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I didn’t say anything. I neither denied nor acknowledged her claims, though it was obvious. But I didn’t remain silent because of fear. Judging by the thick tension radiating around us, I knew it was better not to speak at the moment. Sergey gave a curt nod and together, we faced Vincent Russo, ready for his wrath.
“Explain it to me,” he fired rapidly, shooting daggers at my brother. “What the hell is this, Vadim?”
Sergey stood upright with his hands clasped together below his belt, seemingly unfazed. “I’m afraid everything has already been said, Russo. What you heard is what it is,” he said coolly, his Russian accent clearer and deeper than before. “And we never turn our back on family.”
Vincent’s lips curved upwards in an ugly scowl, his jagged teeth baring like a crazy wild dog preparing to take a pounce. We knew what Sergey’s response meant. It was like the muffled echo of a pin drop from a grenade, right before the explosion. Standing there, defending me, in the midst of the bubbling chaos, was destined to cause one thing.
Havoc. Destruction. Death.
“You are accepting this...” he spat, his anger radiating in invisible waves across the once tranquil atmosphere. His bodyguards picked up his choler signals and they stormed through the crowd, showing up by his side in their full regalia; black on black and heavily armed. Cocking of guns resonated from around them and, in a blink, metals were aimed.
Sergey didn’t move or blink, but one look at his face, and I could tell that a killer storm brewed inside. “Tell your men to stand down, Russo,” his voice was as steely as his gaze.
“You deserve to die, for bringing such disgrace to my name, Russian scum!”
“Tell your men to drop their weapons, Russo. I am not going tofuckingrepeat myself,” Sergey ordered. But the old guy was as stubborn as a mule.
The strain and pressure in the hall were so thick, a knife could cut right through. It was no unknown tale that Vincent Russo was not a man to be messed with. He had a lot of enemies but no one wanted to get under Russo’s skin. You couldn’t eventry and get away with it. He was considered one of the top mob bosses with a wide reach, solid influence, and was greatly feared.
But so was the Bratva. No one, and I mean,no goddam one,ruffled even a feather of the Bratva. Anyone who stepped on the tail of a Vadim, with or without being forewarned, was destined to die.
Sergey’s finger twitched, so subtly I almost missed it. The good thing was, I didn’t. It was a coordinated motion, pointing northward, and slightly to the side. An opening to a guard just behind Russo.
I sniffed, acting assumedly restless, and flicked the tip of my ponytail. It was a distraction and all I needed to buy some time. Sufficient time to slide the silver, cold gun from between the loop of my belt in a nick of a split second and aim at the man Sergey had marked for annihilation. One second, two…
Bang!
There was a faint sound of a bullet swooshing through the air and sinking deep into soft flesh. A dullthumpresounded as the body dropped through to the ground, just behind the fearless Camorra leader.
No screams orpatterof feet running to take cover. The crowd was used to it. Toallof it. The bloodshed, mishandled arguments, and unnecessary random deaths. All they did was watch quietly as the drama went on.
Russo's eyes widened—only a barely noticeable crinkle at the corners as he stood stiff, unmoving. “How dare…”
“I could have killed you,” Sergey cut in unexpectedly, his tone as steady as still waters. “That lifeless man lying behind you could have been you, Russo. And it can still be you. Tell your men to drop the fucking guns.Thisis the last warning.”
Vincent, raised a bony finger, cursing under his breath as he stamped forward. The pool of red surrounding the body behind him was more visible now, but the others barely paid him any attention. All eyes were on Russo.
“I swear, Vadim...” he inhaled slowly filling his lungs with as much air as he could. His dark eyes brimmed with wild, cackling flames. “I swear with my life that you will pay for this humiliation. A life for a life.”
He retracted his steps, glared at his daughter, who instantly teetered to his side, and pivoted on his heels, his guards falling behind him. They marched out of the hall as the crowd parted, leaving behind faint shoeprints of blood on the tiles.
One after the other, the crowd dispersed and Sergey’s head snapped to me, the anger back in his dangerous glare. It was just him and me now. The beast mode was fully activated once more. He could rip out my throat and feed my carcass to the vultures, and no one would do a fucking thing about it.
“Do you understand what you have done, Vlad? Do you know what you have caused?” The veins on his neck strained as he roared. “You have just started a war with your childishness.”
“I know.” I gritted my teeth and covered the space between us with one determined stomp. I felt pumped with rage and something else I hadn’t felt in a long, long time. An overpowering urge to protect and defend. At all costs. “For Mariana, I am willing to start a fucking hundred more wars, if that’s what it takes.”
Chapter 22 - Mariana
I remember your blue eyes looking into mine
Like we had our own secret club...
I plugged out the AirPods from my ears and leaned back against the leather chair with a sigh. I stayed like that for a minute; fingers closed tightly around the small Airpods, eyelids shut, head placed on the soft headrest, and my chest slowly rising and falling like a symbol of calm. For a moment, it had been comforting andalmostblissful, until everything felt wrong.
I had Taylor’s voice floating in my head and the stirring lyrics ofRonanin my ears, when all of sudden, I sawhiscloudless blue eyes. Andhisannoying bright smile. I heard the reecho of his rich, airy laughter andhisdeep, sexy voice whispering crazy jokes in my ears, while he pinned my hands above my head and rubbed his hip against mine.
I saw rapid flashes of him... of us; my lips pressing kisses against his jaw, my fingers in his soft hair, running down to the viper tattoo on his neck, my nails digging into the broad back, the flex of his muscles underneath my palm, his grunts, his groans... his...
