Chapter 10 - Ivan
My blood was pumping faster than it had the last time I had to get out quickly from a job. The adrenaline lacing my veins was a potent drug that zinged through me like an electric current. I was having way too much fun in there, and I honestly didn't know who the fuck I was anymore.
I enjoyed commanding things in the bedroom as much as any dominant type, but that had been…different.
Adley's presence brought out something raw and primal within me, something that demanded to have every inch of her inside and out. She was mine to possess, to claim, to keep, and God have mercy on the fucker that stood between me and what was mine.
Mine .
The thought reverberated through my skull, strong as a punch to the head. Seriously, who the fuck am I right now?
Shaking my head, I shut the door behind me and paused there on the steps, resting my hand against the cool wood of my door. Everything inside me ached to go back inside and take what was rightfully mine, but I'd also felt my phone buzz in my pocket.
I didn't get messages unless it was necessary.
I sucked in a deep breath, reaching for my cell as I jogged down the stairs to the main area on the second floor. When I glanced at the text, I saw it was from Lev. He was still concerned about what that fucker Pavel had started with his successful, if brief, ascension.
Brief because the asshole was buried six feet under, thanks to yours truly and a well-placed shot from his daughter.
And he had good reason to be. That asshole had nearly started his own criminal organization within the span of a few months. Talk about climbing the ladder. Pavel had gone from loan shark to bonafide problem way too quickly, and it was instilling a lot of descension in the ranks.
Hell, he'd nearly killed Lev, and if it weren't for that new bride of his, my boss would be six feet under. I couldn't blame the guy for wanting to quell any remaining unrest—and fast.
While it didn't look like many Dons were still shopping the market, as it were, there were still a few lower-ranking organizations in the area looking to capitalize on any challenge to Lev's status.
Particularly Tommy Donovan.
The Irish mobster had been searching for a way to take down Lev since he rose up to Don, and these days, he was working every angle in a bid for power.
My steps hit the stairs hard, echoing down the small stairwell that only went to my room. I hoped that Abe and Vlad were still downstairs so we could chat. Knowing Abe, though, it was a fifty-fifty chance. He usually liked to be gone when I brought the rare woman back to the house.
Thankfully, my brothers were both at the pool table when I reached the second floor. A low smack sounded as Vlad knocked his last solid ball into the pocket, and I grinned. Asshole just has the eight-ball now.
"I hate to say this, Abe, but I think you lost."
Turning over his shoulder to glare at me, Abe ran his tongue along his teeth as he slowly raised his hand. When it was level with his face, he flipped me off. I just laughed, and then the sound of Vlad sinking the last shot sounded behind him.
Abe looked down at the pool table and sighed, tossing his cue onto the black felt surface.
"Well, fuck."
Vlad stood up from taking his last shot. He barely smirked, but that was pretty typical for the guy. As I walked over to the table, Abe leaned against it and folded his arms over his chest while Vlad circled around to the same side.
They both stood there for a moment, just staring at me.
"What?" I grumbled, already annoyed with their answer.
"Hasn't been long since the last one. I would have thought your appetite was satisfied for a while."
Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. "Thank you for the astute observation, Abe. But that's not why I'm here. Lev is concerned about Donovan. He wants us to step up the attention."
"Sure," Abe said, raising his brows innocently as the corners of his mouth turned down.
"That's it? We're going to be out for at least the entire day tomorrow running down Lev's laundry list of leads, and you give me ‘sure.'"
He licked his lips, unmoving otherwise. "Yup."
Clearing my throat, I looked between my brothers, not buying this no-comment bullshit for a second.
"Great." I hesitated, chewing on the inside of my cheek. "My guest will be staying here while we're out, so…we may want to lock up the more sensitive shit."
Abe and Vlad both stared at me, their eyebrows raising as they exchanged a quick look with each other and then returned their glares to me. I wasn't about to ask because I really didn't care about the fucking answer, but Vlad went to his pocket, pulling out his phone.
I waited for him to type something out in his notes app. We'd all learned to give Vlad the time he needed because he'd make you feel like shit well enough without speaking if you didn't. Abe and I silently agreed that we'd always give Vlad the space he needed to express himself.
And I only ever ignored his messages when I was truly pissed.
He held out his cell, and I took it with a long sigh.
"Why do we have a woman staying here? Morning-after walks of shame are one thing, but this?"
My stare circled up to the ceiling again, and I handed the thing back to Vlad.
"Because I want her here. End of story."
Abe picked up on what Vlad had asked. We had both gotten pretty good at it, actually, and he regarded me with a bored smirk.
