio and deliver his sister, then apologize.”
“The fuck I will,” I told him and blew a bubble with the gum still in my mouth. “His sister is mine.”
He pushed his hands through his hair. “Jesus Christ. I thought you had the hots for Autumn, not her friend.”
I shrugged. “Your mistake.”
“We cannot go to war with him,” Vasili attempted to reason. He must not know me well if he thought that would dissuade me from my plan. “Cassio and his gang will back him up. He’s even close with Raphael.”
“I never liked the devil anyhow,” I told him casually. “He thinks he’s more of a brother to Bella than Alexei. I bet you Alexei would be on my side.”
As if he knew we were talking about him, Alexei walked in wearing his signature black cargo pants and t-shirt. Most people shit their pants when they saw my brothers. Alexei evoked a special kind of fear. It was etched in every single piece of ink on his skin. Our parents did a good job ensuring we all turned out fucked up.
He sat himself down. “So you got yourself a bride?” His voice was casual, unemotional. It was one of his best qualities. He rarely got riled up. Unless you fucked with his wife, Aurora. Then the beast came out.
“Yeah,” I said coolly. “I need to lay low for a bit. But first I need some ink.” I grinned, the thought of tattooing Branka’s teeth marks into my skin bringing a new kind of joy. “Want to hold my hand?”
Alexei cocked an eyebrow. “I’ll keep you company. But there’ll be no hand holding.”
“I’ll hold your hand,” Tatiana slurred. “As long as you buy me a drink. I’m feeling depressed.”
“Has everyone lost their goddamned mind?” Vasili bellowed, glaring at all three of us. “Fuck your ink and holding hands.” Then he took a deep breath as if he regretted the harshness of his tone. “Tatiana, I said no more alcohol. I know you’re grieving but it won’t get better like this. Trust me.”
“Because you saw it in our parents,” I remarked sarcastically. “Don’t worry, Vasili. We all saw it and felt the repercussions, in one way or another.”
“Listen guys, I love you. I really do and there is nothing I won’t do for our family.” Vasili’s hair was about to start thinning if he didn’t stop tugging it. “But we have little ones now. We cannot start wars and feuds. Our children come first.”
Nobody said a word. I knew Alexei agreed. He’d burn the motherfucking world down if anyone even looked at little Kostya wrong. Or his wife, for that matter. Well, so would I.
And like a thunderbolt a thought struck me. My lips curved into a smug smile. I had a plan for my little kotyonok. My little wildling would finally get some relief and the result would be very beneficial.
Because nobody would want to take a pregnant woman for someone else. Shit, that was a great idea! Win-win. I’d fuck her into oblivion, put a baby in her belly, and ruin everyone’s plans. Her and me, like Bonnie and Clyde. Without the death by gunfire part, of course.
“Fuck, please stop smiling like that,” Vasili grunted. “Please stop it. I know that smile and it’s promising all kinds of fucked up things.”
I leaned back in my chair, I blew a bubble. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
A deep sigh left him. Jesus, my brother had turned into an old man.
“Take Branka Russo back,” Vasili threatened. “If you don’t, I will.”
I got to my feet and fixed the sleeves to my suit.
“Touch her and you won’t have to worry about a war with others, Brother,” I told him calmly. Our eyes locked, the stubbornness I felt staring back at me in his blue eyes. “Because you’ll have one with me.”
Without another word, I left his office.
The constant buzzing of the needle was in contrast with Alexei’s silence. True to his word, he stood by me, his arms folded and staring at me. Tatiana stayed behind with Vasili, probably getting reamed out by our big brother.
I didn’t want to voice it, but I happened to agree with Vasili on the matter of Tatiana’s drinking. She was drowning her sorrows in all the wrong ways. I didn’t want to see her end up like our mother. Tatiana was so much better than that.
Her heart was broken. Her sorrow was raw, but she was still young. She’d come through.
“So she bit you?” Alexei’s voice pulled me back.
I glanced at the artist who was inking Branka’s teeth into a permanent mark on my skin
“Moy kotyonok has claws.”
“And teeth,” he noted tonelessly, watching me with those inquisitive eyes. Alexei could always see beyond people’s barriers. It was annoying as fuck, but it was what kept him alive for all those years of captivity.
“So she’s the one?”
“Are you judging?” My gaze narrowed. “Did I question your judgment when you picked Aurora?”
He looked away from me, obviously seeing everything he needed to. But the tilt of his lips didn’t escape me. I was happy to see him smile more. Or half-smile, whatever the fuck that was.
His phone buzzed and he retrieved it.
My phone buzzed at the same time. Just in time, because the tattoo was finished.
“Want a soothing cream over it?”
Fucking pussy. “No.”
I retrieved mine just as Alexei spoke. “Alessio’s plane just landed. And he’s not alone.”
And sure as shit, the message waited for me. One from Vasili and the other from Alessio.
Alessio: You’re a dead man.
Vasili: If you’re keeping that woman, now is the time to disappear.
My big brother always came through. Always. And I’d always come through for him.
“Where are you going to go?” Alexei asked casually.
“It’s better if you don’t know,” I told him.
Not that anyone could torture any information out of my brother.
It was time I collected on my second debt from the Konstantin brothers.