Anatoli
"We did it," Jayce states.
"We did." I smile, bumping my fist with his.
"Shouldn't we be having champagne?" Gytha asks, raising one perfectly arched brow. "Or something along those lines?"
"We will." I meet her serpentine eyes, which are fixed on me with wild seduction. This is one of those times when we'd usually end up in bed, or anywhere we could get lost in each other, to destress. "For now, how about you each get those bonuses I promised?"
"Fuck, yeah," Zane replies, pumping his fist once in the air then snapping his fingers. "And that's why I fucking love working for you."
I'd like working for me, too, if I added a bonus of ten G onto an already high five-figure monthly salary.
Given my poor upbringing, sometimes it feels unbelievable that I'm able to do this. Me at twenty-eight years old being in charge of what I've already been doing without the Scarfoni fortune.
"Don't go wild just yet. The job is still ongoing." That's why I've summoned them here for a brief check-in. "We also need to plan the next steps."
"Oh, we know," Jayce agrees, lighting up a cigarette and puffing on it. "We fucked with the big boys today. Can't screw with people like that and not expect them to bite back."
"We knew this would happen, though," Zane concedes.
"We did. That's why I need each of you to keep your eyes open even more than before."
My brothers and Uther are nothing in comparison to our previous encounters with mafia groups and other low-key organizations.
Fucking with them is like screwing with the Knights themselves. Everything is older, more deep-rooted, and involves the deadly combination of wealth and power. There will also be people who won't like that I'm in charge because their business relationships will be affected.
"What next, boss?" Gytha asks, noticing my deep concentration.
"I think I'm going to need Zane backing Jayce up on surveillance. I need solid eyes on my brothers and Uther. I need to know what they're up to twenty-four seven." I want to know everything no matter what it is. Whether they spit, shit, or sleep. "I will also need you guys watching my father's men." I'll inherit my father's personal guards as well, and his task force. I undoubtedly have to make sure they can be trusted.
"We can do all that," Jayce says, and Zane dips his head in agreement.
"And me?" Gytha asks.
Zane tries to sneak a peek between her legs when she sits forward. He looks away quickly before she catches him, schooling himself. He's always liked her, but he wouldn't go there because of me. No one is ever certain when we're friends and when we're lovers.
"You're with me," I answer, ignoring the warning in my heart to beware of her. Working closely with Gytha may not be the smartest choice when I need clarity. But despite what we are and what we aren't, I don't trust anyone else to do what she does for me.
"You?" Her eyes sparkle with hope.
"I'll need help with the company once I start." I'll be at the headquarters of Scarfoni Inc. bright and early Monday morning, doing the parts of the job I don't give two fucks about. "I need you to check out all the workers and keep an eye out for anything I might need to be aware of."
I especially need her because at the end of all of this, Leif is retiring. That was another reason he wanted me to work with my brothers.
He projected that our work should take about two months to complete. By then, he'll have finished teaching me what I need to know. He plans to return to Russia. I'll leave months later when I have everything up and running, then head back out to sea.
"That sounds like I got the easy job." Gytha chuckles.
"Don't be quick to judge. The company is huge, and I need to make sure there's no dissension in the ranks, or shit."
"Okay, boss." She makes her tone sound purposely sweet. The complete opposite of what she is.
"That's all from me for now. I'll need a report from you guys every six hours for the next few days."
"Got it. See you later." Jayce stands, and Zane follows his lead.
When the two leave, I look at Gytha because she hasn't moved. She continues to stare at me, the fire of mischief dancing in her eyes.
"I thought I'd double-check to make sure you didn't need me for anything else. Right now." She straightens and makes a point of parting her legs so I can see her panties.
"I don't need anything else." We go through these cycles, she and I. One moment we're up, the next we're down. Sometimes it's fun, other times not.
"You did so much to get to this point, though. Seems a shame you aren't at least celebrating with me like we used to. Remember the last time?"
"Yes." I'm not likely to forget because I considered making her mine officially.
That was a year ago. At the time, we'd been exclusive for months and I took her on a getaway to Morocco. I saw it as the start of something more. But she didn't. I don't know if I got too close, but she pulled back, and the same week we got back home, she cheated on me.
