Distrust (Smirnov Bratva Book 1) (6 page)

“We need to discuss business. We don’t want you here. You don’t want to be here. But your father has agreed, and you interfered in that.”

I have no idea what he’s talking about, none at all. My father doesn’t make decisions about the street. He may still hold power, especially over me because he’s my father and you respect that, but not on the streets.

“What business?”

“You killed one of my men two months ago.”

Wracking my brain trying to remember who he’s talking about, I think,
isn’t it sad when you have no idea?
Because I don’t. I’ve killed at least twenty men in the past month, forgetting the minute the trigger is pulled, or the knife inflicts its wounds.

“And?”

Maso crunches his fists together, his lips are in a thin, fine line I notice when his grandfather squeezes his shoulder to calm him down. What I find surprising about it all, is that the actual man in charge hasn’t spoken a single word, he just stares at me, like I have a scar on my face that’s oozing.

“It was one of my grandsons, Kazier. This I don’t take to lightly. Particularly as he was on a job.”

“Was he
working
in my area?” It’s been known for years, we hold the power, and the Bartalotti hate that. They’re probably the second most powerful family, but they don’t like running second.

“Did you need to kill him because of that?” Bartollo basically spits at me.

Finally, he’s found his voice.

I direct my answer to him. “Yes! I would do the same to you. I’m all about helping wipe the scum from the earth.” He steps forward, only to stop himself.

“You call me scum. You’re a Smirnov Bratva. You and your family are nothing but scum, coming here, taking over.”

It’s true, they were here first. Our family migrated back in the early fifties, but muscle and more money buy power. So our business was the source for everyone, especially those that had been dealing with the Bartalotti family. We made better business deals, carried out our affairs more ruthlessly, plain and simple. Our money wasn’t clean, it never has been. Our money was made from drugs, trafficking, even the black market.

“It’s like you think you’re speaking to someone who’s not the Pakhan because you know well that I don’t take to threats, I deliver them.” My footsteps move closer, his eyes go to my feet. I pause, and he shuts his mouth. He’s not speaking to some lowlife scum, a bus boy, he can’t speak to me like that. No one can speak to me like that, ever. Only my father, and even then he knows he can’t push too hard. I would kill him in the heat of the moment, my temper is not something I can control.

“I didn’t come here to fight, or make more enemies. I want to speak, so nothing like this happens again. I don’t want to bury my family, and if I have to bury one more, I can’t control the war that’s already brewing,” Pitrov states, standing tall.

Maso smiles like he knows more. Maybe he does? Maybe he just wants me to cut his mouth open, make that smile into a full-time smirk? Now that’s something I would very much like to do.

“If it comes to a war, I won’t lose, you know this. So keep your men away from my business.” Maso’s eyes travel behind me and stare at Viktor, he smirks at him, trying to get under his skin. He thinks he’s the most dangerous man alive and on some levels he is. I don’t want to inform them otherwise.

“Just because you have no morals, does not mean you will win,” Bartollo says spitting out at me.

“But you see it does. Because that makes me more dangerous than you. I won’t just stop at you, Bartollo. I’ll take to torture and kill everyone you love. And while I do, I will make you watch.”

“Okay, that’s enough. It’s time to leave,” the old man says waving to the door.

He doesn’t have to tell me twice, the doors open and just as we leave I hear Maso’s voice as the door shuts. “I’ll kill her, Kazier.”

I try not to take anything from that bullshit. It could mean anything. He wouldn’t know about her—not Elina—so he must be talking about Freya who he thinks one day will be my wife. Her death wouldn’t affect me, Elina’s on the other hand, I would create more than a war, I’d create a bomb so big and it will destroy them all.

