Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 95627 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95627 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Grabbing him by his greasy hair I tried to tilt his head back, but his toupee just came off his head and Kostya and Pavel laughed again. I tossed the hairpiece aside and grabbed him by the throat instead.
"What is Solovyov's next move?" I roared, letting my anger get the best of me.
Kostya and Pavel stopped laughing. I never yelled. It was a sign of weakness. It meant my grip on my control was loosening and that was not something I would allow.
"Fuck you," Kristoff spat.
I backhanded him, forcing his head to the side, before I grabbed him by the throat again.
My heart raced. There was so much irritation crawling under my skin, I wanted to lash out even more. "Tell me what Solovyov's plan is. Where is he going to attack next?"
"Fuck you."
He was getting tiresome.
I hit him again and again. This time avoiding his face. Any more swelling and he wouldn't be able to answer me at all.
When Pavel put his hand on my shoulder, I was covered in sweat and my heart was racing.
"What has you so on edge, brother?" he asked.
"Nothing," I snapped.
"Oh, I know what it is." Kostya smiled. "It's a woman."
"A woman?" Pavel repeated, raising his eyebrows. "Our brother, this brother, who has a series of one-night stands with women whose names he doesn't even bother to learn? The same brother who thinks the Vor v Zakone should never marry or have any emotional ties because they’re weaknesses? That brother?"
"The one and the same," Kostya said, and I could just hear his shit-eating grin.
"Unless you want to take this asshole's place in the chair, I suggest you shut up and get the information we need," I said, regaining some of my control.
"Who is it?" Pavel asked Kostya, ignoring me.
"That I don't know. I just know that he dealt with the Zaitsev dickheads the other day, and he spared some woman who was with them. And apparently he's playing fairy godmother and granting all her wishes."
"Dear god, will you two stop with the idle chatter and do your fucking jobs? It's not that hard. All you have to do is beat the motherfucker until he talks. There is the motherfucker, and he isn't talking. Fix it."
I was annoyed; I didn't get annoyed. Any other day I would be in this room either cold and focused on the task at hand, or maybe even joining my brothers with their jokes. Dull and tedious work like this was often more bearable because of their humor.
I collapsed into one of the metal chairs and pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to relieve some of the growing tension behind my eyes.
"What's with you?" Pavel said, narrowing his eyes at me. "You are acting odd."
"I told you, it's a woman," Kostya said, exaggerating the words into a childish singsong voice.
"No, that can't be it." Pavel shook his head. "It can't just be a woman. No woman has ever pulled his focus from work."
"Trust me, brother, the right woman makes all the difference." Kostya grinned. Both Pavel and I rolled our eyes. He had been impossible since Marina forgave him.
I didn't know how long this honeymoon phase was supposed to last, but he would be intolerable until it was over. Though one look at Gregor and his wife suggested it wasn't a phase, but a new fact of life we all had to contend with.
"Why did you leave the meeting early yesterday?" Pavel turned to me, ignoring Kostya's sappiness.
"Something came up," I answered, pinching the bridge of my nose harder before this tension turned into a full-blown migraine.
"What came up?" Pavel pressed.
"Oh, I have a couple ideas," Kostya laughed, and I threw my pocket square at him. That little piece of cloth wasn't going to do much to fix my appearance. As it was, my clothes were ruined, and I desperately needed a hot shower.
Even thinking about a shower brought up images of Viktoria in my mind. Sitting in the bottom of the tub, her clothes wet and her breasts visible through her white shirt, and those eyes looking up at me, pleading for something I burned to give her.
"Seriously," Pavel pressed again. "What was the reason?"
"Something came up. It's personal. Let it go."
"You don't have a personal life. You have business, family, and the family business. Since we are both family and part of the family business, there should be nothing you can't say to us."
"Fucking drop it," I said, getting to my feet.
"No." Pavel stood his ground.
"Umm, guys?" Kostya said.
"What?!" we both snapped.
Kostya simply pointed to Kristoff, who had managed to get off his chair and hobble toward the door.
"For fuck's sake."
This shit was out of control, and there was only one way to get it all back in line. I needed to remind these two jackasses who the fuck they were dealing with. I may have been their brother, but I was also their boss, and I was not a man to be fucking questioned.