Chapter 31: Bratva Prince: Chapter 31

It had only been a few weeks since I last saw my sister, but somehow in that short amount of time, she’d already changed so much.

Illayana had always been strong. Confident. A force to be reckoned with. She’d been raised to be just as cutthroat and ruthless as my brothers and I, and it showed in everything she did. The way she held herself.

Her time away in New York had somehow made her even stronger, more lethal. Even the way she’d walked into the room, the air surrounding her had changed to something darker, fearful.

It was powerful. Purposeful. The kind of walk that demanded every person’s attention and respect.

Her whole demeanour had gone from light and carefree, to hard and stoic. More determined. The fun, energetic, crazy Illayana I knew wasn’t here. She was replaced with this mature, no-nonsense woman.

“She looks good,” Nik commented, eyeing the closed door in front of us, Rayna’s screams from inside so loud they echoed out into the hallway. “Different, but good. Happy.”

I grunted, crossing my arms over my chest. Illayana had wanted the room to herself while she tortured Rayna. No idea why. Maybe she just didn’t want an audience while she had her fun.

Her guards, Christian, Luca, Lorenzo and Adrian were inside with her, having refused to leave her side. After her kidnapping they’d grown a backbone and stopped crumbling to her every whim (which I’m sure she hated).

Nik and I didn’t care and moved out into the hall to give her her space. Based on the pain-filled screams reaching my ears, she was enjoying herself a hell of a lot more than Rayna was.

“She looks…older somehow, don’t you think? More polished. Refined.”

“Yes,” I agreed. I didn’t think it was Arturo who brought out this change in her. Illayana wasn’t the type to bend to someone else’s will. And based on what I witnessed, he seemed to like her just the way she was.

No. This change was brought on by her new position as Queen of La Cosa Nostra.

There was a certain level of seriousness and professionalism required of someone in an authoritative position like the one she was in, and it was clear Illayana had adopted that to a tee.

“What do you think about what Rayna said?” Nik asked.

“I think Dominik is a bigger threat than we first anticipated.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right. I never would have thought he’d do something like this. Shit, I knew he wanted Father’s position, but I didn’t realise he was that desperate for it.”

“I think Dominik is a lot like Rayna,” I said, glancing at him. “Both desperate to gain the approval of their parent, but always coming up short, no matter what they did. In the meeting with Sergei yesterday, Father told him to replace him with Dominik.”

Nik’s brows slammed down into a frown. “Why the fuck would he do that?”

I hadn’t told him about the arranged marriage with Anya Tarasov yet, and I wasn’t planning to until it was too late for him to do anything about it. He’d try to play the ‘selfless brother’ card and take my place.

I wasn’t going to let that happen. I ignored his question by continuing on with what I was saying. “Sergei had the opportunity to put Dominik in charge, and he didn’t take it. Why? Because he doesn’t think Dominik is capable of handling it. Sergei has no problem voicing his thoughts. I’m sure he’s told Dominik time and time again that he isn’t good enough—”

“And Dominik would have gotten sick of hearing it,” Nik said, finishing my train of thought.

“Exactly,” I nodded. “If Sergei wasn’t going to give him what he wanted, he was going to take it himself and by doing so, prove to Sergei he was smart enough, strong enough, ruthless enough to be Pakhan all along.”

“Grandfather would have been fine with that?” he asked sceptically.

“Sergei values strength over anything else. You know that. He would have bought Dominik a drink and toasted to his victory if he’d won.”

Nik scowled. “He’s a real fucking asshole. I have no idea how Father managed to survive with him for so long.”

“If Sergei didn’t need him to continue on with his legacy, I highly doubted he would have even had children.”

“True.” He wiped a hand down his face. “What about the whole MC thing? Are you thinking what I’m thinking about that?”

“That Dominik is in league with The Dirty Vultures? Yes.” It was the only thing that made sense. “We need to interrogate the prospect in the next room.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t already.” He gave me the side eye.

“I’ve been busy,” I grunted.

“Getting busy, more like it. Does Father know?”

“Know what?” I asked, playing dumb. I should have known better though. Nik was incredibly perceptive.

“Come on, are you seriously going to deny it? Anyone who knows you can see you’re hot for the Zeta woman. I’ve watched you with her.”

My eyes cut to him. “You spying on me, mladshiy brat?” Little brother?

He lifted one shoulder carelessly. “More like looking out for you. If she turns around and fucks you over, I need to know so I can cover your ass.”

“She wouldn’t do that.” Even I was surprised with the amount of confidence I sunk into those words. I didn’t realise I trusted her that much.

“Zander.” Nik’s voice held a mountain of seriousness. “Have as much fun with her as you want, but don’t forget who she is. She’s the Don of the Los Zeta cartel. She’s not an ally, she’s the enemy.”

My fists clenched, anger shooting through me.

“Besides, a woman like that would never be satisfied with being your Queen. She has her own empire. One I’m sure she wouldn’t give up for you.” His phone rang and he fished it out of his pocket. A dark cloud of anger crossed his face.

