Page 7 of Born into Madness
Mia smiles at the mention of our hacker cousin. “He’s going to love this.”
“We’ll also need Evgeny’s help,” I say, because having a cousin who’s a student on campus could prove very useful.
“I still can’t believe he’s going to be a lawyer someday,” she says with a laugh. “If anyone decides to lift the sleeve of his shirt up, they’re going to be in for one hell of a shock.”
I look down at the Grim Reaper that decorates my sister’s inner arm, the same one that every member of our Bratva has, Evgeny included. No one would ever suspect the brilliant, respectable-looking guy in class is a hardened criminal, but that’s the beauty of the plan. No one sees the truth of what he is or the tattooed body he hides behind his clothes. He’s going to insinuate his way right into the midst of them, and the power he’s going to wield will make our family untouchable,especially when combined with Niki’s hacker skills. There won’t be anything we can’t get away with.
Giving Drew one last look, I stand and stretch, rolling my neck to get the kinks out before sheathing my knife and asking, “You coming with me to talk to him, or do you need to get home to Dario?”
My sister tries to hide her grin when I mention her husband and fails miserably. She may not be a swoony, hearts-in-her-eyes girl, but she’s deeply in love with her husband. She’d married Dario Alessi, the man who taught me how to wield a knife and use it to kill in all manner of ways, and they’re slowly figuring things out. Dario’s cousin, Dominic, heads the Alessi Mafia, and he also happens to be married to our older sister Natalya. Dario isn’t thrilled about his little wife putting herself in danger, but he also knows her well enough to know there’s no stopping her.
“Of course I’m coming,” she says, pulling out her phone so she can text him to let him know where she’ll be. Her cheeks turn even pinker at whatever he texts back. My sisters’ and cousins’ marriages fascinate me. I don’t understand the nuances in their relationships. I don’t understand the sexual desire that no one in my family seems capable of hiding, and I don’t understand the need they feel to be with one another. I’ve yet to meet anyone outside of my family that I feel compelled to see on a regular basis. I grew up with my cousins. We were raised more like siblings in a lot of ways, and I imagine that if we hadn’t grown up so closely together, then I probably wouldn’t feel anything towards them. They’d be more like strangers, but off-limits strangers because you don’t hurt family.
Rule number one never gets broken.
Before we leave the warehouse, I text one of our men to come and take care of Drew. He’ll be disposed of in a way that guarantees he’ll never be found so he can never be traced back to us. Niki will scrub the security cameras at the club, ensuringthere’s no proof that Drew was ever there tonight, and his car will be nothing but scrap metal before the sun rises.
Switching my mask for my helmet, I pull it on and start my bike. The loud rumble of the Yamaha MT-10’s powerful engine calms me, and when I nod to Mia, she zooms out in front of me, taking the lead so I can follow her to our cousin’s. Dario bought her the bike as a wedding present, and it suits her. She handles it well, and when she speeds up to make it through a yellow light, I’m right on her ass, clearing the busy intersection right as it turns red.
As soon as we pull into the underground garage and park near their private elevator, she pulls off her helmet, flashing me a huge smile. Yeah, Dario was never going to tame her adrenaline-junkie ass, but he has managed to keep her in line as much as she’s ever going to get—a feat I thought no man would ever be able to accomplish.
The security camera above the elevator records everything we’re doing, and when I press my thumb to the scanner Niki installed a few months ago, the doors immediately open for us. Mia fills me in on what happened in the club after I left with Drew until we hit the penthouse and our Aunt Simona lets us in. Even though everyone knows there’s something off with me, no one has ever kept me at arm’s length. They might give me a bit more space at times, but the big hug my aunt wraps me in is the same kind she’s been giving me my whole life, the same kind of affection everyone in my family has always given me. I return it just as easily, but I’d be lying if I said I understand the need for it.
