3. Yuri

If Viktor Kolesova knew what I had just done to his daughter, he might kill me.

If he knew what I had planned – before I had to call it off – he would kill me.

I’m not concerned. He doesn’t know anything in this Bratva without me telling him and I’m not telling him shit. Neither are Anton and Max, the other Vors who report to me. They had been ready for my plan and now needed an explanation for why I called it off. I didn’t want to tell them it was for Katya. That I didn’t want to do it with her still around. That she’s suffered enough.

I had to see the Boss and get him to change his mind on Katya. But first I had to see Anton and Max and tell them something. Give them some explanation. Or not. Fuck them, I’m the boss, I don’t need to explain myself to anybody.

Katya surprised me. To be honest, I’m not sure what I think of her now.

She has some spirit and some fight to her.

Finally, but probably too late.

Katya had been overlooked or ignored her whole life by her father. Her brother Dmitry was the golden child, the son, the first-born, the heir to the Kolesova Bratva. He had been groomed since he could talk to command, and to lead. Katya was just a spoiled princess, nothing was asked of her, nothing required except to be pretty and happy.

The happy went away with Dmitry and Viktor went from ignoring his daughter to suffocating her – he didn’t want Katya out of his sight. He didn’t want her to go away to college. He wanted her where he could keep a close eye on her. He wanted this pretty, happy thing locked up with him, to sing for him and amuse him, but she was no longer happy and no longer sang for him.

I’m no better really, at least where it concerns her. I want her to make pretty noises for me too. But I’ll let her leave, I’ll give her some of that freedom she thinks she wants. I have a feeling she won’t take to it the way she thinks. Giving her some answers on Dmitry would help far more – I’m certain she never grieved for him, she just went on. But I had been looking into Dmitry’s death for four years and was no closer to finding out who was responsible.

Anton looks up to see me and smiles, “We saw that little midnight run in the backyard of yours. Get it out of your system?”

I knew there weren’t any cameras under the tree canopy. One of the very few spots on this entire compound where neither audio nor video was recorded. An oversight that I would take care of one day.

“Is that what you want to ask me about?”

“No, just curious,” he answers. He doesn’t argue with me, I’ve trained that out of him for the most part. “Why did you call it off? You changed your mind at the last minute?”

“Viktor changed his mind at the last minute. Katya is staying, and he’s marrying her off to some Petya Antipov. I’m reassessing, I’ll try to talk him out of it, but in the meantime, do we know anything about this Petya and what Viktor owes him?”

“I don’t recognize the name, and I know everyone worth knowing,” Maxim tells me. “An up-and-comer? I’ll find out his deal.”

“Good.”

“This would be easier if you just told us your entire plan, instead of bits and pieces,” Anton remarks.

I smirk at him. “It’s a need-to-know basis and you know everything you need to know right now. Be patient, I’m not intentionally keeping things from you, you’ll know everything in time.”

“When?”

“When I want to tell you.”

He shakes his head, irritated. “At least tell us about Katya under the willow tree. Details.”

I raise both my eyebrows. “Not on your fucking life.” No fucking way . The thought of what happened makes me grin. “I’m still processing but she’s far more … interesting than I thought.”

“I’ll bet. Another need-to-know basis, I guess. Okay so we investigate this Petya guy? What do you want to know?”

“Everything.”

“You are meeting with Viktor now?”

“Yes. I’ll let you know when we’re back on.”

I found Viktor in his study, across from Katya’s bedroom, seated at a huge walnut banker’s desk. Viktor was eating fries with his fingers from a paper plate. He was wearing a gray flannel suit with camel hair overcoat thrown over the back of his chair. He had a spot of grease on his double-chin. He looked tired. Tall and fleshy, he had a large pink face, a small nose, and a pouty little mouth. His short dull-blond hair was impeccably trimmed.

He rose and hugged me, clapping me on the back, then he took my hands and looked deep into my eyes. “How is Katya taking it?”

“She tried to escape out her window – I caught her, but she’s stubborn, and this won’t be her last attempt.”

“She has too much of me in her. I lost my cool tonight.” He spoke. “I just don’t think she’d be safe out of the house. I can’t lose her like I did Dmitry.”

“Safety can be arranged. Put a team on her. I think you should let her go. Send a security detail with her.””

“No, she won’t go for that. She wants to look normal. One person would be best. I have so few men I trust to take care of her,” he looked at me. “I need you, Yuri.”

“Me?” Fuck no . That spoils my plans for you . “I’ve got too much to do here to leave. Finding Dmitry’s killer, protecting you, now I must investigate this Petya Antipov guy, too. It’s just not the right time.”

“That’s what I thought too, but it’s never the right time for changes. Rest assured, Yuri that I will do everything in my power to bring Dmitry’s killer to justice. And when I do find them, you will be second in line, behind only me. Again, Katya is the priority now, my only living child. The dead can wait.”

“With all due respect, boss, I don’t think this is the right job for me. Katya isn’t exactly in any danger. And she’s only a few cities over. Surely you have someone else who’s more suited for this detail.”

“I understand. You think this job is below you. And it is. Your talents are far more useful to me here, but she is my only child. I cannot lose her. There were several attempts on her life in the past few years. I will get the details to you.” He smiled gently.

Nothing can surprise me, not even the ever-changing whims of this senile old man.

I’ll adapt.

There was no way of getting out of this without looking suspicious. Immediately my mind began to race. Anton and Maxim would still be here, still be able to monitor the situation here and give me updates.

“Anything for you,” I said with a smile. “When do I start?”

“You’ll leave this evening.” Clearly pleased with himself, Viktor smiled. “I know you won’t let me down.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. And Petya?”

