Page 33 of The Pakhan’s Heir

“Bambi-types,” I repeat. I hadn’t ever pictured myself that way, but I guess she has a point. In bed, the more bratty I was, the more it got him going. That might apply to outside the bedroom as well.

“All I’m saying is get some backbone when you’re dealing with him. Act like an airhead and he’ll treat you like one.”

I nod slowly. She’s scathing and a bit abrasive, but I’ll take it. Any advice she can give me would help me out. “Got it. Don’t let him push me around.”

“Absolutely. You’d be surprised how far a little confidence will take you.”

She smiles at me, and it feels warm. The first warm smile I think I’ve gotten from Yeva. It kind of makes me wonder if, in the end, we could be sisters. Real family. I wouldn’t even know what it’s like to have somebody on my side.

She finishes her coffee and says, “We’d better be heading back. I’ve got a date in a few hours.”

I nod in understanding and finish the coffee in my cup. “I have taken up a lot of your day.”

“Meh,” she says with a shrug. “I needed these clothes, anyway. Come on.”

She leaves money on the table for the coffee and the two of us leave the shop and go back out into the world. All the while, I’m thinking of her advice to me. Grow a pair. If it’ll get me closer to Alexandr, I’ll take it.

12

ALEX

“Where is he?” I ask Rikki. He and Gedeon are standing by the door of the abandoned building, watching and waiting for me. They called me a little less than thirty minutes ago. Woke me up out of a sound sleep.

Well, maybe not that sound. I haven’t been sleeping right since I’ve been sharing a bed with Nona. I’ve been trying to position pillows between us to avoid touching her, but it’s just not helping. The warmth of her body and the naturally sweet scent of her skin still penetrate my sleep. The dreams I’ve had because of that have been intense and I’ve been waking up with monster hard-ons. It’s making me think that maybe I should consider sleeping on the couch.

If I did that or if I set up a separate room for her, it’s a risk. One errant word from Rikki or Yeva to anyone in the Bratva and the rumor mill will be working overtime about how we’re only a week and a half into our marriage and we’ve stopped sleeping together. My leadership would be questioned. After all, how can I run a Bratva if I can’t even please my woman?

Needless to say, I’m actually happy to be out of the house. I’m even happier knowing that I’ll be able to take out some of this frustration that’s been building up over the last week and a half. I could use a good fight or at least some time to beat the shit out of somebody.

Rikki smirks at me as I walk up and says, “Hello to you, too.”

“Can it.” I’m not smiling. There’s nothing funny to me at this moment.

Rikki glances over at Gedeon. A quick nonverbal exchange flies between them. Gedeon says, “He’s in the basement.”

“Well, don’t just stand there. Let’s go.”

Rikki opens the door and the three of us walk in. The dusty stench of the long abandoned apartment building lingers in the air as we walk down the first hallway to the staircase, Gedeon holding his phone up with the flashlight on so we can see.

This is one of at least three buildings in the area that are due to be demolished in a couple of days. The neighborhood around them has long been abandoned, and there’s nothing here but empty parking lots and fields of overgrown grass and not a soul around to hear the screams of the poor bastard who thought it was a good idea to cross us.

According to Kostya, they found the guy hiding out in the attic of his friend’s house. His friends were disposed of pretty easily, or at least that’s my understanding, and he was dragged out by the back of his neck and thrown in the trunk of Rikki’s car. My brother didn’t even give this guy a chance to try and beg for his life. I’ve always appreciated his efficiency when it comes to things like this.

There’s a big metal door at the bottom of the stairs. Gedeon pushes it open using his shoulder. It scrapes the floor as he gets it all the way open, propping it up with a rock, then standing to one side as Rikki and I walk all the way into the room.

The space is enormous despite the well-placed lanterns sitting around the single chair in the center of the room. From here, I can see the amber lights flickering off the shadows, pulling them in a little closer than the walls of the room. In the darkness, there are shapes of shelves and old machinery—pieces of a life that no longer exists in this old building.

And in the very center of the room, sitting in a chair, is our guy. Rikki’s already had a little time with him. The tank top he’s wearing is torn at the collar and stained with streaks of dark red and brown. His head is hanging down, but his short brown hair is soaked with sweat and streaked with red from the clumps of rapidly coagulating blood in his scalp.

I walk up to him and pull his head up by his greasy hair. One eye is swollen shut and his bottom lip is bloody. There are some bruises on his jawline, but overall, he only looks a little roughed up so far. Rikki clearly held back to leave some for me.

He stares up at me with his one good eye. It shakes with fear.

“You know, I was sound asleep when I was told that you’d been caught,” I say to him, “so, I’m a little cranky. I like my sleep. Hopefully, we can keep this short and sweet. Let’s start with the basics. Who are you and who sent you?”

He swallows hard, still staring up at me with that one shaky eye. But he doesn’t say a word. I let go of his head and glance behind me. Rikki is standing to my immediate left and Gedeon’s still by the door.

“Rikki, soften him up some more for me.”