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CHAPTER ONE
ANDREI
I watch her from my seat in the blacked-out SUV. The windows are tinted so dark people don’t know I’m back here. It’s one of the reasons I liked the Escalade. I normally have Mikhail and Dmitri drive me around in my Maybach, but ever since Sparrow came into my life in January, I’d rather be in this vehicle. I can watch her without her knowing I’m there, and others don’t know I’m there either.
Three more months until I’ll be able to go to her. At least that’s the plan. My home is ready for her, and I’ve made sure she knows I’m still here. I send her gifts every week, sometimes multiple times.
Today I had Mikhail take her dinner. She’s met both of my best friends and bodyguards several times. I don’t go near her though. The temptation is too great. If I get close to her again, I’ll throw her over my shoulder and take her to my home. I’ll break the rules and take her. I’d break the law for her, and I know it. I look down at the pocket kerchief I’ve been wearing with my suits lately. The blue-green color reminds me of her eyes. It’s the only color present against all the black I wear.
I can’t help the smile that comes to my face as I think of the first time Dmitri met her in person. She screamed and begged him not to kidnap her and sell her into slavery. He almost dropped what he was carrying because he couldn’t believe she would think that of him. Yes, he’s bigger than me, both in height but also in build. His tattoos are as visible as mine. He keeps his blond hair in a buzz cut. He’s intimidating to most people in our field, which is good. Sparrow’s reaction to him was funny at the time. But now that I’ve learned more about her brother, I realize why she said that. Brett controls her with fear. I suspect he does more than that, and the next time I see bruises on her he’ll become buzzard food in the desert.
I can’t wait until I have her under my roof and my body. I’ll worship her and treat her like she deserves. I’ve never felt like this before with a woman. But the moment I heard Sparrow singing out loud and watched her dancing around the room, I knew. Growing up, my babushka told my siblings and me that we were destined to have great loves because of what our parents put us through. She is angry with how her own son treated us. Yes, he’s not only our father but the Pakhan, the leader of the organization; however, she feels he could have spent more time with us instead of letting her raise us. She says she doesn’t regret it though.
My mother married my father at the same age Sparrow will be soon. Of course, their marriage was arranged, but my father loved her as best he could. He ended up cheating on her all the time. Hence how my brother and sister came to be born. That’s something I won’t do to my Sparrow. When my mother left my father, I was only four years old. She moved back to France and moved on with her life. I spent most summers with her, until her death. Though my brother and sister are half-siblings, we don’t count that; we are all a family. Babushka made sure of that. She took care of all three of us. We grew up mostly here in Vegas. I still have my accent because of the time I spent with my mother and because of my father. It’s been a curse most of my life; however, women find it sexy and throw themselves at me. Men hate it because they think I’m going to come after their women. I don’t cheat. I don’t like cheaters. But that doesn’t change their minds.
Focusing back on my woman, I watch as she cleans the salon. It’s almost seven at night and she’s still working. She works too much. She worked at the hotel from six this morning until two. From there she went to a shelter she volunteers at, then she moved to the commercial businesses she cleans starting at six in the evening. I’m beginning to realize her brother uses all their money to pay for his gambling habit. I’ve put around the word that he’s not to get credit from any of the loan sharks in town. He’ll have to come to me pretty soon, or he’ll learn and stop. I highly doubt he’ll stop because he’s just like his father before him. The rumor is that another made man had her father killed and buried in the desert somewhere.
Good for nothing is what they both are.
I’ll probably end up having to do the same with Brett.
I watch as she swings her hips, similar to what she did when I first saw her. The movement makes me think of what it’s going to be like the first time I take her. I’ll worship her beautiful body. Her small B cup breasts will fit perfectly into my hands as I pound into her. I can’t wait to see if her nipples are rosy in color. The thought of her tight, sweet cunt wrapped around my cock, strangling it, has me groaning. I’ve been hard as a rock since that first moment in January when I saw her. If she had been eighteen, I would have thrown her over my shoulder and taken her back to my house.
“Boss, Gray wants to meet.” Mikhail interrupts my dirty thoughts.
“Why?” I bark, not wanting to leave right now. I’ve put in appearances at my businesses, but as it’s getting closer to her birthday, it’s been harder for me to be away from her. I suspect my father knows something is going on, and I’ll have to return to the cardroom and restaurant soon.
“He says it’s urgent.”