There was only one person in the world capable of bringing out such a reaction from my usually calm and collected brother.

“Tatiana?”

Nik grunted, putting the phone away.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” He answered a little too quickly for me to believe that.

I punched him playfully in the arm, making him wince. “Out with it. You think you can pry into my life without giving me something from yours. No way.”

He rubbed his bicep, staring off into space with an expression on his face I couldn’t place. “She’s leaving.”

My brows raised in surprise. “Really? Ivan is going to allow that?” Tatiana’s father, Ivan, was one of my father’s many advisors. I’d known him for so many years, I’d actually lost track.

He was incredibly protective of Tatiana. So protective, in fact, he made my father look tame and relaxed in comparison.

“She got into some fancy college in New York and she’s going to study fashion. She’ll be leaving in a few weeks.”

Ah. That explained the look on his face then. It was sadness. Despair. Hurt.

“She can’t find a college here to go to?” I asked, trying to find a solution to help take that depressing look off his face.

“That’s not the problem. She wants to leave Vegas. She wants a fresh start, away from—” his words cut off abruptly, agony in his eyes.

“You,” I finished softly, sympathy squeezing my chest. “Alright, I’ve had enough. No more stalling. No more avoiding my questions or telling me to ‘mind my own business’. What the fuck happened between the two of you, Nikolai?”

He released a ragged breath. “I fucked up, Zander. Big time. And there’s nothing I can do to fix it. I’ve tried. I can’t—”

“What did you do?” I’d seen the glances Tatiana slid his way when he wasn’t looking. They were filled with longing, desire. Whatever he’d done couldn’t be that bad if she still felt that way about him. Unless— “did you cheat on her?” I wasn’t aware of them ever dating, but that was something most women would never tolerate.

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “What I did was worse.” A stricken look crossed his face, filled with heartbreak. “Zander, I—”

The door in front of us opened and Nik clamped his mouth shut, his whole face shutting down and suddenly void of all emotion.

Illayana walked out covered head to toe in blood. It dripped down her face. Soaked into her hair. Drenched her clothes so much her white pantsuit was now stained red. Christian, Luca, Lorenzo and Adrian were at her back, the La Cosa Nostra men looking sickened and pale while Adrian seemed no worse for wear.

Adrian was used to the brutality with which we tortured our enemies. I suspected Christian, Luca and Lorenzo were not, based on the nervous and skittish glances they kept throwing Illayana’s way, like they were terrified of what she might do to them. What she was capable of.

I looked back at Nik. There was no way I was going to get anything more out of him right now. He’d completely shut down. The look on his face made it perfectly clear he wasn’t going to say another word.

I tamped down the flicker of irritation shooting through me. I’d been trying for months to get him to open up and talk to me about what happened. This was the first time he’d been willing to share.

“I gotta go,” Nik said gruffly, looking at Illayana. “I’ll catch up with you before you go.”

“Actually—” Nik walked away, his footsteps thudding in the small space. “—I’m not staying,” Illayana finished, frowning at his retreating back. She glanced my way. “Is he okay?”

“He’s fine,” I answered, covering for him. “How did it go in there?”

Satisfaction glimmered in her eyes. “Very, very well.” She looked at her guards. “Wouldn’t you say so, guys?”

Christian blanched. “Sure,” he said hesitantly, avoiding her eyes.

Luca cleared his throat. “Was definitely something we’ve never seen before, that’s for sure.”

I arched a brow, intrigued. I leaned to the side to get a glimpse inside the room. Rayna was still hanging from the ceiling, her eyes dull and lifeless, her face frozen in unimaginable pain. She was naked, a straight cut running from the hollow of her neck all the way down to her pelvis. Her skin had been pulled outwards, her organs spilling out onto the floor. You could see directly inside her body. Illayana had completely eviscerated her.

“Huh,” I said, looking back at her. “I thought you would have chosen something that didn’t kill her straight away. You know, drag it out a bit.”

Illayana huffed, walking down the hallway. I followed, her guards falling into line behind us. “I wanted to, believe me. But I don’t have the time. I have to get back.”

“Rushing off so soon?” We made our way up out of the pit and across the warehouse, stepping into the cool Las Vegas air. The moon shone down brightly around us, helping to illuminate the path as we walked back towards the house.

She came to a stop. “Give us a minute guys,” she said to her guards.

They looked at each other, having a silent discussion amongst themselves about what to do.

Illayana growled. “Just step back and give me some space. I want to talk to my brother. Alone.” She was clearly frustrated with having a guard detail. Before Arturo, she’d never had one before. Never needed one. Since her kidnapping, Arturo must have demanded stricter rules be in place to prevent it from happening again. Rules that were smothering her.

All four men took several steps back, placing themselves barely out of ear shot, but that was as far as they were willing to go.

I levelled my gaze on all of them and narrowed my eyes.

They each took another four steps back.

