Deadly (Born Bratva Book 5) (3 page)

Roksana

“Go to your room,” I snap at the girl and watch until her door closes behind her. I have no desire to babysit right now. I head toward my room and no sooner does my hand touch the door handle than
his
hand clamps down over it. With one finger he touches my shoulder, pushing me aside, silently reminding me that he will go in first.

I fold my arms across my chest and roll my eyes as he insists on taking the lead, again. The man takes his job seriously. I respect that. Of course, there is much at stake; I wouldn’t want to be on the Pakhan’s bad side either. But Oleg’s
need
to protect me goes far deeper than the job my father gave him.

He works his way around the room, looking in every nook and cranny, beneath the bed, in the walk-in closet and finally in the bathroom.

“I doubt the fucking bogey man is hiding in here to take me away.”

“Even if he was, he’d just bring your evil ass back.”

“Fuck you, Oleg. You’ve got no soul.”

He doesn’t say anything right away. He finishes checking everything until he’s convinced we’re alone. He returns to my bedroom door and locks the deadbolt. His slow, steady gait brings him within inches of me, where he cradles my face in his hands.

“You…are my soul.”

God…those dead eyes of his make me wet every time I look into them. Faster than I can fathom what’s happening, he tosses my dress up over my hips and winds his forefingers around the fabric of my thong, pulling it down my legs as lowers onto his haunches in front of me. I lay my leg over his shoulder and thread my fingers through his hair, inviting him to press his mouth between my legs.

He asserts his control over me by shoving his long middle finger inside me. My hips rock in time to his tongue working its magic. Every nerve in my body cries out for Oleg—it always has, and it always will. The look of contentment he has on his face right now is because of me. The only time I ever see any light or life in his eyes is when they’re on me. I toss my head back against the wall as I give in to a deeply satisfying orgasm.

The pleasure he gives me is all I’ve ever known. From the day he was mandated to guard over me he wouldn’t permit any other man to be near me.

I remember the day he almost killed a teenage boy for trying to kiss me goodnight after a date. His words from that night affect me now as deeply as they did then:

“Do you think you can tease me and not be mine? It’s only a matter of time before your father gives me your hand in marriage. You’d do well not to fuck anyone or even allow another man to touch you before we are betrothed. If you do…their blood will be on your hands. I’m telling you what God loves…the truth.”

Anastasia

I leave Roksana scowling at me in the hall as I shut and lock my bedroom door. I take a deep breath and slowly release it to let go of the stress from the meeting with Glazov. I’ve never been around anyone who’s so hard to read. You think you’re in his good graces one minute and he’s putting a bullet through your brain the next.

I wonder if his family is exempt from being killed if they cross him—I honestly don’t think so. It’s obvious even his daughter is scared of him, and she holds a piece of his heart no one else does. It’s not like she’s all warm and fuzzy but when it comes to her father she definitely has a softer side. I can’t imagine her being soft and feminine with Oleg—I picture them crashing into furniture when they fuck.

I push off the wall and step over to the mirror to study my makeover with no one else around. I look at the woman who stares back at me and decide I look more like I walked off the
Kill Bill
movie set than the woman known as Emily. These people really did kill her off, inside and out. If the truth be told, I killed her off myself when I became a murderer. They just finished the job by destroying any evidence of her ever existing, which is fine by me.

I run my hands over my jet black hair, marveling at how the high-dollar products Roksana insisted I use have it feeling like silk. I touch the face that’s foreign to me. My skin feels supple and soft from the laser treatments. My lips are fuller but not enough to look weird. Emily never would have worn blood red lipstick, but on these luscious lips it definitely works. My features are strong and the only way I can describe my look is…kick ass.

I’m kind of shocked she went for such a sexy look but just like everything else in the Glazov family, it’s over the top. This is the first time I’ve ever felt sexy. When I was married to a cop I looked mousy, and when I became a killer I looked like a kid—always dressed down so I wouldn’t be noticed. Now…well, like I said, I look like a hit woman straight out of a movie. A really, really sexy movie.

Maybe that’s what they plan on using me for, to assassinate their enemies. Oddly enough, I honestly wouldn’t mind. One of two things happens after you kill someone for the first time: either you’re laden with guilt and vow to never kill again, or you develop a taste for blood. I developed a taste for blood. I like the idea of being an equalizer. If that’s what the Pakhan has in mind…I’m all for it.

Roksana

My father has decided to go into the diamond business. Any time a gangster wants to go legit it’s never without bloodshed. I don’t see my family ever being totally legitimate—it isn’t in our DNA. We come from a long line of Bratva mobsters. Actually, we prefer the term ‘gangster’, even when we use it tongue-in-cheek. It’s a title we take pride in.

As my father says, we’re born Bratva. A leopard can’t change its spots. There are some traits we’re born with and no amount of trying to change can undo that. Personally, I believe it isn’t so much a matter of my father wanting to go completely legitimate as it is him wanting to emphasize those legitimate business interests and take some attention away from his more…colorful pursuits. We have two goals in this family: stay alive and stay out of jail.

He isn’t just good at being a gangster; he’s also a savvy businessman and, I think, a true visionary. Dealing in diamonds makes sense for a couple of reasons: Russia is rich with diamond mines and we’ll make a shit load of money…legally.

I have no doubt our enemies are going to see this as my father going soft. That’s where I come in. By the time I’m finished training my protégé, we’ll be bathing ourselves in the blood of our enemies.

Another good thing about the diamonds we’ll be importing from the Motherland is the fact that they are conflict-free. The Pakhan likes the idea of not dealing in blood diamonds. By providing jobs and improving conditions for our Russian brothers and sisters, we will garner a positive image in the eyes of the Russian community.

Any good leader knows that when you take care of the people you earn their allegiance. I remember my father telling me of a time long ago when it was necessary for him to fake his death. When he returned to Russia to let the dust settle and the locals were questioned by the authorities, no one would talk. It was as much out of loyalty as it was fear.

Russia is one of the largest producers of not only natural diamonds but synthetic ones as well. Russian scientists were among the first to develop a machine that could produce synthetic diamonds that are so high quality they’re almost impossible to distinguish from natural ones. We’ve taken the industry to a whole new level. Making the synthetic diamonds economical has made them available to the masses. My father will deal in both naturally mined diamonds and synthetic ones. There’s a shit load of money to be made from both and the Glazov family will be a major player.

Though we haven’t discussed it, it’s understood that we can expect to be at war with our competitors who deal in blood diamonds. Like I said, I’m looking forward to bathing in the blood of our enemies. In fact, I think it’s time I talk to Father about going on the offensive rather than waiting to defend our interests against our potential competition. What better way to show the world Alexander Glazov will never go soft than to deal the death blow that will be heard around the globe?

We must act quickly and strike fear in the hearts of our enemies before they have time to form any alliances against us. Oh, yes…let it be the sucker punch heard around the world.