Sasha: Chapter 16

Goddamn it!

I fucking hated that I made a promise to keep my distance from the Russo family. It left me stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I ran a thumb across my jaw as I waited for the doctor to finish his exam on Wynter. She was in bad shape, bruises and cuts all over her.

That with the combination of my promise to keep away from Branka turned my blood to fire. One second I stood still, looking out the window, the city buzzing with light and the next I’d lost it. I destroyed every goddamn piece of furniture in Cassio’s office.

I’d known from that first kiss that there was no going back.

She was too young. She’d grow up.

She stole my fucking breath in that dress. The itch to go find her and see what she was doing was too great. I knew if I found her on a date in my current state, the whole city block would burn.

My hand shook with the urge to go after her.

“There’s broken shit all around,” Alexei remarked in that cold, monotonous voice.

“What the fuck, Sasha?” Cassio hissed. “This is my office.”

“Not anymore,” Alexei retorted dryly.

“First you bring Brennan’s beaten niece into my place and now you destroy my office.”

I shrugged. “I’ll write you a check.”

Cassio gave me an incredulous look. It wasn’t like he needed money.

“Is this about the girl?” Cassio demanded to know.

Yes, it was about a girl. Just not the one he thought.

Branka Russo. Alessio’s little sister.

Cassio owed Alessio quite a few favors. They were part of the same gang, started together against Benito King and supported each other. If Cassio learned I was pining after Branka, he’d tell Alessio, and that fucker would try to come after me.

He’d never kill me, but I might lose all my chances with Branka if I murdered her brother.

Blyad!

The betrayal and hurt in Branka’s eyes flitted through my mind, haunting me. The tight sensation in my chest grew and darkness spilled through me.

Control was slipping through my hands. Just like that day I watched my mother jump to her own death and there was nothing I could do or say to stop her. I had tried to remedy that ever since. Mia and Wynter were part of that. I failed Mia; I didn’t want to fail Wynter.

But fuck, that look Branka gave me dug claws into me. I should have gone after her. Blyad, Blyad. Blyad! If Branka would only listen. I was losing control of the situation. Of her.

All she had to do was come to me when I ordered her. Simple. But nothing with Branka Russo was simple.

Fuck, everything was slipping. Nothing was going according to my plan.

I’d stalked her for years, kept tabs on her. Eliminated any boys that dared touch her. She’d been under my skin from that first kiss. Jesus, I was into hard core sex and her innocent kiss rattled me.

I’d dreamed about her for so long. That fucking promise to Vasili! I should murder my brother for making me vow to stay away. My hands shook as I contemplated how to find my way around the promise I gave him.

Of course, I made Branka promise me she’d wait for me. Although, I started to think Branka wasn’t in this like I was.

“Sasha, are you fucking daydreaming or is this about the girl?”

My laugh held a dark note. “You have no fucking idea.”

I straightened my cuffs and stepped out of the room to go check on Wynter Flemming. The figure skater. Jesus Christ! She was in bad shape.

It reminded me of Mia.

I failed Mia; I couldn’t fail Wynter.

As far as I was concerned, the men that did that to Mia deserved the death I eventually bestowed on them. But first I let them sweat for a bit. Nothing like your own mind working against you. Knowing I was coming for you. I watched them day after day, week after week. With every creak in the floor, they thought death had come for them.

Until one day they were right. And I took pleasure in that death.

Eye for an eye, motherfuckers.

The only regret I had was that I misread Mia’s depression. The expression on her face right before she died had been haunting me since.

“I can’t,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “I can’t live like this.”

“It’s only been a week.” I tried hard to keep myself together. Not to let another similar situation cloud my judgment. But even as Mia stood there, I’d see my mother. The crazy look in her eyes. Desperation. Finality.

“Mia, give me the gun,” I demanded, keeping my voice soft. “Then we can sit down and talk.”

She didn’t move. Her eyes were blank and I suspected she didn’t see me. Didn’t hear me.

Suddenly, I felt like that boy begging his mother to give me my baby sister. Helpless and scared.

“Mia, look at me,” I ordered.

As if she was dreaming, her eyes shifted my way. Her pupils were dilated, overtaking the gray. She was gone. I knew she was. In her mind, she had left me. But every bone in my body rebelled against it.

“Please, Mia,” I pleaded for the first time in a very long time. “Give me the gun. I can help you.”

No emotion crossed her face. It was a blank slate.

“Tell them I love them.” Her tone was resolute. Final. “Keep them safe. Branka… don’t let him break her like he broke me and Alessio.”

“We’ll keep them safe together,” I rasped, emotions burning through me like hot lava. I took another step towards her. She pressed the barrel of the gun harder against her temple.

Bang.

Her body crumbled to the floor, her eyes wide and blank, staring into nothing. And her face, for the first time since I’ve met her, was serene.

My phone beeped and the memory vanished from my mind.

It wasn’t something I liked to think about. I failed that day. Just like before.

I swiped the message open. A corner of my lips lifted. Branka wasn’t dressed like a knock-out because she had a date. She was attending her best friend’s exhibit.

“Good girl,” I murmured my praise and the anger inside me slowly subsided like the lunar tide on the full moon.

I stepped into the room where Wynter lay immobile.

I’d ensure this girl was okay, then I’d find a way to make Branka mine.

Without killing her beloved brother.