People are divided into two categories for me: safe and fair game. My family is securely on the safe side of things, which means they’re completely off limits. I will never hurt them, and I will never allow them to be hurt. Everyone else is in the area of fair game. I’m not allowed to kill indiscriminately, but thereare certain things that make it okay. If someone comes after my family, I get to kill them. If someone attacks me, I get to kill them. Anyone who is a threat to the Bratva is fair game to me and my knives.
The system works, or at least it has so far. I’m not sure how things would go if my job didn’t allow me to kill so frequently. It’s an outlet I need, and I’m guessing if it was taken away, then the strict rules around thefair gamegroup would start to disappear. According to all the true crime shows I’ve watched, I could technically be called a serial killer, but I don’t fit all the criteria. I don’t have specific people I feel compelled to target. I’m happy with anyone who bleeds, but I draw the line at kids, and a woman would have to try to kill me first or be a threat to my family before I’d go after her.
So, not exactly a serial killer.
The problem with labels is that they never fit perfectly, and then you’re boxed in by it, limited by the weight of a single word.
Fuck that. I am who I am, and there’s no changing it. Defining it won’t do shit to fix it or make me normal.
“Niki’s downstairs,” our aunt tells us after offering us food and something to drink.
“Thanks, Aunt Simona,” Mia tells her while I nod and grab one of the sandwiches she puts on a plate. She hands the rest over to Mia and adds in three Cokes so we can share with Niki.
Starving, I take a bite as we head downstairs. Niki’s older brother, Max, spends half the year in Oregon with his wife. Talia’s family runs the Medvedev Bratva along the West Coast. Niki flies out to see them often, and they’re planning another trip as soon as Talia goes into labor. She wants to have the baby in Oregon so she’ll be close to her mom, and they all agreed it would be easier for Niki and his parents to just fly out there. Plus, there was no way Max was going to let her on a plane now that she’s hit her third trimester. He’s so protective of her Iwouldn’t be surprised if her feet don’t hit the ground for the next couple of months. He’d rather carry her around than take the chance on her tripping and falling.
We find Niki in his room, and, no surprise to anyone, he’s staring at the screen of his laptop, the fast clicking of keys the only sound in the room.
“Hey,” he says, barely glancing up at us. “How’d it go tonight?”
“We’re going to need your computer brain,” Mia tells him before flopping down into one of the chairs. She hikes her feet up and rests the plate on her lap. Tossing us each a Coke, she grabs one of the sandwiches for herself and takes a big bite, letting me know it’s my turn to talk.
“The pills are coming from a seller at the university,” I tell Niki. His eyes dart from the screen to meet mine when I add, “His setup is sophisticated, and we’re going to need you to try and track him.”
Reaching over to grab the last sandwich, he leans back and eats while I tell him everything Drew told me. Niki goes out with us to handle things in person, but his main job within the Bratva is the behind-the-scenes shit that no one else can do. His dad is also a brilliant hacker, but more and more, Niki’s been taking over. Uncle Danil is the first to admit that his son’s skills exceed his, but I also think that our dads are just ready to take more of a backseat. They’re not getting any younger, and they know the second generation is more than ready to step up so we can prove ourselves.
They built the Bratva, and it’s up to us to not only maintain it but to make it thrive. It’s our future, and it’s what keeps our family safe. If we fuck up, the whole thing comes crumbling down, exposing us to all the enemies we’ve made and all the ones that were made before my cousins and I were even born. There’s a long line of people who would like nothing more than to seeus dead and gone. We’re determined to not let that happen and willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that’s not our fate.
“We’ll need to bring Evgeny in on this,” Mia says from her chair, agreeing with what I’d said earlier.
“But quietly,” I add. “Under no circumstances is he allowed to put himself at risk. No one can know he’s involved with us.”
“He’ll be careful,” Niki says.
“We’ll make sure of it,” Mia nods in agreement and then checks her phone. Whatever Dario’s sent her has her smiling. She types something back and then looks over at us. “Time for me to go. Text me before you go to Evgeny.”