Good enough.

“Thank you,” Illayana breathed out, rubbing her temples. “I honestly don’t know how much more of this shit I can take. They follow me everywhere, Aleksandr. Everywhere. Even into the goddamn bathroom.”

I shrugged. “It’s their job. And after what happened with Nero, you can’t really blame them.”

“No, I guess not. Especially after what Arturo did to them for failing to protect me. Still, it’s infuriating.”

“You knew what you were getting into when you married the man.”

Illayana grunted. Lines of worry marred her face, an anxious energy vibrating from her.

“What’s going on? What’s wrong?”

“Shit with the Outfit is bad. Franco is causing us some real trouble. Little fucker keeps hitting all our distribution houses and stealing our supplies. I need the guns Father promised.”

I nodded. “I’ll handle it.” In the original agreement with La Cosa Nostra, Father agreed to give them cases of weapons to help in their feud against the Outfit. The shipment had been all ready to go—until Nero bombed our house and stole the guns. We’d managed to get them back, but we hadn’t had the time to send them over yet.

“What’s your plan?”

“Gonna hit that shithead where it hurts,” she smiled vindictively. “I need them by the weekend. Can you bring them with you when you come for Arturo’s party?”

I groaned. I’d completely forgotten about that.

Illayana narrowed her eyes. “You already said you were going to come. Don’t even think about backing out.”

I was thinking about it, to be honest. I’m sure I could come up with some sort of excuse. A deal to be made. Someone to kill. Something.

“I need you.”

I growled, an overwhelming urge to stamp my foot on the ground like fucking toddler zinging through me.

You little shit.

Illayana knew I wouldn’t say no if she said she needed me.

“Fine,” I grunted out between clenched teeth.

She smiled brightly. “Thank you. Oh. And I need you to take Lukyan.”

“Take Lukyan?” I frowned.

“Yes. He’s driving me fucking crazy, Zander. I mean, I appreciate him coming with me. Having him there really helped the adjustment period. But if he doesn’t leave, I’m honestly going to kill him.”

Rolling my eyes, I slowly began walking the path back to the house. “What’s he doing?”

“What’s he not doing? When he’s not purposefully antagonising Arturo, he’s hitting on anything with a pair of tits. You know he fucked one of the Capos’ wives? Almost got himself fucking killed. If I don’t murder him in his sleep, someone else will. I guarantee you. I need you to take him back with you when you come to the party. Tell him you need him for something. I dunno, just get him the hell out of New York before he winds up dead.”

“Alright, alright. Calm down, I’ll take him.” Lukyan was going to be the death of me one day, I was sure of it.

Out of all my siblings, he was the one I worried about the most. He was twenty-three and still had the maturity of a fourteen-year-old boy. It was one of the reasons I didn’t even bother considering him for the arranged marriage with the Tarasovs. He wouldn’t take it seriously enough. He’d treat the entire thing like a fucking game.

“Thank you. I just can’t handle him right now. On top of the Outfit, there’s shit going on within the famiglia and I can’t waste time worrying about what he’s going to do next, who he’s going to insult or piss off. He’s going to give me grey hairs from the stress alone.”

“What’s happening?”

She tsked, agitation wafting off her. “What I knew would happen. Families are pissed Arturo married an outsider. A ‘non-Italian woman’.” She put that into air quotes, rolling her eyes. “Honestly, it’s ridiculous. They act like their women are so much better than me. They can’t even defend themselves. None of them can. They just cower and cry behind their husbands any time anything happens. They’re fucking useless.”

“You know their women don’t fight, Illayana. That’s not the way they do things.”

“Well they should,” she snapped, her eyes burning. “They shouldn’t be relying on their husbands to save them. They should have the strength to save themselves.”

I placed my hand on her shoulder, looking her deep in the eyes. “Don’t go trying to instigate crazy changes to their way of life, not right away. They’ll just rebel against it. You need to show them a better way, not force it. Show them how valuable you can be.”

She took a few deep breaths, calming herself down. “I know. Father said the same thing. It’s one of the reasons why I want the guns. I plan to unveil them at Arturo’s birthday party for all his men to see.”

I smirked. Smart idea. One of the quickest ways to a Mafia man’s heart was fancy weaponry. And we had the best.

We walked in silence for a few minutes, the crunch of gravel beneath our feet the only sound ringing in the night air. Her guards kept a respectable distance back, which I could tell helped her relax slightly.

“Are you happy?” I asked as we stopped in front of the large black SUV parked in front of the house.

Illayana looked at me, a sparkle shimmering in her eyes. “Happiest I’ve ever been. Apart from all the shit that’s been going on, that is. Arturo is…everything I could have ever wanted—and more.”

I nodded. As long as she was happy, that’s all that mattered. “Good. Alright, you get going. I’ll see you in a few days.”

She reached up onto her tippy toes and kissed me on the cheek. “

“Skuchayu po tebe, starshiy brat,”Miss you, big brother.