Chapter 36: Bratva Prince: Chapter 36

I ran a finger over the rim of my glass, my eyes sweeping across the large outdoor area as I tried my hardest not to glare at anyone who came close to me.

Please don’t kill anyone, Illayana’s soft voice fluttered through my head. She had sat all three of us down before the party started and pleaded with us not to cause any trouble.

I need this to go well, she’d said, staring us all in the eyes, looking every bit like our mother as she sternly told us off like she was the older sibling.

RnB music played over the air, laughter and chatter swirling all around me. The atmosphere was light, fun.

I hated it. I wasn’t a social creature by nature. I much preferred to be on my own. Parties weren’t my scene, yet here I was celebrating the birth of a man I couldn’t really give a shit about.

Despite the clear divide among the guests, people seemed to be enjoying themselves. On one side of the lawn sat the La Cosa Nostra, the men loud and boisterous as they drank their beers and smoked their cigars. On the other side was us, the Bratvas. A few of our soldiers, Tatiana, Adrian, Nik, Lukyan and myself.

Animosity burned between our groups. It was clear we didn’t like each other. We were being forced to get along like two naughty school kids having to play nice in the playground.

Illayana’s wedding had come to such an abrupt ending that this would technically be classed as our first social setting as a group, and it was quickly becoming evident that this is what it would have been like if her wedding hadn’t have literally imploded.

Not that I cared. I was perfectly happy to sit here and not talk to any of them.

Illayana fluttered around from person to person, doing her duties as hostess as she mingled, making sure they all had enough food and drinks. Arturo followed close behind, shaking hands with everyone and thanking them for coming.

The ‘surprise’ part of the party had gone exactly as it should. We were all waiting in the backyard when Illayana led Arturo outside with a hand covering his eyes. Everybody screamed ‘Surprise!’. People clapped and cheered. Arturo acted shocked, but I could see it in his eyes. He knew about the party, but he was playing the part to please Illayana, who—based on the mountain of food and decorations spread out everywhere—had gone through a huge amount of effort to put the party together for him.

Once that part was over with, we all peeled off into our own groups.

“Food’s good,” Nik grunted in the seat across from me, shovelling another forkful of pasta into his mouth. His plate was loaded with a splattering of everything—pizza, chicken, steak, salads, lamb, shredded beef, bacon—the list went on. On the plate beside that one was an assortment of sweets, cupcakes, muffins, caramel slices and custards.

It might sound like a lot of food, but Nik was more than capable of putting it all away. He’d likely still be hungry afterwards.

“You’re not eating?” he asked in between bites.

“Not hungry.” If I was being honest, I wasn’t really here. Physically, I was. But mentally, my mind was far, far away.

With Drea.

She wanted to leave. The moment she’d said the words, a tight ball of anxiety had lodged itself in my throat and hadn’t left. Panic quickly followed after that.

How could I let her go? I needed Drea like I needed air in my lungs. Blood in my veins. Food in my belly. She was everything I needed to survive, and the thought of being without her was…unbearable.

I felt like I was drowning. Being pulled under by a powerful current and I didn’t have the strength to kick free, because kicking free meant putting my family in danger. And I couldn’t be responsible for the death of another person I loved. I couldn’t.

I would not survive it.

Nik slapped $100 down, making the table shake. He pointed his fork behind me and I turned, my mood lightening slightly as I took in my two youngest siblings.

They were yelling at each other near the food table, the stirrings of a fight about to take place. I wasn’t sure what they were arguing about but I’d seen those looks on their faces before. Lukyan’s, filled with mischievousness, and Illayana’s, filled with anger and frustration.

Whatever happened, Lukyan started it. I was positive about that.

No surprise there.

I pulled out $100 and slapped it down on top of his. “On Illayana.” I dropped another $50. “Bet she knocks him out in under a minute.” My baby sister was stressed and itching for a fight, an outlet to take her anger and nervousness out on. I was confident she could do it.

Nik pursed his lips in thought. His eyes darted back and forth between them and I. “I’ll take those odds,” he said, adding his $50.

I repositioned my chair so I could get a better view and Nik and I watched, waiting for the inevitable to happen.

Their voices got louder, attracting attention from others. Illayana stepped into Lukyan’s space, her teeth grinding. Lukyan smirked.

“Here it is. She’s about to blow.”

“I see it, I see it.” Illayana had little tells that told us when she was at her breaking point, that moment before she lunged and attacked. And she was displaying them right now. Lowered brows. Laser-sharp focus. Clenched fists. It was going to happen.

