Second Best (Volkov Bratva Book 1) Read online

  Leaning down, I whispered against her ear. “Tonight is about business. It’s a show of force but also a little reminder to our good friends in charge.”

  Aurora gasped and tilted her head to look at me. Her long hair had been curled once again. Some of the strands were pulled back and tied at the base of her neck. I wanted to touch it, to run my fingers through the long locks. More than anything, I wanted to hold her hair as I fucked her hard, to finally show her what it truly meant to be my wife.

  I pushed all these thoughts down and instead focused on my surroundings. I’d already spotted Ivan, surrounded by his men, charming the fucking asses off of everyone here.

  Kissing her cheek, I kept my lips close to her ear. “Mr. Hampton seems to think it is okay to take money from us to help him win his political career, but when it comes to keeping his end of the deal, he seems to have forgotten.”

  “What was his end of the deal?”

  “To look the other fucking way,” I said.

  We never asked for much from people like Roger, but what we did expect was for them to honor it.

  “Now, we’re going to dance and play the part of a doting couple.”

  “Wait,” Aurora said, her hand on my arm. “Why are we here? I mean, you’re … you know, and I’m well, no one.”

  “Sweetheart, didn’t you know you married a very powerful entrepreneur? My expertise is expansion. I have casinos, real estate, and an entire investment portfolio.” I winked at her.

  “Of course you do.”

  We covered our tracks well. I was known as a member of the Volkov Bratva, but no one would have any evidence. It was what made us so powerful and also untouchable. We were businessmen, nothing more.

  Taking Aurora’s hand, I led her onto the dance floor. After placing a hand at the base of her back, I pulled her in close. The feel of her soft body against mine was close to driving me insane.

  Years of control kept me sharp and my dick soft in my pants.

  I checked around the room, noticing the additional guards on the doors. Roger also had a man by his side constantly.

  Looking back over at Ivan, I saw he kept his distance. This was always the case with parties like these.

  “What do you need to do?” Aurora asked.

  “Pardon?”

  “You’re here to talk to him, right?” She glanced behind her. “I guess you can’t get too close to him, can you? He knows who you are. What you’re capable of.”

  “Most people do.”

  She licked her lips and dropped her hands. “Excuse me.”

  I frowned as I watched her leave. She’d abandoned me on the dance floor. Running my hands down my jacket, I checked out her ass. The gown she wore covered her body and yet left nothing to the imagination.

  I didn’t know how it happened, but each time I looked at her, she got sexier. The curves of her ass and hips called to me. I wanted them in my hands as I took her. Maybe it was time for me to get a woman on the side because right now, all I could think about was sex and fucking my woman.

  She moved through the throngs of people, and I finally got my feet moving, following behind her. She broke through the group surrounding Roger Hampton, and I was close enough to hear her speak.

  “Mr. Hampton, it is an honor to finally get to meet you in person,” Aurora said. “I watched the last talk you did, and it was inspiring. In fact, I was wondering if it would be at all possible to have a quiet word with you. I’d like to consider investing myself in your future.”

  The smile she gave him was … breathtaking.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ivan closing in.

  “Well, thank you,” Roger said, excusing himself from the guests. He put a hand on the base of Aurora’s back, and I wanted to snap it off. No one touched my wife. “It is always a pleasure doing business with beautiful women, Miss…”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, it’s Mrs. Ivanov, and you know, my husband would love to have a word with you as well.” She grabbed Roger’s arm and held her other out to me. “Hello, darling. I told Mr. Hampton you wanted to speak to him about investment. If you will excuse me, I see someone I must talk to.”

  Like that, Aurora left just as Ivan joined us, along with Andrei, Ive, Victor, Peter, and Oleg. The six main district brigadiers, all present and all joined forces with Ivan Volkov.

  The look on Roger’s face was priceless.

  He turned to run, but Ivan had him, and together, we marched him out of the room, heading toward a private office where no one was around.

