Prologue Czar
The wind swirls around us, and the cold mist covers us. The chill travels up my spine, circling my neck, and causes the hair on my neck to stand up. I shiver and grind my molars, pulling my black and gray plaid wool scarf tighter. I adjust the dark gray wool coat and bury my hands in my pockets.
Mama is dead.
I stare at the coffin, feeling the riot of emotions threatening to choke me. The pain is almost unbearable, especially since we lost our Otets a couple of days ago. Some svoloch' killed Mama to get back at Otets. But they didn't only kill her, they fucking abused and sliced her up. That's unforgivable. It's fucking incredible, and I'm so furious.
I can't look away from the black coffin; my chest is tight, and I gasp for air. I grind my molars and blink to push back the tears. The priest stops his rambling and then looks at us. I take a step and pick up one of the white roses on the ground and a handful of dirt, dropping it onto the coffin. Anatoly, my twin, does the same.
My blood boils, I'm so damn angry, and my stomach is twisted in knots. How dare the svoloch' kill my Mama right after he killed my Otets. We couldn't bury our Pakhan because the fuckingpolice have the body parts as evidence. The police won't arrest the butcher, da, they're in Obshchak Emil Balakin's pocket.
Da, that's the fucker that killed Pakhan.
It's fucking not right!
The motherfucker is going to pay!
We know that it was the fucker ObshchakEmil Balakin that did the coup. Balakin was always jealous and angry that Otets was Pakhan. It's a matter of days, then we will kill the suka. My Brat Lev will be here soon. We will then kill the svoloch' and Lev will be the Pakhan.
We walk away and stop next to some trees. I look around the cemetery, and I don't see any sukas watching us. No one attended the funeral. We don't have any friends, family, or anyone. Da, Mama's only sister, Anna, didn't want to come to the funeral. Ana judged Mama for getting involved with the Bratva; therefore, she was never around in our lives. Obviously, Anna never accepted us.
I scrub my face, shaking my head, trying to get rid of those thoughts. I need to focus on the next steps. My Brat Lev should be arriving soon from Russia. Then the fucking bloodbath will begin; nothing will stop us from seeking retribution, showing the fucking world that we reign New York and the Kravtsov Bratva.
"Let's go," Anatoly speaks in a low, hush voice.
"We can't return to the house; it's vulnerable. The svoloch' must know of us by now; therefore, we have to continue to hide. Once the suka is taken out, we can lock the house up in a few weeks.We need to go to the safe house, the secured apartment in the city."
"Da, we can't risk it," Anatoly mutters, pulling out the box of cigarettes from the inside of his black wool overcoat.
He pulls one out, hands me the box, and lights it up. I grab the box, slide one out, and light it up.
I take a long drag and watch the priest almost run to his white Honda, enter, and drive away. Stupid fucker, he must know who we are. He better keep his mouth shut, or we will shut it permanently.
Anatoly and I walk to the black Range Rover SUV. I enter the driver's side and start it, taking off down the road. The streets in New York are busy, and it takes a while to get to the safe house. I drive into the commercial building parking lot, driving to the private parking floor. We get out and walk over to the elevator that only we can access. The elevator stops on our floor, and we enter the foyer of the apartment. I walk over to the bar.
"Do you want some vodka?"
"Da. I'm going to order some food and look in the dark web to search for intel on the fuckers that killed Mama," Anatoly hisses, walking to the office.
"Da. Sounds good. I’ll be there in a few.”
I take a drink and close my eyes. My mind is nonstop; the image of Otets talking to us when we were younger runs through it.
"Syny, Bratva has many enemies, so if and when something happens to me, I need you to be ready to go to a safe house,an apartment that will be guarded. The svoloch' will try to kill you."
Otets takes a drink of Vodka and leans back into the chair.
"Now more than ever, I need you two to learn everything that you're taught and train to become the best Spies for your Brat Lev. Since all three of you are about the same age, but Lev is a few months older, he will be the heir, the next Pakhan, if anything ever happens to me. You two will be his loyal Spies. Do you understand?
"Da," I hum, nodding.
"Da," Anatoly says.
"Syny, listen carefully and always remember. Don't ever forget that all three of my syny are my pride and joy, and I love you very much. I want you two to be ready for when Lev takes over. I only pray that when I go, you two will be strong men, and then I can go in peace if and when it's time. I will set everything up for all three of you to take over. Lev will have his instructions, and you two will have yours."
"Otets, why does Lev live in Russia," I ask, looking at him.
"I want him trained by my Otets, your Dedushka, my Otets. I don't want the enemies to know of his existence nor yours. I want to keep you safe."
