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My entire body tightened, even though I already knew Leonid wouldn’t leave this alone. I’d seen the excited glint in his eye as I took Lina out of his bar.
“I don’t need you or your brother interfering.”
Nikolai snorted and leaned back on the wall, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring.
“He’s like a dog with a fucking bone over having you join the ranks.” He shook his head. “I don’t get his obsession with you, but he holds you in high regard and will use whatever means necessary to bring you in.”
“And he plans on trying to use her as collateral to force my hand.” I didn't phrase it like a question, because I knew that was the outcome Leonid saw. I knew the way the fucker’s mind worked. Dmitry was quiet for so long it started to feel like this itch under my skin.
“I don’t think you understand the obsession my father has with that woman. Because he knows you want her, because you couldn’t control yourself, he won’t stop until he makes you see his way of thinking.” I saw a muscle in Dmitry’s jaw tick, as if just speaking about how fucked up his father was almost sent him into a rage. “He wants to make her his, Arlo. That’s the fucking truth of the matter.” Dmitry took another step forward, and my entire body tightened. With readiness. I was already walking on a razor’s edge and trying to control myself after hearing the news—the fucking threat—of what Leonid wanted with Lina.
I moved my hand suddenly to my back to get better access to my gun.
“Do you understand what I mean, Arlo? Do you understand what my father does to women?”
I gritted my teeth. I knew.
“He’s a savage toward the fairer sex. Fucking deplorable.”
I was surprised to hear the venom in Nikolai’s voice as he spoke about his father. Although they may not have cared for the man in a father/son sense, I always assumed they had some kind of respect for him. It was very clear they didn’t.
“He’ll destroy her, Arlo, and I don’t mean end her life in the most humane, painless way possible. He’ll beat her down mentally and emotionally until she’s nothing more than dough that he can form into whatever vision he sees fit. And when he’s the only thing that she can grasp on to, when he has you right where he wants you, he’ll destroy you too.”
I was seething with rage, and there was no way I could hide my body’s reaction. I wasn’t even trying as a deep growl of aggression and warning left me.
Dmitry smirked, but it didn’t hold the amusement or satisfaction I assumed it would from seeing me lose control. The very thought of anyone so much as laying a hand on Lina made me want to desecrate the entire city of Desolation. To think that somebody would touch or hurt her, to snuff out that light, made me want to go on a killing rampage.
“Our father needs to be taken out, Arlo. And because you now have a direct link to him through your woman, because she’s a threat and you know my father won’t stop until he gets what he wants, which is now both of you, she won’t be safe.”
I curled my lip at him. “Don’t fucking act like you’re giving me some kind of fucking gift, like you’re doing me a favor. You’re doing this because you want power, Dmitry. You’re doing this because your father is psychotic and destructive, becoming too volatile apparently. Don’t fucking act like you’re giving a handout simply because you have a good heart. It’s just as fucking black and soulless as mine.”
Dmitry laughed and looked over his shoulder, which had Nikolai chuckling as well. “As much as we’d like to take out the old fucker ourselves, show him the kind of family love he’s shown us as we grew up, you know how our world works.” He looked back at me. “It would be bad form for us to have a personal hand in it. But you’re the best of the best. A real coldhearted bastard, aren’t you? You could take him out and make it look like he just disappeared. Poof,” he said as he curled his hand into a fist in front of his face.
I turned from them and paced, knowing what I had to do but not wanting to fucking work with Dmitry or Nikolai. I didn’t want to make back-alley deals with them. This wasn’t even about the Bratva or their Pakhan. I couldn’t give a shit about Leonid and his fucked-up morals. My only concern and priority was Lina.
I turned to face them and growled out, “She’s mine.”
Dmitry started laughing. “Yeah, I think you made that pretty fucking obvious when Dima touched your girl and you pulverized his fucking hands.” Nikolai started laughing even harder this time after his brother spoke. “Although it served the fucker right. He was a touchy bastard and doesn't know what the word ‘no’ means.”
