Ruthless Mafia King: A Dark Bratva Arranged Marriage Romance
Ruthless Mafia King: Chapter 33

Roman, Peter, and Ivan flank me as a blood-covered Igor limps into my office. The guy is in an even worse state than I’d left him in.

His black hair is smeared with blood, his blue eyes bloodshot. His face is covered with bruises and scratches, his cheeks cut. His right hand is wrapped with a dirty cloth in a pathetic attempt at bandaging a wound. There’s a dark circle around his left eye, and as he moves, I can see the injury on his left shoulder. Even his clothes look like they were attacked by a knife.

“You better have a good reason for showing up like this,” I tell him, my voice cold. “This is a place of business after all.”

His cold eyes meet mine, and Igor hisses, “They attacked us last night.”

“Why should I give a shit?” I challenge.

“My father got hurt. It’s bad,” he informs me.

“And that affects me how exactly?” I ask, my tone challenging.

I get to my feet and nod at my men. All three of them pounce on Igor and push him to the ground. My boots smash against his injured shoulder, making him scream.

“Don’t start,” I warn. “You should know better than to come to me. Need I remind you what I do to uninvited guests?”

I press harder, enjoying the wailing sound. This piece of garbage doesn’t know how to leave well enough alone.

Igor is the reason my mother and Ivana are dead, and Katarina’s the reason he still lives. She wouldn’t forgive me if I killed her brother.

“We got attacked,” Igor repeats, forcing the words out through gritted teeth. “Gargarin came for us. They shot Father. It’s bad. He wants to see Kata. To say goodbye.”

I don’t react to his words. My expression is neutral and tame, not showing the venom and anger that I hold for the Sokolovs.

“It looks like you’re regretting breaking our business deal,” I mock. “If you hadn’t betrayed me, the Gargarins would be six feet under by now. With the steady flow of my weapons, you’d have that threat neutralized. But no, you had to go behind my back. You had to try and have me killed. And now you’re back here, crying for my help?”

“If we leave the Sokolovs and the Gargarins to fight it out, we can sweep in and take power from them both,” Roman remarks.

I glance at him.

“I don’t want a turf war,” I snap. “No additional bloodshed. That’s a catastrophe waiting to happen.”

My eyes slowly drift to my captive on the floor.

“Besides, I’m not interested in their dirty business,” I comment. “I never liked drugs, and I don’t plan on getting in the middle of that shitshow.”

“If you don’t want to help us, that’s fine,” Igor croaks. “But at least let Kata say goodbye to Father. She deserves as much.”

The fury coursing through me almost blinds me. I walk up to him and kick him. His agonized scream reverberates through the room. I press the sole of my shoe over his groin, savoring the sound he makes.

“I decide what she deserves,” I tell him. “I decide what she wants and what happens to her. You will stay the hell away from her if you value your life. She’s mine.”

“Let’s just kill him,” Roman says, impatience creeping into his voice.

I look at him and shake my head.

“Not yet,” I reply. “He fucks up often enough that we might still find a use for him.”

Igor opens his mouth as if he wants to speak but then thinks better of it.

“I’ll let you go,” I tell him. “But if I see your face again, even by accident, I’ll murder you in cold blood. Is that clear?”

“Crystal,” he replies, clutching his stomach with his injured arm.

I straighten and address Peter. “Get him out of my office,” I order.

Peter steps forward and half-lifts Igor off the floor as he groans in pain, earning himself another stab with an elbow from Peter.

“Send this rat back to his family,” I comment dryly.

Peter turns and shoves Igor out.

I remain staring at the door when it closes after them. Roman and Ivan step forward, waiting for me to gather my thoughts.

“See what’s going on with the Gargarins,” I say to Ivan. “I want to know what he’s up to.”

“What will you do with Katarina?” Roman asks. “She’ll want to see her father.”

“I know,” I mutter. “I’ll talk to her, but first, I want a complete picture.”

Both men nod in response.

“Go to work,” I tell them. “I’ll make a call to Moscow.”

When they leave, I finally close my eyes. Even though I’m furious, I must keep a cool head.

Left alone, I slump into the chair and stare out the window. The sun is out, but all I see is a red cloud of rage. Without wanting to, I’ve gotten myself stuck between two dangerous families. My connection with Katarina will ultimately force me to pick a side. Unfortunately, there’s only one right answer, which is also the one I hate.

I take a deep breath to steady myself before I dial the number of the Foreign Intelligence Service in Moscow.

“Nik,” my older brother answers on the first ring. “Things must be bad if you’re calling me.”

“Vasily,” I greet. “It’s been a while.”

“Whose fault is that?” he muses. “You’re the one who refuses to stay in touch.”

“Well, now I have no choice,” I remark, moving the conversation to the reason why I called. “I need your help.”

“Name it.” Vasily’s voice is cool and matter of fact.

“New York is on the verge of a war,” I say. “I need a team to help me clean up a mess.”

“What kind of a mess?” I can imagine him shaking his head and narrowing his eyes.

“A bloody one,” I reply. “I’m willing to do whatever is necessary to keep the empire I’ve built. If the wrong side wins, I’ll need enough manpower behind me to make them think twice before they come after me.”

“How many men do you need?” Vasily asks directly, which I appreciate. There’s no time to lose.

“At least a dozen.”

“I’ll double the number and send them on the first plane.”

“Thank you.” I’m grateful that he’s coming to my aid despite years of not talking to each other.

“Not so fast,” he interjects. That would’ve been too easy. “I want something from you too.”

“What’s that?”

“An invitation to your wedding.”

In the space of a few short moments, I realize what happened.

“Katya told you,” I scoff. “Pray tell, how’s our baby sister doing?”

“You know her.” He chuckles. “Always meddling in others’ business, but she’s been a star nonetheless. She’s on a fast track to becoming a judge.”

“That’s impressive.” I whistle. “I hope neither one of you will arrest me at my own wedding.”

“We’re family,” Vasily says, as if that automatically gives me immunity. “We’d at least wait for you to get laid first.”

“Just help me stay alive until my wedding day,” I tell him, and breathe a sigh of relief.

“I will,” he promises. “Don’t be a stranger, Nik. We might not be in the same business, but we’re still family.”

“I know,” I reply. “Thank you.”

Vasily hangs up first, and I let out a sharp breath of air. He’ll send more than enough reinforcements from Moscow to keep Gargarin and Sokolov’s war from claiming casualties on my side. That also will make it easier to punish the ones who tried to kill me.

Time will tell what I do. But first, I have to talk to Katarina about her father.