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But if Leonid wanted something he wouldn't stop until he got it… by any means necessary.
“And he plans on trying to use her as collateral to force my hand.” Arlo didn't phrase it like a question. He was smart enough to know how twisted our father’s mind was.
Neither me nor Dmitry said anything for a long while, letting that reality sink in with Arlo.
“I don’t think you understand the obsession my father has with that woman of yours.” Dmitry finally spoke. “But because he knows you want her, because you couldn’t control yourself atSdat'syaand destroyed Dima’s hands, he won’t stop until he makes you see his way of thinking.” A muscle under Dmitry’s jaw ticked, as if just speaking about how fucked up our father was almost sent him into a rage. “He wants to make herhis, Arlo. That’s the fucking truth of the matter.” Dmitry took another step forward, and once more Arlo’s body became tense.
With readiness.
And in turn I felt my own darkness rise up like toxic tendrils. My muscles tightened, blood rushed through my veins, and I had an itch under my skin to destroy someone or something.
And when I saw Arlo’s hand move to his back to no doubt get better access to his gun, I rolled my head around on my neck, cracked my knuckles, and felt adrenaline coursing through me.
“Do you understand what I mean, Arlo? Do you understand what my father does to women?”
I kept my focus on Arlo and what he was doing with that fucking hand by his gun. My fingers tightened around mine in preparation.
I bared my teeth and when Arlo looked at me I gritted out, “He’s a savage toward the fairer sex. Fucking deplorable. He’ll destroy her, Arlo, and I don’t mean end her life in the most humane, painless way possible.” I pushed off the wall, not bothering to hide the gun in my hand, my finger on the trigger.“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.”
A deep growl of aggression and warning left Arlo.
I glanced at my brother and saw him smirk. We had Arlo right where we wanted him.
The feelings Arlo had for this woman clearly went deeper than sexual or obsession. Dare I say the sociopath in front of us actuallycaredfor her?
“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.”
Arlo curled his lip at Dmitry. “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 at me, which had me 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.” Dmitry looked back at Arlo. “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,” Dmitry said as he curled his hand into a fist in front of his face.
Arlo started pacing, the clear intellect on his expression telling me he was thinking about all possible outcomes anddisadvantages and advantages to killing the Pakhan of the Desolation Bratva.
Arlo stopped 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.”
I started laughing even harder this time after my brother spoke.
“Although it served the fucker right. He was a touchy bastard and doesn't know what the word ‘no’ means.”
And that’s when I saw everything settle within Arlo. He’d made up his mind.
“You and I both know you’re going to take him out.” There was clear confidence in Dmitry’s voice.
“My brother and I don’t need more war. We want an alliance between the Cosa Nostra and Bratva. We need to grow stronger and create not only domestic deals but international ones. And we found a way to do that. But if our father stays in power, he’ll destroy the progress we’re making.” Dmitry looked at me and smirked, a silent affirmation of all of this passing between us.
“Didn’t you know?” I prompted and stalked toward Arlo. “I’m getting hitched. Got an arranged marriage to a sexy little just-turned-eighteen Italian hottie.” Although I didn’t fucking know if she was sexy, it didn’t fucking matter, not when this was strictly a power move. But Arlo didn’t need to know all the details.
I wagged my eyebrows and grinned lasciviously.
Arlo stared at me in the eyes. “That’s your plan? An arranged marriage between the Petrov Bratva and Cosa Nostra?” He ran a hand over his face and shook his head. “You guys are even crazier than I thought.”
Dmitry grinned but didn’t say anything else.
“So we came to a father killer to handle this.” I knew that would drive the nail into the proverbial coffin for Arlo. He knew all about killing fathers seeing as he did his own in when he was only sixteen.
And as I watched Arlo’s eyes narrow, I grinned. Yeah, he’d do this for us.