Chapter 10

Kazier

Past

It was quiet as we walked the back streets of Brooklyn. Most of the businesses along the strip were ours, so I knew it would be quiet. Anton was hitting Viktor on the arm, trying to provoke him into hitting him back. He wanted to fight, he always wanted to fight. Especially Viktor since he’d kicked his ass several times before, he believed he could beat him, but to this day he hadn’t proved it. So he provoked him every chance he could get. And worse when we had vodka in our system, like tonight.

“Just let me punch you, man… it the face… hard,” he mumbled, pushing him. I shook my head and continued onward. Viktor didn’t reply, and when I turned, I saw it before it happened. Anton stayed back as Viktor walked with me. Anton charged him like a bull, his head down, running straight for his midsection. Just as he reached him, Viktor sidestepped, and Anton ran straight into the pole in the street. Viktor continued to walk like nothing had happened, and I couldn’t help the laugh that formed as Anton held his head bleeding on the ground.

“You could have warned me, fuck face,” he said to me trying to stand, his hand on his head.

“Where’s the fun in that? I would have missed your epic head banging.” The laugh came harder with the look he gave me.

“Boss,” Viktor said.

I’d forgotten he’d kept walking. When I turned, he had his hand wrapped around Elina’s arm. She was standing there death glaring him, trying to pull her arm free. At first, I was angry that his hands were on her, then as I walked toward her, I started to wonder why she was here. And I knew if I asked, she wouldn’t answer.

Her eyes went to mine, I could see the anger in them, her eyebrows were scrunched, her mouth was in a thin straight line. I went to speak when I realized she was with someone, I’d seen her two times before, neither had she been with anyone. Always on her own. She noticed where my eyes went. Her head swung backward to her friend, who was not dressed like Elina at all. She was dressed in jeans and a sweater. I saw Elina’s mouth move, though I heard no words.

“Viktor, let her go.” He looked to her then to me, his hand removed from her slowly as he dropped it, then took a step back. Elina stepped backward, turning to her side to speak again to her friend, but no words came out. Her friend’s head nodded, then she started to walk, a walking stick helped her guide herself straight past us. I let her walk, Viktor moved so she could walk around, but Anton stopped her with a hand on her hip.

“Where you running to, sweetheart?” he said. The girl cowered into herself, and Elina walked straight past me, pulled Anton’s gun on him with a move so fast he didn’t even see it coming. Her free hand reached out and touched her friend’s shoulder, pushing her to walk. She walked away and didn’t look back.

Anton hissed at her, “The last person who touched that, ended up with no legs.”

She ignored him and looked past him to her friend. Seeing that she was gone, she pushed the gun into his chest then turned back to me, no care for Anton at all.

“Elina,” I said just as she reached me. Her hand fell down and clasped mine, making me ignore everyone and just focus on her. It was those fucking powers she possessed, I swear.

“I need you,” she whispered. I didn’t think twice as I pulled her to the side of the building, enclosing us in darkness. I could only just make out her eyes, her hands fumbled when she played with my pants, undoing them, then pulling my cock free. Her dress hiked up, her leg up around my waist. I noticed fear for the first time in her eyes, blinded by the darkness, just as I slammed into her.

Her head fell backward. While her back arched, one free hand held my forearm as she pushed. Both legs were wrapped around me as I fucked her, in and out, making me moan from the pleasure that I knew only she could give me. I couldn’t see her eyes, I tried to lift her up to see the gold in them, but she wouldn’t move. Her back was bent back as far as she could get, her hair dangling just off the ground. What an exquisite beauty she had, and she knew it too.

When she came, my name left her lips, the sounds making me come at the same time. She stayed suspended until both of our breathing calmed, then she pulled herself back up to me. Smirking when she reached me. With hands wrapped around my neck she pulled me in, then took a deep breath.

“Do you think you can love sex with just one person, forever?” she asked.