  I checked the room, Ive and Victor covered the door, and Peter and Oleg took the windows while Ivan and Andrei dragged a struggling Roger into the room.

  We wouldn’t hurt him too bad.

  He hadn’t won yet, so all the power he had was nothing.

  With my hand on my gun, I stood waiting.

  “Mr. Volkov, I’ve been meaning to talk to you,” he said.

  “Really, because for the past two weeks, you’ve been able to avoid my calls and every single chance to talk to me.” Ivan shoved him into a chair. With the doors closed, there wasn’t much we could do.

  “Well, if you phone my secretary, we can arrange a meeting, and I know I’m fully scheduled.”

  Ivan clucked his tongue. “Actually, I think right here and now. You see, the speeches you’re giving, they’re a little trying on my nerves. I wonder how the general public would feel to know the very man they’re putting all their faith in has a … gambling problem. The people that feed you, you want to rub into the dirt.”

  I was bored as Ivan pulled out a blade. The security in this place was easily bought. It was how we got our guns through. Everyone here was on our payroll, which was why no security footage was being recorded.

  After the standard five minutes of my presence, I made my excuses and headed in the direction of the security office.

  As per my instructions, the guard on the door had taken a stroll.

  I sat, glancing over the footage as Ivan made his threat. Within ten minutes, Ivan was leading Roger out of the room as if he’d not just threatened him. I extracted the data, wiped the system, and was heading back to the dance floor when I noticed my wife walking into the bathroom.

  Following her inside, I stopped her from locking me out of a stall. The door closed, and I pressed up against her.

  “This is the woman’s bathroom.”

  “Do I look like a man who follows the rules?”

  She shook her head. “No. I guess you’re a man who does exactly what he wants.”

  “You’ve got that right.”

  She nibbled on her lip. “Is there something you wanted to say to me?”

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “Whatever for?”

  “You know what for.”

  “Is this hard for you?” she asked.

  This made me smile. Saying thank you didn’t come easy. “Why did you help?”

  She shrugged her shoulder. “I’m your wife. By marrying you, I pledged my loyalty to you, didn’t I? I’m not longer a Fredo. I’m an Ivanov.” She didn’t look into my eyes.

  What was going on here?

  The door to the bathroom opened and Aurora tensed up.

  For some reason, I didn’t want to embarrass her. I stepped back and allowed her to leave the stall. She stepped out of the stall, and I heard the women giggle and say hi to her.

  I didn’t know what the hell had just happened or why I was still stuck in a bathroom stall. I could have easily followed her out. I didn’t care what people thought of me. Aurora continued to mess with my head. My wife shouldn’t be a problem to me and yet, she’d proven to be more of a challenge than I realized, and it pissed me off.

  “Oh, my God, do you know who that was?” one of the women asked.

  “No. She looks familiar.”

  “She’s Aurora Ivanov! Oh, my God, I saw the pictures of her wedding. You know there is a rumor that said her husband is part of the Russian mafia, right? There’s this whole thing going o
n across the country. I don’t know the general working. It’s like the worst-kept secret.”

  I frowned as I listened. I had no time for female gossip. Personally, I wanted to correct her that I was Bratva, not fucking mafia.

  “I heard Slavik, the hot guy, he had to put a bag over her head to fuck her.” A round of giggles.

  “Please, he couldn’t even be bothered to kiss her. You had to have seen the pictures. He brushed his lips across her cheek. I’m betting he can’t stand to touch her.”

  The insults went on, and they angered me.

  I had this desire to draw my weapon and kill them all there and then. Or better yet, to pull them out of the bathroom and force them to apologize to her.

  This wasn’t the time or place.

  Rage rushed through my body. I shoved it down.

  All I wanted to do was kill. I held swift control even as I did want to kill. Who did they think they were? My wife was a fucking queen. Had Aurora dealt with this her whole life? I didn’t get a chance to confront them.

  They left the bathroom after throwing more insults at my wife.

