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PROLOGUE
Lev
“I insist on this. Children will never be part of the deal.” My father looks pointedly at Eduardo Caruso, a core member of the Mexican Mafia. I stare at the two powerful men who aren’t ready to bow to each other’s demands. My father, Kirill Ivanov, is resolute. Caruso doesn’t seem ready to take no for an answer, either.
I anticipate how this will end… and it scares me.
I know why I must be here. My father wants me to be involved in the family business. It doesn't matter that I'm barely fourteen. I wish I didn’t have to be drawn in so soon, though. It will be years before I have to take over from him.
I glance at Stone, my father’s right-hand man. His menacing glare hasn’t left Caruso’s face.
As much as I don’t want to be here, I know I have to be. This is my birthright. My father has instilled this in me for as long as I can remember.
“Are you sure you want to pass up this opportunity?” Caruso asks. His smile is self-assured. I am tempted to roll my eyes at his question. Once my father has made a decision, there is no turning back from it.
A warrior stands by his word, always.
I’ve heard my father say it daily. I know the conversation is over when he gives the man an uninterested look.
“As you wish,” Caruso says, probably picking up on my father’s unspoken response. “We’ll be in touch if we have other business to propose.” As young as I am, I can sense his disappointment. “I trust this stays between us,” he adds, giving me a warning look. For some reason, he makes me uncomfortable, but I know better than to show it.
“Are you implying that I run my mouth off?” my father asks, arching an eyebrow.
“I do not. As a matter of fact, I know it won’t be getting out of this room. You made your choice, so that seals it.” Caruso’s smile makes me uneasy. I stare at him, unsure of what puts me off about him. I sense an underlying threat in his words, but I don’t dwell on it. “I’ll take my leave,” he says while my father impassively watches him.
My father gives him a curt nod before he leaves. The room is filled with silence some minutes after Caruso’s departure.
“I don’t trust him,” my father says.
“I don’t trust him either. I feel there is more to this, Boss,” Stone says. I watch the two men stare at each other as if silently communicating.
“Get the men ready. I don’t think this is the last we will hear from the Mexicans,” my father says.
Stone is about to say something when a loud sound fills the air. I jump up in fright. My father and Stone are rigid with tension.
I am about to ask my father what is going on when gunshots tear the air.
“Yobany Urod!” my dad exclaims as he and Stone rush out of the room.
At first, I’m frozen as the house is assailed by staccato gunfire. Then I come to my senses and charge out of the office to look for my mother and sister.
Get them to the basement!
My father’s emergency instructions have been drummed into me since childhood. They spur me into action now.
It isn’t a surprise my dad has predicted a day like this. Being the strongest Bratva means we have enemies. Many of them. And enemies mean possible attacks. I pass a large window and see men on the ground. I can’t tell if they are our men or that of our foes.
“Mama! Alicia!” I call as I search for my mother and sister. As soon as I get them to the basement, I’ll join my father and his men.
I’m not ready to hide like a coward.
It’s not in my nature and it’s not how I’ve been raised.
The hallway is eerily deserted. I ignore the uncertainty that fills me as I race toward my mother’s room. I’m sure I’ll find her and my sister there, but my heartbeat pounds in my ears.
Reaching her room and kicking open the door, I face a scene from my worst nightmare.
The scenery that welcomes me freezes the blood in my veins. Everything around me ceases to exist except for what’s in front of me. Or who. My vision narrows as the world around me begins to spin.