I caught her in the act, and she behaved like she didn't do anything wrong. No apologies were offered, and we've been in that gray area since, not even being the fuck buddies we used to be. She has, however, been working hard to get back in my bed.
"If you remember, then what are we still doing here?" Her smile grows wider.
"No." I shake my head, and the smile fades.
"No?" She hops off the desk and glides over to me, resting her hands on my shoulders as she steps between my legs. "Are you sure, boss?"
"I'm very sure."
"I guess the girl must have made quite an impression, then."
"We both know this is not about the girl." Although I make the clarification, my dick has other ideas, stirring at the thought of being buried deep in Avrora's sweet little cunt.
"You forget I know you, Anatoli Scarfoni," she teases.
Something catches my eye. It's the slightest movement through the railings on the stairs outside the room. A glimpse of a lock of white-blonde hair floating back up the stairs proves my earlier assumption wrong. The Valkyrie came down after all.
Well, well, well.
And she was watching me. Maybe trying to listen in, too. If I were her, I'd definitely be doing that.
She wouldn't have heard anything because of the distance between the stairs and the room. I wouldn't have met my crew in here if I'd wanted to talk about something more private. I might not have even done that here at the house.
Gytha follows my gaze to the stairs, then we both look back at each other.
The sly smile tilting her glossy red lips is one of her forced smiles. A sign I've pissed her off.
"The guys said she literally looks like a princess. Maybe that's what you're into these days, regardless of whose daughter she is, or whose bride she almost was."
I don't give her the satisfaction of an answer. She doesn't deserve it.
"Let's not mix business with pleasure."
"Okay, Anatoli," she adds with light laughter. "When you're ready for the queen, you know where to find me."
Lowering her head, she plants a kiss on my forehead and leaves.
I look at the stairs again, tempted to find Avrora, but I stave off the urge.
Today was the longest day ever, and there is still one last thing I have to do. One more thing I've been putting off.
Meeting my father.
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The beeping sounds of machines fill my ears as I walk into my father's hospital room.
Not that I wanted to come before, but I might not have gotten past his guards at the door. Now that they're mine, I have free rein of where I go and when I do it.
Dim lights create a heavenly glow in the room. I make my way to the bed in the center of the room, where my father lies motionless.
I stop at the edge of the bed and stare at him, finding myself fixated on his face. This is our first meeting. Him being kept alive by machines, unable to see me, and me full of vengeance.
Earlier, I noted how similar my brothers and I look. But seeing my father now throws me off balance.
I look just like him. Like a clone. Like his younger self. I've seen pictures of him, so I should have been prepared. But I'm not.
Mom told me who my real father was only days before she died. Prior to that, I didn't know. I even had her surname. I suspected Leif was my father because he was always in my life. I'd never seen him show affection to my mother, though.
Leif was married and never had kids because his wife couldn't.
I still assumed he was my father, especially because he always came to see Mom no matter what country she lived in. When we lived in Boston, Mom worked for a family called the Butyrskayas, as a maid. My mother came from a servant family who'd always worked for the founding families of the Knights. That's how she met my father and Leif.
The house I live in now belonged to the Butyrskayas. I was practically born there and lived there until I was ten. At that point, Mom decided to move to Russia. It was in that house that I was hidden away like everything else the Butyrskayas kept secret as part of their job. They kept Mom's secret, however, because they loved her like she was part of the family. They disappeared many years ago and have been presumed dead.
I came here tonight to meet my father before he dies.
It's a fucked-up thing for a man like me to know his father ordered his mother's killing and allow him to live. But this slow death will suffice.
Right now, I want him to hear my voice before he departs from this world and know he didn't win.
Reaching out, I cover the cold skin of my father's hand with my own. The gesture is almost loving, like I'm the worried son.
"Father, my name is Anatoli. Anatoli Scarfoni. I only took your name because Leif wanted me to have it." I drag in a breath and lift my chin higher. "I needed you to know you didn't kill me all those years ago, but it was a nice try. Now I live to avenge my mother. You took her from me. Now I will take everything from you and your family. Thank you for turning me into a monster. I won't disappoint you."