  I walked out of the stall, then the bathroom, entering the dining room. I saw my wife standing with Ivan.

  My boss talked to her, and I saw her smile.

  Was my kiss to her cheek an insult?

  She’d looked terrified, and I hadn’t wanted to cause her to panic on our wedding day. I’d also never kissed her.

  Ignoring the strange looks, I advanced across the room. Everything seemed to fade all around me, and the only focus I had was on the woman.

  I didn’t care who saw.

  Ivan pointed toward me, and Aurora turned.

  She frowned as I reached out. I cupped her face, drew her close to me, and slammed my lips down on hers. The electric current that rushed through me shocked me to the core. Never had I kissed a woman and felt so fucking whole and complete.

  Chapter Five

  Aurora

  Getting the meeting with Roger Hampton had been the right thing to do. There wasn’t a lot I could do properly but any way I could help, I’d be willing to do it.

  Women were supposed to stay out of men’s business, but there was an opening, and I took full advantage of it. I doubted it would ever happen again. Now that Roger knew who I was married to, the chances of it ever happening again would be slim.

  When Ivan approached me on the sidelines of the dance floor, it had been a welcome distraction. This guy still scared the crap out of me, but it was manageable. I knew why I was afraid of him, and what I should do to keep myself calm in his presence.

  I wanted something to do with my hands. I kept opening and clenching them, trying to figure out what I was supposed to do.

  This party was starting to get to me.

  “Your husband is here,” Ivan said.

  I turned to see Slavik advancing toward me. The frown on his face startled me. Why did he look so mad? I hadn’t done anything wrong.

  All of a sudden, I felt the need to run. To get the hell out of his way. He looked ready to kill.

  I stayed grounded, fear racing down my spine.

  The moment his hands touched my face, the room seemed to freeze, and then, much to my surprise, my very first kiss. Slavik’s lips slammed down on mine. At first, I stilled, unsure what to make of his lips on mine.

  This was a kiss.

  Our mouths melded together.

  Almost like one, but it was so much more than that. The hands on my cheek moved. One sank into my hair, and the other went to my hip, drawing me in.

  The world faded away, and my hands went to the front of his body, running up to curve around his neck, pulling him close to me.

  I moaned as his tongue traced, and I opened up my lips for him to explore. My eyes closed as I basked in this feeling. It was so consuming.

  The books and movies hadn’t been wrong.

  The moment the right man kissed you, the rest of the world didn’t matter.

  I felt connected to Slavik.

  I didn’t want it to end.

  Of course, being part of the Volkov Bratva came with problems.

  I jerked back as screams and the sounds of bullets rained down in the room.

  Slavik pushed me to the floor at the same time as Ivan.

  Glass shattered. The bullets wouldn’t stop.

  I reached to cover my ears.

  Slavik yelled for me to stay down.

  I closed my eyes, trying to stop the panic.

  My very first kiss and it ended in gunfire. This was so not fair, and I wanted to scream at whoever was ruining it. I stayed perfectly still even as Slavik’s weight eased off me. Even as I told myself to keep my eyes closed, to stay down, I couldn’t. Curiosity got the better of me.

  I opened my eyes and glanced around. Men and women were on the ground. One of the waiters had fallen close to me. His eyes were wide open, and I screamed, jerking back as I saw half of the back of his head had blown off.

  Sickness swirled within my gut, and I scrambled to my feet. Just as I did, more bullets came tumbling down. I covered my head, whirling around, looking for a weapon.

  All of a sudden, a large body slammed into me, and I was taken to the ground, landing on the broken glass, which impaled my skin.

  I whimpered, struggling against the man who was on top of me. Fear worked its way down my spine. Whoever it was slammed their fist against my face.

  Everything went numb for a second as I struggled to gain focus. Pain exploded at the back of my eyes.

  “You’re a traitorous bitch,” he said.

  The gun was cocked.

  I was going to die. I always knew I’d have a short life.