“It can wait. He should be content with an engagement for now. I just need him off my back. Some breathing room.”

“I’ll do a deep dive into his past and see what I dig up.”

“That’s not necessary. He’s a contingency plan, that’s all. Put him out of your mind.”

I protested mildly but let him think he had his way. I was for sure going to crawl up this guy’s ass and find out everything about him.

I didn’t let myself feel down about this change. One thing that would make me feel better is seeing Katya’s reaction to it. I like seeing her squirm.

I love making her gasp.

I would kill to make her moan.

I plan to do a lot of more of them.

I left Viktor’s study and went across the hall to Katya’s bedroom and went in without knocking.

“I have good news and better news,” I told her.

She started wiggling in front of me from excitement.

“The good news is your father has changed his mind. You can go as planned.”

She squeaks and hugs me before she remembers herself. “Thank you.”

“Not a problem. Don’t you want to hear the better news?”

“Okay.”

“I’m going with you.”

“No.”

“Yes. Petya might not want to wait for you – I wouldn’t in his shoes. And your father has many other enemies, too. I’ll be there to protect you. I’m making all the arrangements now, an apartment building, a second bodyguard to shadow you when I’m unavailable – I’ll take care of everything.”

“What?”

“Those are the terms, kiska. I don’t really want to be a glorified babysitter for you, but I think it could be enjoyable,” I tell her.

“Enjoyable?”

“Sure,” I say, “Like how you enjoyed having my cock inside you earlier tonight.”

“That was a … a mistake.”

“Maybe, but you were wet and willing at the time, weren’t you?” She freezes, her eyes open wide and so does her mouth. Just the reaction I wanted. “Lie to yourself, but not to me. We both know the truth.”

“ Asshole, you are a fucking liar. You lied to me; you tricked me earlier.”

“I didn’t lie, I omitted parts of the truth. You don’t want the truth. You want to hear bullshit, that’s what I gave you.”

“I want the truth.”

I shake my head, “No. Trust me, you do not. Cannot. Be happy with the omissions. You leave in three days, I leave tonight. The truth would torture you for three days and nothing would be any different.”

She has an angry, defiant look on her face. That won’t do.

I stalk closer to her until I’m an arm’s length away, looming over her. I step closer, forcing her to take a step back and I keep going, marching her backwards towards her bed to bring the message home to her.

“Do I scare you or are you worried you won’t be able to control yourself if I get too close? Or are you just leading me to your bed?”

“Why are you doing this? Making me go with you?”

“The partial truth is that your father ordered me to. That’s all you need to know. You get to leave here, you get to delay the marriage to Petya, you get a taste of that freedom you say you wanted. Be thankful and don’t ask for the truth.”

“Tell me the rest of it.”

“You must learn this lesson, don’t you? Next time I tell you that you don’t want the truth you’ll believe me. It’s a sharp lesson but necessary, I think. Last chance, Kat. Ask me and I’ll tell you.”

“What ... what’s the truth?”

“The only way to truly rid you of Petya is to marry someone else instead. Me, probably.”

She stares at me in disbelief. “You want me to marry you ?”

“It would make the transfer of power easier. We could continue with the Kolesova Bratva name, and honestly, I don’t care. I’ve spent the last four years trying to make that name mean something, despite your father, so I’m fine with keeping it.”

“Transfer of power?”

“The plan that was ruined tonight was overthrowing your father and taking leadership of the Bratva. With you around, I might have to kill you, and I didn’t want that. But marriage would work better.”

“I’m not going to marry a control freak ten times worse than my father. I wouldn’t ever marry you willingly.”

“I’m not giving you a choice. Your father is a terrible leader. I want this territory; I could make money with it. Petya knows that too, but I'm better than him, I can give you more than him. My cock, for one, your freedom, for another. I’ll protect you at college, you’ll marry me, once Petya taken care of, and you are safe, then I’ll depose your dad and take over. You won’t have to ever come back.”

“Depose? You won’t kill him, will you?”

“I can’t promise that. There’s no retirement plan, no social security, no pension in this business. You rule until you die. Viktor must die.”

“You can’t get away with this,” she says again, it’s starting to get tiresome.

“More accurate would be: ‘What can’t I get away with?’”

“He’s going to fight; the men will fight – ”

“No, he’s not. And none of the men are on his side. Anton and Maxim are my Vors, not his. And the captains below them are their men, not your fathers.”

“I’ll tell him, I won’t let you – “

“You can’t tell him because then you don’t leave. You stay. You marry Petya. Look, if it makes you feel better, you can change my mind with that lithe little body of yours…”

“I’ll tell him.”

“Will he believe you? There’s no great love between you two, and you’re smart enough to see he’s been mismanaging this territory for years. Petya and the changing his mind three times today, is a symptom of that, so is my ability to seize power. Nobody would be able to seize power from me, I wouldn't allow it. If not me, it’ll be someone else, Petya, someone. You walk away from all this at the end, safe and free and we have a little fun before that.”

“Marry you, though?”

“Look, I don’t need you. I can take your father and you out tonight – and I will if you’re stupid tonight. But the men will accept me easier if I’m married into the family. This was always plan b, but I didn’t think it would be necessary. It’s not quite necessary, it just makes sense…”

She doesn’t answer. Her brow is furrowed but nothing, no argument comes to her. She knows how right I am. But will she accept it?

I walk to the door but pause, I turn back to her once more.

“This is an opportunity Katya, if only you choose to see it that way. This is your chance to start over. You’re a smart girl, always have been. My advice is to take this opportunity, grab it with both hands and don’t let go.”