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“That’s the plan.”
Alessio looked unfazed as he poured himself a drink, his glass full of brandy. He filled another glass before pointing it toward me.
I accepted the glass. “I think a drink is in favour. To warm ourselves up. The night is still young.” He spoke slowly, sipping as he stared at me.
With a raised eyebrow, he watched my reaction. Alessio was an asshole. Plain and simple. An arrogant asshole that I was tempted many times to shoot in the face.
Holding the glass to my lips, I poured the entire contents in my mouth, drinking the whole thing in one large gulp. It burned my throat, but only slightly.
Slapping the glass on the table, I rolled my shoulders. The tensed muscles started to relax, and I breathed out.
The corner of Alessio’s lips turned up slightly in a small smirk.
“You know, I should win a fucking Oscar for this shit. Hollywood would be stupid not to bag me as a lead role,” I started, feeling my own lips turning up. “I’m thinking of changing careers.”
He placed his glass down, next to mine. The smirk still was present on his face.
Alessio took a step toward me before wrapping an arm around my neck. His other hand went to my back, slapping me hard. And then hugging me.
I heard his voice over the roaring of my blood.
“Welcome home, brother.”
I wasn’t crying. I swear I wasn’t crying.
Chapter 7
Viktor
Brothers till death.
It was what our fathers taught us. Something we had lived by for the last thirty years of our lives. Words to remember and never forget.
I was born to stand beside Alessio, on his left. While his wife would stand on his right.
Our fates were decided long before we even took our first breath. Brothers till death.
How Valentin Solonik thought he could break this was still a fucking shock to me. Was he that stupid?
Well, that was a dumb question. He was that stupid. Stupid fucker who kept me away from my family for a year. A whole fucking year. For what?
Revenge. A dangerous game he wanted to play.
He didn’t care what he destroyed in his path. He wanted to be the King, the Pakhan. The God-fucking-father.
What he didn’t realize was that as long as I was breathing, that would never happen. I had always lived with only one purpose. To protect my family. Fight for them. Kill for them. Hell, I would even lay my body down, waiting for death if that meant protecting them.
Just like in a game of chess, the knight protects the King. And the Queen.
If Solonik wanted to play a game, I would give him one. My gaze met Alessio’s again, his darker than usual. Giving me a nod, like he could read my mind and agreed to my every single thought.
My lips turned up, matching Alessio’s smirk. Hell yeah, we were about to give Solonik one hell of a game. He forgot who the Ring Master was. I almost…almost felt bad for the poor bastard.
He was about to learn what it meant to test the Ivanshovs’ fury. He did a big mistake by threatening my brother. And my Queen.
And that would be his last mistake. Because the ball was in our court now.
“I should be asking how you are doing. But I have a feeling that I already know the answer,” Alessio spoke, breaking the tensed silence.
Shaking my head, I took the half empty bottle and quickly guzzled it down. My throat burned, but it was a good burn. It woke me up and reminded me what I was here for. What I had to do.
“I am feeling a little on edge. Solonik is not backing down. He thinks I’m on his side for now, but what happens when he has even a slight silver lining of doubt?”
Alessio stared at me with hard eyes, analyzing my words like he always did. “You just have to play the card right. You said so yourself. He trusts you. As long as you can keep his trust, you can pull the strings in whatever direction you want and he will follow.”
“It’s not that fucking easy, Alessio,” I snapped, feeling frustrated with myself. “Do you realize how fucking hard it has been? A whole year acting like I hate my family? Deep loathing of them? I have to act disgusted every time your names are mention. Laughing with him while he calls Ayla a whore and a fucking bitch. Listening to him talk about how he’s going fuck her and make you watch?”
Alessio’s back straightened at my words, his fingers curling at his sides. He stared past me into the distance, his jaw gritted and his eyes so fucking angry that it would make anyone piss their pants.
“What did you say?” he asked, his voice pointed and coming out in a low growl.
“Exactly what I said, Alessio. You heard it. Don’t make me repeat myself,” I replied, looking at the floor, suddenly feeling ashamed. “It fucking hurts. And I’m ashamed of myself. Even though I know I’m doing it because I have to. I have to make it look believable, but it still fucking kills me when I have to laugh with him and accept his words without taking my gun out and shooting his limp dick.”