  Five months into my marriage and here was my death.

  The blow came, but I was still alive.

  The man fell onto me. A bullet hole in the center of his head. I scrambled out from underneath him, screaming.

  Arms wrapped around me, and I started to flail against him, fighting him off.

  “I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”

  Slavik’s voice calmed me. Another surprise of the day. He shouldn’t be the one to calm me.

  What the hell was wrong with me?

  My heart raced. I felt sick.

  We’d been attacked at a party full of civilians, including politicians and wealthy businessmen. What was even scarier was I knew the man who had attacked me. He worked for my father. This attack came from my old family, and as I looked up into Slavik’s eyes, he knew as well.

  The sound of police sirens filled the air.

  Neither of us spoke.

  Slavik handed me over to Sergei. “Take her home. A doctor will be by to look at her.”

  I didn’t have any wounds, just cuts from landing on the glass. I followed Sergei without argument. Slavik didn’t follow. Within seconds, I was in the back of our car and Sergei drove us back to his penthouse suite. There was no time to waste.

  As he got out of the car, he drew his weapon, helping me from the vehicle. We got into the elevator and still, Sergei held his gun.

  “I don’t think it’s worth holding your gun out. If we pass any children, they’ll be terrified.”

  “I’m not going to risk it. Your safety is more important.”

  I chose not to argue.

  Tonight had been … crazy.

  I touched my lips. My fingers were dirty and some of them were cut. I had a throbbing behind one eye, and it was becoming a struggle to see, but my lips still tingled.

  Did this seem to matter more because it was my first kiss?

  The elevator doors opened, and Sergei went inside the apartment first, only allowing me to follow once he was sure the house was secure.

  I kicked off my heels, happy to feel the ground once again.

  I went immediately to the freezer, taking out a bag of peas and pressing it up against my burning eye.

  “We’re all clear.”

  “They attacked the party. I doubt they’d follow us.”

  “W
e have many enemies.”

  “All of which are not after me.” I couldn’t help but think of the vile words the man had said to me. I wasn’t a traitorous bitch. I’d been given to Slavik by my family. If there was a peace treaty, why were my father’s men attacking the party? Were they planning to incite war? What was the point of this marriage if that was the end game?

  “Are you okay?” Sergei asked.

  “No.” I winced. “I mean, yes, I’m fine. I just, ouch.” I lifted the bag of peas for him to look.

  “Ouch,” he said.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re trained in all elements of torture and hurting people and you call this ouch. I’m a wimp.” I couldn’t help but pout. I’d screamed and been terrified. I’d even stood up as if it was safe to do so. I was a fucking idiot. I hated my reactions and it pissed me off.

  “You’re a woman. It was a scary situation.”

  “I could have helped.”

  “Really? Do what?”

  “I don’t know. Shoot a gun.” I hated that Slavik had to go and I had to stay. What if he’d gotten hurt? Why did I fucking care?

  Ugh! I hated all these questions. I hated my husband.

  There was a knock at the door, but it didn’t exactly ease my troubled thoughts. Sergei left me, but I didn’t like how his touch seemed to linger. I had to be going crazy if I thought Sergei was being … inappropriate.

  Slavik would kill him if he even doubted for a second my feelings for Sergei. He was a friend. Not even that. We were companions. Even that didn’t sound right.

  An old man with a head full of white hair and wrinkled eyes around the corners stepped in to the room.

  “Hello, Mrs. Ivanov. I’m Doctor Smith,” he said.

  There was no way Smith was his real name.

  “Hi,” I said, releasing the bag of peas.

  We ended up in the dining room. Sergei stood guard as the doctor assessed the damage. I had several fragments of glass embedded underneath my flesh. It wasn’t too bad. With the dress I wore, I had no choice but to place a bath towel in front of me as he released the back of the dress. There was support built into the bodice which meant I could forgo a bra.

  I winced each time he released a piece of glass. I felt even more ashamed that I couldn’t take the pain.