Arturo’s eyes widened in a panic. He knew exactly what was about to go down. His gaze quickly swept across the dessert table. He picked up what looked like a chocolate cupcake. He wrapped one arm around her shoulder, pulling her in close while he held the cupcake up to her lips.

Illayana covered Arturo’s hand with her own, taking a bite as she continued to glare at Lukyan. Her husband slowly began to turn her away, his head lowered to her ear as he whispered something to her. She took hesitant steps as she allowed Arturo to lead her away, still scowling at Lukyan while taking small bites of the cupcake.

Just like that, the fight had dissipated.

Nik and I looked at each other in bewilderment.

“Fuck,” he chuckled softly, shaking his head. “How did we never figure out we could distract her with food? That would have come in handy years ago.”

I grunted, taking back my cash. Arturo seemed to know our sister better than we did at times.

Nik picked up his money, tucking it away. He ate the rest of his food without saying another word, a comfortable silence hanging between us. Once he was finished he pushed both plates away, wiping his mouth with a napkin. He took a sip from his drink, placing it down on the table and giving me a hard stare that meant business.

“Were you ever going to tell me?”

I stiffened. There was only one thing he could be referring to. My gaze cut to him, but he spoke before I could reply.

“Don’t lie,” he said sternly, his eyes narrowing into slits.

Sighing, I glanced away. This wasn’t something I was wanting to talk about, especially right now when my mind was plagued with thoughts of Drea. But the cat was out of the bag. Might as well get it over with.

I would have preferred to discuss this in six months, when it was too late for him to do anything about it, but life didn’t always work out that way you wanted it to.

If it did, I wouldn’t even be in this situation to start with.

“How did you find out?”

He leaned back, satisfaction streaking across his face when he realised I wasn’t going to lie or avoid the conversation. “I put a bug in Father’s office.”

My head whipped back to him. “You what?”

One side of his lips tilted up in a small smirk and he lifted a shoulder innocently. “I’m a nosy bastard. I wanted to hear the conversation with Grandfather.”

“You could have been there for the meeting.”

Nik snorted. “And have to actually talk to the man? No thank you. My way was better. I got to listen in without having to see him. Win win for me.” He studied me with soulful eyes. “I didn’t get a chance to listen to it until this morning. You don’t have to do it, Zander.”

“Yes, I do,” I answered automatically.

“No. You don’t. Fuck Grandfather and this stupid arrangement he made with the Tarasovs. Let him deal with it. It’s not our responsibility.”

“If you listened in then you know exactly what will happen if we don’t honour this deal.”

Anger swept across his face. “He wouldn’t. He’s bluffing.”

“Do you honestly believe that?” I asked, giving him a hard stare. Because I knew for a fact that he didn’t.

He stared back. “No. But there has to be something we can do. You shouldn’t have to go off to Russia and marry some woman just because our crazy, senile grandfather told you to.”

“That’s exactly what I have to do, because we both know Sergei has the capabilities to make something happen to Illayana with a click of his fingers.”

He blew out an irritated breath. “Fine. You make a valid point. But that doesn’t mean you need to be the one to do it.”

I shook my head. I knew he’d do this. “No. Nik.”

“Zander, just hear me out—”

“No, you hear me out,” I snapped, making him clamp his mouth shut. “This is the first and last time we’ll ever be having this conversation, so listen up. I’m going to be the one marrying her. Not you. Not Lukyan. Me. The decision has been made. It’s final.”

“But—”

“Are you willing to give up Tatiana forever?” Whatever words he planned to say next died in his throat. “I still don’t know what happened between the two of you—and believe me, I will get those answers soon—but what I do know is that you marrying another woman will make Tatiana run in the opposite direction. Any chance of mending what you broke will be impossible with you tied to another. Is that something you want? Are you willing to shut the door on you and Tatiana permanently?”

His eyes flew to the woman in question, who was dancing and laughing with Illayana, her blue sundress twirling around her as she spun in a circle, her face tilted up towards the sky and sunlight beaming across her face.

Nik’s whole demeanour changed the moment he saw her, warmth and love sparkling in his eyes. There was also pain and anger, like there always was when he looked at Tatiana, but none of that diminished how much he cared for her. That much was obvious.

I saved him from answering. “You don’t have to say anything, because I already know the answer. And it’s okay. You deserve to be happy, to try and fix things with her. I’m not going to let you give up your chance of happiness for this. Not when I can shield you from it.”