"You'll excuse us if we're a little…surprised. It's not like you to want ‘em around for longer than they're useful. And need I mention that a stranger in the house equipped with enough arms to take out the military might not be the smartest move?"
"As I said, Abe," my words eeked out through gritted teeth, "lock up the shit that she shouldn't play with. She's not going anywhere. For the foreseeable future."
I tried to leave, but that bombshell hit with enough force to knock Vlad and Abe off their asses and into motion. Abe stepped in front of me, blocking my way downstairs to get a much-needed drink, and Vlad posted up on my side so that I couldn't just head in the other direction.
"Move, Abe."
"Oh-ho, no. You're not getting away with that one so easily. Foreseeable future? The fuck does that mean?"
Vlad grumbled low, his version of a "yeah, that."
My heart was pounding again, and for a much less fun reason. I didn't know how to talk about this shit regarding Adley with either of my brothers and while I knew they had every reason to question me, I was leaning toward the "put that conversation off" route.
"Look," I met Abe's eyes, trying for my usual cocky confidence, "Adley will be living here. So get used to it, or get out."
Abe's brows sank low over his eyes as he clenched his jaw. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him ball his hands into fists, and he cocked his head as he held my stare: shit , good job, Ivan.
It was Abe's quintessential "I'm about to fuck you up" pose, and I knew I'd managed to piss him off, which wasn't my intention. Not really. I just wanted the guy to drop it.
"You're risking us for some cheap piece of ass?" He bit out.
Everything inside me snapped; my rational mind kicked to the fucking curb.
There were a rare few moments when my brothers and I actually fought. I could count them on one hand. We were siblings, after all, and it was bound to happen occasionally, particularly when you lived with the grumpy bastards.
Still, they were my family above all things, and we'd stuck together through thick and thin since we left Russia. Our father had been a piece of shit, and we'd all outgrown his unique form of corporal education. Once he'd managed to kill our own mother with his temper, we were out.
Abe and I were a bit older when it happened. Vlad though. He'd been lovingly referred to as "the mistake" by Dear Old Dad because it was clear that the fucker hadn't meant to knock up our mom that time.
With us, Igor Ustinov had wanted to sow his seed and flood the world with little carbon copies of himself. It hadn't worked, clearly, so he'd stopped trying. Vlad's arrival after that was, of course, a bit of a surprise. You know, as much as unprotected sex leading to a pregnancy can really be considered a surprise.
However, it meant that when he'd lost his shit on a drunken bender, Vlad had still been small. He was playing with our mother when it happened. Hell, Abe and I had barely gotten him out of the line of fire.
Considering what he witnessed, let's just say that if I'd been him, talking would have seemed too much to me, too.
After that, we'd left—the three of us and nothing else.
But we made a name for ourselves. We dealt justice to people who appeared unstoppable, and we chose an alliance with the Vadims based on mutual understanding and respect. We were a team, a family. Unbreakable.
Except, of course, for right fucking now.
Faster than anyone untrained, I shot forward, pinning Abe to the wall behind him with my forearm pressed into his jugular. My blood roared hot in my veins, drowning out any other sound, and I zeroed my focus on Abe's eyes going wide, veins filling up the white as he struggled to breathe.
"You will not say shit about her again. Am I clear?"
Abe struggled against me, scowling harder than I'd seen him do in quite some time. A hard yank jerked the arm that was pinning Abe, and I distantly understood that Vlad was trying to pull me off him.
Still, my brother decided to remain quiet. I knew I'd left him enough room to speak, and for several long moments, we just glared at each other. The room was deadly silent, pins dropping and jaws clenching were loud as gunshots in the space.
"I can wait here all day, asshole. How long do you think you can keep this up?" I lowered my face a hair closer to Abe's. "I, for one, am loving this shade of blue on you."
It was still about twenty seconds before Abe exhaled hard, and I felt the tension go out of his chest.
"Understood," he gritted out.
I shoved against him, pushing myself away as I pressed him into the wall one more time for good measure.
He didn't break eye contact, just glaring away as the color moved from his chest and neck to his face. Abrahim was no softy, and as "Irish twins," the fucker had been right there next to me for as long as I could remember. The fifteen months that separated us often landed me in the same grade as my younger brother, and we both fucking hated it.
Until, of course, we'd both been yanked from public education when we were ten. Couldn't let the government teach his kids, The Old Man would say.
Vlad moved to stand near Abe, glaring right back at me, and for the guy who never picked a damn side, I was actually a bit surprised.
Ugh. The aggression was probably uncalled for. Not backing down now, though. But…
"Sudden change. I get it. But she's here." I looked between them both. "So, watch what you say to my wife."
With that, I left. Adley needed to know about tomorrow, and I was done with this conversation.