Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 76915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“I agree,” snapped Alexie. “This should be our most profitable sector,” leaving the rest of the sentence unspoken. The fact that the oil fields were one of our most prominent, profitable, and legal sectors went without saying.
Our other dealings generated far more wealth for the family. Arms trading. Drugs. Nightlife with a bit of sex trade on the side. The sex workers in our nightclubs and casinos were all there by choice, as far as we knew. We did not partake in the profits of human trafficking. We were all revolted by that.
Even our father had been eventually convinced by his sons not to touch that particular trade.
The old man drove us all crazy. He was a monster, even within the realms of organized crime. He was an autocrat, and would not accept any differing opinions, other than ours and only on rare occasions. But he was leaving us more and more alone as the years went on. He had molded us to his preferences, breaking us and driving in cruelty and violence, among other things. But eventually we pushed back. He respected that, to a point.
We were the only ones on earth who could challenge Sergei Aslanov and live. We had suffered bruises and beatings as teens when we spoke up. But that had stopped, in time.
I still considered the old man extremely dangerous. He had taken hundreds of lives on a whim, if not thousands. If we pushed him far enough, he was deadly. Even to us.
After all, he didn’t need three sons.
We were a good team however. Even the old man knew that. We balanced each other out. We always had a tie breaker when it came to disagreements. And our bond was inescapable.
Motherless boys, raised by a brutal tyrant, in unimaginable luxury.
It was truly an irony. No one on earth would dare touch us, other than our own blood. We all knew that he might take one of us out eventually. But we had sworn an oath long ago that if he ever moved against one of us, he moved against us all.
Each of us would kill our father in a heartbeat. We knew that it was only a matter of time. Eventually, it would become necessary.
Unless a massive coronary took him out first.
But part of me, a surprisingly big part, wanted to do it myself. I owed him that moment of reckoning. We all did.
The meeting ended and Lukov was dismissed. I poured each of us a drink and we sat in silence for a moment. I expected my brothers to continue the discussion of business, but apparently, they both had their minds on other things.
One very adorable thing in particular. Her.
“How is the little violinist?” Alexie asked with a wolfish grin.
“She’s a terrible maid,” I said mildly.
“What about in bed?”
I sighed heavily.
“I told her father I would look after her, not ravish her.”
“But if she wants to be ravished?”
I swallowed my vodka.
“That is another story.”
My brothers laughed loudly.
“I don’t think you will last long. You will find a way to convince her.”
“I think she will fall under his spell, he will have her, and immediately lose interest. Then you will end up with a new maid,” Alexie said, pointing at Andrei.
“I think he will marry her,” Andrei said quietly. We both turned and stared at him. I felt blood thumping in my temples. My brother was more than a little bit psychic. For him to say that gave me chills.
And yet, the thought was not repellant. Not at all. It stirred up a surprising feeling of longing in my chest.
“You are on,” Alexie crowed. “How much?”
“Ten million?” Andrei countered calmly.
Alexie guffawed, sure he would win. The thought of any of us marrying was so far from reality that it boggled the mind. But I had not said a word. Only Alexei seemed to find the idea amusing.
“And I want your stallion,” Andrei added. Alexei had a world-renowned racing horse.
“I want your private island off Sardinia,” Alexei threw back, though his tone of voice was less exuberant. He was also well aware that our brother was known to be right in his predictions.
“Done.”
“Done.”
I watched in annoyance as they shook hands. We all enjoyed ribbing each other and placing bets. But this was getting a bit too personal for me. I did not consider my seduction of little Mishka to be a laughing matter.
I glanced at my watch.
“I must go. It is time for lunch.”
My brothers got up. I looked at them, eyebrow raised.
“Where do you think you are going?”
“With you, brother,” Andrei said, slapping my back.
“Yes, I cannot wait to see this,” Alexie said with a leer. “Perhaps I can help sway the little maid into your bed. Or mine! You can hardly wed her if I bed her first.”
“No interference,” Andrei protested. Alexie huffed his annoyance but capitulated quickly, making it clear he had only been trying to get a rise out of me. I told them both to shut up, lest Mishka hear their loose talk in the hallway.