He looked conflicted, like he wanted to disagree with me but knew he couldn’t. A life without Tatiana was as painful for him to think about as it was for me with Drea.

“I’m the oldest. It’s my responsibility, Nik. End of discussion. I don’t want to hear any more about it.”

“What about Lukyan?”

I scoffed. “Be serious.”

“I am. He’s capable.”

“Capable, yes.” That was never in question. “I say this with love, but he can’t be trusted with something as important as this. He’s more likely to piss off the Tarasovs and get himself killed. It’s what he’s done here,” I said, waving a hand through the air. “It’s what he’ll do there, except he won’t have anyone in his corner to watch his back in Russia. He’s not serious enough, Nik. He treats everything like it’s a goddamn game. He also can’t keep his mouth shut to save his life. How long do you think it will take for him to say something completely inappropriate and stupid?”

Nik’s brows creased slightly. “Alright, I see where you’re coming from. I do. But, I think you should give him a chance. You’re too hard on him sometimes, Zander. Just talk to him about it. Explain how serious the situation is. He might surprise you.”

“Surprise me how? By getting himself killed on the first day instead of the third?” I shook my head. “No. It’s better if I just do this myself. Easier. Like I said, I love him, but Lukyan will just fuck it up. He’s unreliable.”

Nik opened his mouth to respond when his eyes drifted behind me, his whole body stiffening. I turned. Lukyan stood behind me, that same cheeky and mischievous smile on his face like always, but it looked strained. Forced. The light in his eyes seemed dimmer.

Fuck. Did he hear me?

Lukyan flounced forward on the tips of his toes, being careful not to knock any of the food off his plate as he sat down at the table. “Don’t even think about taking any of my food,” he joked, elbowing Nik playfully in the ribs. “What are you guys talking about?”

I blew out a small, relieved sigh. He didn’t hear me. If he had, he would have been incapable of not mentioning it. “Nothing.”

“Actually,” Nik cut in, his eyes dancing like he couldn’t believe this opportunity had fallen into his lap. “We were just talking about—”

“Is that Tatiana leaving with one of the Cosa Nostra men?” I pointed behind him, desperate to deflect.

Nik spun so fast I’d be surprised if he didn’t hurt his damn neck in the process. A feral growl erupted from his chest and he jumped to his feet, flinging his chair back. He stomped after them without saying another word to us, our conversation completely forgotten.

How lucky I was that Tatiana had chosen that exact moment to walk off with another man. I don’t think there was anything else that could have possibly deterred Nik.

“Should we stop him?” Lukyan whispered out of the corner of his mouth, taking a bite of his burger. “He’ll probably kill the dude.”

Yes, Nik probably would.

I shrugged. “Not our problem.” Nik had been throwing out ‘don’t touch’ vibes towards Tatiana all afternoon. He glared at any man that went near her. If one of them was stupid enough to try something with her, it was their own damn fault.

Illayana plopped down into the seat Nik had just vacated, blowing out an exhausted breath. “Man, hosting parties suuuucks,” she dragged out, plucking a french fry from Lukyan’s plate.

Their fight from earlier was all but forgotten. That was the good thing about those two. They fought like cats and dogs but forgot all about it a minute later, acting like it never happened. “Have you told him yet?” she asked Lukyan, her gaze sliding to me.

“Told me what?” Dread filled me. I looked at my brother. “What did you do now?” I sighed with irritation.

A flicker of hurt flashed in his eyes. It made me frown. It wasn’t like him to get hurt or offended over something like that.

“He didn’t do anything,” Illayana jumped in, defending him. “He has a…what would you call it? An admirer? A stalker?”

“A stalker?” I repeated, confused.

She nodded, a cheeky grin on her face, like she was enjoying this whole thing. “Go on, tell him,” she pushed.

“It’s nothing,” Lukyan mumbled.

“It’s obviously something. What’s going on? Are you in danger?”

Illayana barked out a laugh. “In danger of falling in love, maybe. Isn’t that what the letter said? ‘You’ll love me as much as I love you, Lukyan, my darling’,” she said in a sweet, high-pitched voice, her tone mocking.

“Shut. Up,” Lukyan growled.

“Make me,” she taunted, poking out her tongue.

Lukyan jumped to his feet and Illayana followed, both of them glaring at each from across the table.

“No.” I cut my hand through the air. “We’re not doing this again. Both of you sit down. Now.”

They sat.

“Good. Now, you—-” I pointed to Lukyan. “Start talking.”

He huffed, taking another bite of his burger first. “It’s really nothing. Just some weird shit going on.”

