Page 34 of Debt to the Mafia King
Leah was full of fire. Even when she knew she had lost that spark still shone out of her eyes. I liked watching that spark morph into something else, equally as fiery but different.
My hands tightened around the steering wheel. I had to stop thinking of her waiting back at the house for me. It wouldn’t do me any good when I had to concentrate on the meeting ahead. So that’s what I did. Leah wasn’t going anywhere. She would be there when I got back, and then I would lose myself in her body and forget the shit-show that was about to happen.
I knew my father would try to cross me. He would attempt to rescind the deal we made, and I had prepared for it. I was the real power in our family, not him, and it was time he gave me his crown.
The open road quickly turned concrete, buildings towering overhead as I drove into the city, and an icy calmness settled over me. Bythe time I reached the townhouse that had been my very unhappy childhood home, I was so still and calm that it felt like I had taken something.
No emotions. They made you weak. How many times had that been beaten into me when I was too weak to fight back? Unfortunately for the old man, I was neither small nor weak anymore.
“Viktor.” The door swung open, and a tall, willowy woman, a little younger than me, smiled at me. She hovered on the stoop.
“Helena.” Dutifully, I brushed my lips against her cheek. It felt powdery with makeup. “Is he expecting me?”
She swept back and closed the door behind us. “Yes, but I think we were expecting both of you. I hear congratulations are in order. I was hoping you would bring her.”
I bit back a laugh. They wanted no such thing. Helena might live in my father’s house. She was his favorite, but she wasn’t his wife. She was nothing more than a mistress with no hope of ever being more. Not that it stopped her pretending she was Lady of this house.
“And yet neither of you came when you were invited.” I snapped back, which wasn’t fair. For all of her faults, I liked Helena. She deserved better than my dad, and I really did understand why my father hadn’t come.
He didn’t go anywhere these days. He didn’t want people to see how weak and feeble he had actually become.
“I—”
“It’s ok, Helena,” I sighed. “Hopefully this won’t take long, and I’ll be out of your hair.”
Not waiting for a reply, I moved down the wide, shadowy hallway, only pausing at the end door to knock hard and slide inside.
“And there he is, the prodigal son.”
Turning towards the window, I found him sitting and staring outside. His once muscular frame was frailer than the last time I had seen him. His shoulders were hunched, and his breath was rasping every time heinhaled.
God, he looked weak. I hated weakness. He had made me hate weakness.
“Did you think I wouldn’t come?” I asked, and my voice was quiet but strong. I pulled out the chair on the opposite side of his desk and waited for him to turn so we could talk.
His hands moved to his side, and he struggled to maneuver the wheelchair. It was clear that he usually had help, probably Helena. She was probably more nurse aid now than beautiful mistress. But my father wouldn’t call her in for help when I was here because he didn’t want me to see how much he was struggling, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to help him.
He had taught me that as well. Don’t help the weak. Don’t give in to it. He had hammered that lesson into me with his fists.
“So the news is that you got married.” His face was bright red by the time he managed to turn to me.
Leaning back, I steepled my hands under my chin and studied him. He was still a handsome man, but those looks were fading quickly. In a few months, there would be nothing left of the feared man he once was.
“Seeing as I invited you to the ceremony, I should think you have heard father.”
He said something angrily in Russian, and my lips pursed. “No, she isn’t here. She is at home,” I said pointedly in English. “Waiting for me like a wife should. Business does not concern her, and I am here to discuss business.”
The refusal to speak in Russian pissed him off, which was exactly what I wanted to do. It was time he realized that he was no longer in charge.
“So you think I am just going to give you everything because you married some cashier?” His voice was a bark.
I tried to hide my shock and failed, and his smile grew almost manic.
“Oh, you thought I didn’t know, Viktor? I’ve done my research on her. I probably know more than you,” he cackled. “And I know a business deal when I see one. I’m old Viktor. I’m not stupid.This is all a sham.”
I moved forward so quickly that for a second, his eyes widened in fear and shock. “A sham?” My voice was low and menacing. “My marriage to Leah isn’t a sham, old man, and if you have really been watching me, you would know that. Or do I need to show you—”
“So you are telling me there’s a prenup and—” his eyes skirted away, and I could tell, at that moment, that he didn’t know as much as he thought he did.