“Fine. We can leave here as soon as Sparrow is done.” It will be late. I’m aware my brother has a new woman, but he can make her wait. I have new priorities.
“He said twenty minutes.” Mikhail’s voice has a hint of something in it. If anyone else tried to give me orders, Mikhail would tell them otherwise. But he knows if Grayson is calling a meeting, something big is going on. “He sounds grumpy. I heard his new woman left him.” His words stop me for a moment. From what I saw, Gray felt about his girl what I feel for Sparrow. Him letting her go doesn’t sound like what I would do. I need to find out what’s going on.
“Fine.” I watch Sparrow for a moment longer and know she’s safe because I have other guards on her. Some of them will be her personal guards when I bring her in. The two men in the front seat have been by my side since I was young. Dmitri’s own father is my father’s second and personal guard too. Being second to the Pakhan is a huge deal and something Dmitri and Mikhail both respect.
Mikhail’s family came over from Russia with my father. He was raised in a long-standing devoted Bratva family until his parents were both killed. My babushka took him in because of their sacrifice. Being raised with both Mikhail and Dmitri, they know how important Sparrow has become to me.
At first Mikhail thought I’d lost my mind, and Dmitri tried to get me to turn my eye toward a more appropriate woman. But there is no one more perfect for me than Sparrow. Yes, she’s seventeen years younger than me, but I don’t care. Her sweet innocence and compassion for others shines brighter than any other woman I’ve been with. Even though my girl struggles and works so hard, she still makes time to help at a shelter that helps women escape bad situations.
As the SUV pulls away from the curb, I take one last look at my girl. She turns and follows the movement of the vehicle, as if she knows I’m watching her from it. I’m not a fate kind of guy; I believe every man makes his own way. But something about Sparrow feels right and perfect.
We pull up to the front of my brother’s casino, and I wait until Mikhail opens the door. I step out and shake my legs, getting circulation back after sitting for so long. I walk toward the entrance with my head held high and not so much as a glance at others around me. Babushka taught my siblings and me that we are above others because of who our father is. Mikhail and Dmitri, on the other hand, have their heads on a constant swivel, making sure there are no dangers lurking around. It’s not that I don’t care about my safety, of course I do. But I’m really good at reading an area before I even step out of the vehicle, and I can fight for myself. I only have a security detail because it’s required and because they wanted to do it aside from being my seconds in command and heads of the brigadiers.
As I stroll inside, I assess there is more hotel security milling around than usual. They are trying to blend in but failing because of their increased presence. Yes, there is definitely something going on.
My brother’s casino is outright owned by him and not the family. But he still has ties to the Bratva, such as hiring people who want to go legit and get out of the organization. I respect the fact that some people don’t want to be a part of the Bratva, my brother and sister included. My brother has always wanted to own his own casino, and he worked hard to get it.
Grayson’s best friend and assistant, Aleksei, is waiting for me and moves us toward a private doorway. Someday I expect Grayson to make Alek his partner and offer him partial ownership of the casino too. We move through the back of the casino into the inner bowels, where offices and staff are. Alek flashes his security card when we reach the elevator. The doors open, and once inside, he does it again. The elevator ascends to the private office and security floor, where Gray’s executive office is located. It is only accessible by personnel who meet special requirements.
We move off the elevator as a group, none of us making chitchat or socializing. Alek is silent, which confirms my suspicions that something very serious is going on. When he opens the door to Gray’s office and I see my brother’s disheveled appearance, I’m taken aback.
“What’s wrong?” I ask in greeting. His eyes, identical to my own, move to me. His normally pressed suit is wrinkled. His hair is down from the normal tie or slicked back style he wears it in. I can tell he’s been pulling at it. The dark circles under his eyes and his untrimmed beard and mustache speak of his anxiety.
“We have issues. Someone has been trying to hack the system, and for some fucked-up reason there are runners on the premises. I’ve had gaming commission officials dropping in for surprise inspections. They’ve hinted that complaints have been made. On top of all that, we’ve caught a couple guys counting cards. And Babushka chased off my woman.”
“Well, that could be a good thing. Babushka has a sense of people, maybe this girl is after all this.” I wave my hand around and then unbutton my jacket to take a seat across the desk from him.
“She’s my wife.” He drops the bomb. “She had no clue this is mine. She had no clue about us.” He moves his hand between the two of us and then my guys. “Babushka judged Erika based on her appearance instead of her heart. I have a call into Father to discuss my wife and what’s going on here.”