“Like?” I asked, staring him down. My interest was piqued. Based on their body language, they weren’t worried, they didn’t seem freaked out or scared. Whatever was going on, Illayana found it hilarious, and Lukyan found it strange and annoying.

“It started off small. Just little things here and there. I got this feeling someone was following me. Watching me. I couldn’t see anyone, but you know when you can just feel someone’s eyes on you? It was like that. Then the calls came. Two or three a day. No one ever spoke. They’d call, I’d answer, they’d hang up. Then my shit started going missing. Never anything of value, just random stuff I kept in my locker at the gym. A shirt. Towel. Can of deodorant. Even my toothbrush.”

“I told him she probably took it to cast some crazy voodoo spell on him to make him fall in love with her.” Illayana frowned thoughtfully. “Hang on, are we even sure it’s a girl?”

Lukyan glared. “It’s a girl,” he stated firmly.

“How do we know though? It could be some fat, old, balding, middle-aged man who still lives in his mother’s basement. Maybe he saw you from across a crowded room and it was love at first sight. Or maybe—”

Lukyan aimed and threw a french fry right into her mouth. Illayana choked, her eyes going wide in alarm as she pounded at her chest with panic. She spat out the fry, panting heavily. Arturo rushed over, fretting over her in concern, and she waved him away, clearing her throat.

“Serves you right,” I grunted.

“I know it’s a girl because she’s been in my car, and she left her smell behind.”

“Her smell?” I asked, arching a brow.

“Mm hmm,” Lukyan nodded. “Fruity and sweet and 100% feminine,” he said, scowling at Illayana. “Nothing was taken from my car, not even my wallet that I’d left sitting in my centre console. There was no damage to the car. No indication it had even been broken into except for the scent clinging to the upholstery.”

I frowned in thought. This sounded like it was way more than a simple admirer. It definitely wandered into stalking territory. “Was there anything else? Illayana mentioned a letter?”

“Letter-s,” Illayana said, dragging out the ‘s’.

Lukyan ignored her. “The first few were about the size of an envelope and all they had on it was a lipstick kiss. The next few had some writing. Just random shit really. We’re perfect together. You’re my soulmate. Soon we’ll be together. Blah, blah, blah. And the last one, I got this morning.” He pulled out a black card the size of an envelope, handing it to me. Sprawled in beautiful red cursive writing was:

My eyes shot to Lukyan. What nine kinds of crazy was this? This went far beyond the limits of stalking and crossed right into the realm of delusional thinking.

“What betrayal is she talking about? And what gift?”

“Well, I went out last night and ended up fucking this chick in the alley behind the club. She was hot. Big tits. Nice ass. A screamer,” he winked.

Illayana gagged.

“I’m assuming that’s the betrayal she’s talking about,” Lukyan continued. “Because this was her gift.” He pulled out a medium sized box, the kind you get from a jewellery store, and placed it on the table.

I picked it up. God, did I even want to know what was in here? Lifting the lid, I saw ten perfectly manicured fingers inside. Written underneath the lid in the same writing as the letter was:

“They belong to the chick I banged. I recognize the rings.” Lukyan inclined his head towards the box as he popped a fry into his mouth. He didn’t seem the least bit concerned about any of it, and that concerned me.

“When did all this start?” I asked, studying the fingers closely. The cuts were clean. Precise. There was dry blood around where they’d been cut off, staining the parchment paper underneath.

“A few days after I got here,” Lukyan answered. That meant this obsession had progressed quickly.

“Is there any footage of her? Maybe at the gym when she went through your locker, or when she broke into your car?”

“Nope.” He shook his head. “The cameras had some sort of glitch and went down around the same time anything happened.”

Concerning. Very concerning.

“I’m going to send this to Thomas, see if he can lift any prints off the box.” We needed to find out who this was, and quickly, before it escalated any further.

Lukyan shrugged. I didn’t like the look in his eyes. This chick’s crazy matched his to a tee.

“Maybe he should go home with you,” Illayana said, giving me a knowing glance. “Get him out of New York and away from her.”

I hid my smirk. She was definitely taking advantage of the situation, but hey, I wasn’t going to complain. It made the whole thing easier.

“I agree. Pack your bags, Lukyan. You’ll be coming back with me.” A woman walked past, her god-awful wig catching my attention. It was cheap, like the kind you’d find at a two-dollar store. She fiddled with it uncomfortably, glancing around with a sulky look on her face. It didn’t fit on her head properly, and the look of it reminded me of a tumbleweed blowing through the desert. “What happened there?” I asked, flicking my head towards the woman. She looked familiar, like I’d seen her before, but I just couldn’t remember where.

