Page 11 of Born into Chaos

Well, I’ll try not to do anything to piss you off again, even though I have no clue what I did to deserve today’s punishment. I need to go. Stay inside and I’ll see you tomorrow.

Sveta:

Where are you going?

Me:

Out.

I know my answer has pissed her off, but she doesn’t need to know about Bratva business. Everyone is very careful to keep the business away from the daughters and wives as much as possible. Mia, Lev’s youngest, is the one who’s most dead set on demolishing that particular rule, and I’m so glad she wasn’t the one who saved my life that night. Sveta may be a headache at times, but she’s a headache I know how to handle. Plus, I’m in love with the woman and that affords her certain liberties. Mia would just drive me fucking crazy. I would never trust her to keep her ass inside for the night. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if she tried to shimmy down the outside of the building.

Right as I’m sitting down on my motorcycle, my phone buzzes.

Sveta:

Make sure you don’t wear yourself out too much. I just remembered I forgot to get something while we were at the mall. I guess we’ll need to go there again after all.

I groan and pocket my phone before pulling my helmet on. Great, she’s pissed at me because she thinks I’m leaving to go fuck someone. Not only will I not be getting laid tonight, but I’m going to be punished tomorrow as if I did. Just fucking great.

By the time I get to Pink, I’m more than ready to fuck someoneelse’s night up. Timofey is waiting for me out back, and without a word, I get off my bike and get into his waiting car. He’s been with the Bratva for decades, and the fact that he’s still alive tells me everything I need to know about him.

“How are Mila and the kids?” I ask once he’s pulling out of the parking lot.

He looks over and grins. “They’re good. I had no idea girls could be so damn loud,” he says with a soft laugh. His wife used to be a bartender at Pink, but she’d quit once she learned she was pregnant. Now they have four girls, and I don’t know how the man gets any sleep. I can’t imagine a houseful of kids, but he seems happy about it.

“So what’s the plan for tonight?”

“We’re checking out one of our dealers,” he tells me, and I know there’s more to it than that because we’re both too high up in the ranks to get sent out for something so minor. When I don’t press for information, he eventually gets around to telling me what I want to know. My ability to keep quiet is a skill that comes in handy for more things than just aggravating Sveta.

“This guy’s been a pain in our ass lately,” he says. “He’s late on dropping off the money, and the guys we have selling pills at the club near campus all say he’s been off his game lately. He even fucked up an order and we ended up being short on pills one night.”

“You think he’s using?” I ask, because it sure sounds like the fucker is high. No one in their right mind would try and steal from the Melnikov Bratva.

“We’re about to find out,” Timofey says, taking a right turn and leading us closer to the university. The Bratva owns a few clubs, and one of them is near campus. It’s the kind of nightclub I’d never choose to walk into—loud, upbeat music, giggly girls who talk way too loud and squeal when they get excited, and preppy rich boys who’ve never had to work a day in their lives. The place brings in a lot of money, though, and I can see why the brothers bought it. It doesn’t mean I’m going to enjoy spending time in it, though.

The headache I got from the mall has only just recently simmereddown to a dull ache, but when Timofey pulls in front of the club and I see the neon lights and long line of young students waiting to get in, I know it’s about to flare back to life. We get out of his car and make our way to the bouncer on duty, ignoring the stares the young women are giving us.

“Oskar, how’s it looking tonight?” Timofey asks the man in Russian as Oskar looks over the ID in his hand.

“Busy.” Oskar hands the ID back and waves the girl in before grabbing the next one. “No trouble yet, though, so that’s good. Usually one of these frat boys will end up drinking too much and trying to start a fight. It’s fucking pathetic, man. My little sister can fight better than these rich pussies.”

Timofey laughs and eyes the crowd. “At least they’re easy fights to break up.”

“That’s for sure,” Oskar agrees.

“Who’s here tonight?” Timofey asks.

Oskar nods at the woman in front of him and waves her in before saying, “Isaak’s in there and Pasha. I haven’t seen anyone else come in.”

Timofey nods at the mention of our dealers’ names. “Have you seen Radomir tonight?”

I notice the way Oskar stiffens before giving a tight shake of his head. “I haven’t seen him for a few days.”

“Text me if you do,” Timofey tells him before smacking his back and walking past him to enter the club.

“Good to see you, Vitya,” he says when I walk by.

“You too, man.” I return his nod and step into the obnoxiously loud club.

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