I couldn’t see her eyes, her head was still in my neck. “Yes,” I said without a doubt. I could, with her. No one else, just her. Second time I had been in her, and I knew she was the best that I would ever get. She was an enigma, and one I wanted to let go of. Even if that meant killing everyone to keep her, I would do it, and I didn’t even know her. Maybe I could keep her. Maybe one day soon I would kidnap her, lock her away, and keep her there as my doll, just for me to play with, day in and day out. How did one woman, who I had met three times, fucked twice, hold such a power?

Her voice was like silk, it wrapped around my tortured soul and claimed it, making it so I could only hear and see her. Her pussy controlled my head, of that I had no doubt. But what about her mind? I didn’t even know that yet, all I knew was her first name. She refused to give me any more. I wanted more, though. One day soon I would trap her, even if it took me years to do it. Even if she ran, I would hunt her down and find her. She couldn’t escape me now, not even if she tried. I had ties all over the world, there wouldn’t be a place she could run that would save her from me.

“I won’t run,” she mumbles, now looking at me.

Did I say that out loud?

“Your face changes. You get this serious look, and I know you’re thinking of me. Your eyes still hold mischief,” she said her lips inches from mine.

“You can run, sweetheart, but I will find you. Then I’ll lock you away… you’ll never see a human being again. The only person you’ll see is me and my cock.”

Her lips smashed onto mine. She bit hard, pulling blood from my lower lip, then sucking it.

“I run every time we fuck.” She breathed into me, nibbling my lip.

“And every time you come back. If you didn’t come back in my appropriate timeframe, I would hunt you, Elina. You’re locked in for me now. Do you understand?”

Her mouth lifted away from mine, her legs dropped from my waist. She pulled her dress down when she hit the floor.

“I like to test theories.” She smirked and walked down the dark alleyway, disappearing again.

Without another word, I pulled my pants back up and walked back to the street. I saw Anton still trying to provoke Viktor, he was hitting him on the arm, as they both sat on the street corner. Viktor wasn’t even paying attention just letting him punch him.

“Anton,” I called. He jumped from his spot as Viktor slowly raised up, turning to look at me.

“You were gone a long time, boss, and you look freshly fucked,” he said walking over to me and hitting my arm. “I want to kill or torture someone. Viktor is killing my mood.” His thumb pointed backward over his shoulder to Viktor.

“Viktor, do you know what I’m about to say.” He nodded his head as he stared at me. “Don’t touch her again. Your hands are not to lay a finger on her. If you do, I will chop them off and feed them to that dog of yours.”

“Yes, boss,” he said. Anton looked back and forward at both of us, his face went slack, the color drained from his face as he stood there wide-eyed in shock. These men were my most trusted men, I had not once threatened them and meant it.

What was she doing to me?

Chapter 11

Kazier

Present

Freya opens her door with a get-the-fuck-out look on her face. She looks behind me and notices that both the boys are with me. Her demeanor changes in front of my face as she lays eyes on Viktor, who’s not even looking at her. His eyes are on the ground, interesting. My father suggested I go and visit my soon to be wife, spend some time with her before we make things official, and it’s the only logical thing he has said to me in two weeks.

I need to spend more time with her, I need to know if I can stand being around her longer than an hour and not wanting to kill her just to end all this. I don’t want to kill her, I only partially want to kill her, so I don’t have to go through with it all. Maybe Anton’s suggestion wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe it would be easier. Then I realize I couldn’t, I couldn’t just kill her. Not just because it would turn Bratva on Bratva, but just because she has some fire, and I like a little bit of fire in a woman. It shows strength, and as weak as she may look, she definitely has that strength.

“We brought vodka,” Anton announces holding up two bottles shouldering past me to get into the house. Her bodyguards slash cousins stare at him as he makes his way inside, I see Freya shoo them away with a wave of her hand. Anton looks around and whistles. This place is impressive, chandelier in the entry way, the staircase is lined with gold going upstairs. “You must be rich, hey? Or daddy perhaps?” he asks walking past and disappearing through a door.

“We came to bond,” I say letting myself in. She watches and steps aside while Viktor and I walk in.