Page 22 of Sergei
“Nothing. I ah…”
“Alek Morozov happened,” I answered.
And just like that, the smiles and laughter evaporated from the room. Still confused, Nikolai looked at Alina and asked, “He did this to you?”
“He did,” I clipped, before Alina had a chance to spill everything. “He’s been doing it since they got married.”
“Woah. Shit… You were married?” Nikolai stared at Alina, mouth open wide.
“They were, and they still are.”
“How the hell did I miss that?”
Nikolai’s mood had shifted, and his light-hearted demeanor was gone. Like me, Alina didn’t miss the change. She turned to him and opened her mouth to speak. I quickly stepped closer as I said, “I’m taking care of it.”
Nikolai turned his attention to Alina as he asked, “Can you give us a minute?”
She hesitated but eventually nodded and headed back to her bedroom. As soon as the door clicked behind her, I stepped over to my brother, and I told him everything. And I did it quickly. I told him what Alek had done, what she’d endured, and why she couldn’t go back.
I thought he’d understand and have my back until he roared, “Are you out of your fucking mind? Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
“I will take care of it.”
“No.” His eyes narrowed with anger. “That’s where you’re wrong. This isn’t something you can handle on your own. It’s too big.”
“I’ll figure it out.”
“There is no figuring this out!” Nikolai’s face grew red with anger. “The second the family finds out you're protecting her, it won’t just be your head on the block. It’ll be mine. Viktor’s. Mom’s! Dammit, Sergei! You’ve fucked us all. You’ve fucked us hard! Do you get that?”
“I said I’ll deal with it.”
“You’re so fucking hard-headed!” He inhaled a quick breath. “You can’t deal with Alek, the Morozov clan, and the council on your own. Christ! Even if we all stood together, I don’t know if we’d survive it.”
I didn’t respond.
I just stood there and let him say his piece.
It was the only way he was going to settle down.
“You think you’re invincible, but you’re not! You’re going to drag us all into the grave with you!”
He kept going, and with each word he spoke, his voice would rise like he thought I hadn’t heard him the first damn time. Annoyance hit me hard. Not just at his doubt. That was bad enough, but it was the insult buried beneath it that got to me the most. My own brother was standing there, looking at me like I didn’t know what the Bratva was capable of.
He'd clearly forgotten how I’d bled for this family, that I was the one they sent when there was trouble. My father, along with the rest of the family, knew I was the one to handle the things no one else had the stomach for.
Me.
And me alone.
I leaned forward, letting the silence stretch between us until I saw his jaw tighten. “Have you forgotten who you are talking to? I’m Sergei Volkov. I know better than anyone what the bratva will do, Kolya. I was the one they sent when debts needed to be collected, and bodies needed to vanish. I was the blade they wielded in the dark.”
I took a step forward and was just inches from my younger brother when I snarled, “So don’t stand there and tell me I don’t know what I’m walking into. I know they will come for her, and when they do, I will remind them why men used to lower their heads when they heard my name.”
Nikolai swallowed hard, and finally, he shook his head and said, “You know, Viktor is going to lose his shit over this.”
“Which is why he can’t know she’s here.”
“You aren’t going to tell him?”