Illayana turned. When her eyes landed on the woman she spun back around, an evil grin on her face. “That’s Gabriella.”

“Why does she look so miserable? And why is she glaring at you?” I asked, studying the woman.

“She ‘accidentally’ walked in on Arturo in the shower,” Illayana said, using air quotes. “Accidentally my ass. She did it on purpose. So I set the bitches hair on fire.”

My brows shot up at the same time Lukyan barked out a laugh. “God, that was so funny,” he rumbled, eating more of his food. “Wish you could have seen it, Zander. Her head went up like a fireball,” he cackled.

“She’s been staying at the house ever since I moved in. But don’t worry, I have it on good authority that she’s going to have a terrible accident very soon. One that’s going to kill her,” Illayana chuckled evilly.

“I’m surprised you haven’t killed her already.”

“Where would be the fun in that?” she said, a wicked smirk curling on her lips. “You know I prefer my victims to suffer first. A woman like that cares about her appearance. It defines her. I plan to make her as ugly on the outside as she is on the inside before I take her life.”

Lukyan and Illayana broke out in a fit of laughter, sharing a look with one another like they had some sort of inside joke on the situation. I joined in, my body shaking with amusement. Fuck, I missed these two.

The rest of the party was seemingly uneventful. People danced and laughed. Arturo’s younger siblings, Theodora and Lucien, ran around like chickens with their heads cut off, squealing and chasing each other. Lukyan and Illayana argued some more. Neither Nik nor Tatiana had been seen since she walked off with the Cosa Nostra man. All in all, it wasn’t too bad of an afternoon.

The only person missing from the festivities was Arturo’s younger brother, Vincenzo. But I didn’t care enough to ask about him.

Halfway through the party Illayana unveiled the guns Nik and I brought with us from Vegas. The Cosa Nostra men loved the new weaponry. We also threw in some AK-47s and AA-12s. Which, based on the way the men went crazy, worked in Illayana’s favour.

Hopefully it would help smooth over the tension between her and the men. It would make them see how advantageous it was when a Bratva princess married their Boss.

I was getting ready to leave, throwing the last of Lukyan’s bags into the car, when Illayana sidled up to my side.

“You heading out?”

I nodded, slamming the boot shut.

She hugged me. “Thanks for coming. I know you didn’t want to, so I appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it,” I grunted, pulling back.

She glanced around quickly before levelling me with a serious stare. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to you alone. There was just so much shit going on and I was getting pulled into a million different directions, but I wanted to see if you were okay.”

I frowned. “I’m fine.”

She looked at me with sympathetic eyes. “Starshiy brat, big brother, you think I haven’t noticed the change in you? You’re different. Distant, more closed off. I can’t believe I’m even going to say this, but you seem…sad. I noticed it first when I came to the house earlier in the week, but I didn’t want to say anything because I was sure I was imagining it. But I saw it again today. These moments when you’d just zone out and shut down, your mind going somewhere else. What’s going on? Talk to me.”

I sighed, looking away. Sometimes, Illayana was far too perceptive for my liking. There was a part of me that wanted to sweep it under the rug. Pretend she was imagining it like she thought. Plaster on a fake smile and tell her everything was fine. But there was a bigger part of me that wanted to talk about all this shit with Drea.

So I did.

I started from the beginning, telling her about the initial connection I felt when I met her. I dove further into our time together, omitting a few details here and there that Illayana didn’t need to know. I told her my fears about letting Drea go. The worry I felt clutching my chest. And Illayana listened, not a single ounce of judgement on her face. I didn’t tell her about Anya Tarasov, because I knew she would feel guilty about it, like it was her fault. But it wasn’t.

“I know her people were partly responsible for what happened to you—”

“No, Aleksandr, don’t think about that. I don’t blame her. It was out of her control. The only person to blame is Nero and that fucker is long dead. Do you want my advice?”

Did I? I wasn’t sure. I nodded anyway.

“You need to let her go.”

Anger shot through me, like it always did when that thought entered my mind.

“Here me out. I understand your worries, but that’s something that you need to face. You can’t just keep her locked up in that house forever. Not only will she likely go mad being stuck there, but the repercussions from the cartel could have drastic effects on the Bratva. You need to have faith that if you let her go, she’ll come back to you.”

I didn’t have that faith though, did I? Because I wasn’t sure if she cared about me the same way I cared about her.