Fractured (The Volkov Mafia Series Book 3)

by Harrington, Samantha

  “You’re mine, always,” he says as he thrusts all the way to the hilt in one demanding push. I feel every ridge of his hardness deep inside, the piercing at the end causing even more friction as it glides in and out of me. I feel like I am going to float away into eternal bliss. He keeps his pace steady, hard and deep, but not rough. I look deep into his eyes as he drives deeper; I want him with me when I climax again. His pace starts to falter as his need for release starts to take over. His body tenses and the sight of him about to fly is enough to send me into my climax. I moan and thrash as I hit the ultimate high. I feel him thrust one last time and hold himself deep inside. His release coats my insides and then I feel the heat of him hit me all the way at my womb. His heaving body drops down on to mine and all I can think is that I feel safe and loved. In this moment right now, I have peace. The constant noise is silenced.

  Damien

  This is a fucking nightmare, I am sat at of my half-brother’s bedside, waiting for him to come around. I gave up last night and finally went home because he was in no fit state to talk. The constant beep of machines is driving me crazy. I have been here since about 8am; I wanted to talk to him before anyone else got to him.

  I was on the phone late last night to the inspector that has a nice line of money he owes me. I told him to make this disappear, that it was nothing more than a jump against us. He was a little reluctant at first until I sweetened the deal and offered to knock five thousand off what he owes me.

  A mature nurse walks in and wanders over to his bedside. She checks his machine and jots everything down on his chart. I haven’t got a clue what all of the numbers say; for all I know he could be in distress and I wouldn’t have the first idea. The tone is steady and she doesn’t look too concerned so that has to be a bonus.

  “He should wake soon. He was up through the night so nothing is keeping him asleep.” Her tone is sensitive, she goes back out of the room, no doubt to go and check on the next patient.

  “Alek, you going to wake up for me, we need to talk?” He grumbles in his sleep and his eyes flutter open.

  “Damien?” he whispers; his voice is horse.

  “I’m sorry I never told you. Did you get through to my mum?” The concern for his mother is evident in his tone, but what adds to it are the tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

  “How much do you owe?” I question, the demand is present in my tone.

  “£250.000,” he says in a low tone, I am not sure I heard him right at first, but the sheepish look on his face tells me I did.

  “How the fuck do you owe that much money to Ivan Dmitry? You put my family in danger, Alek, but above that you nearly got yourself killed. Why didn’t you tell me!?” I try to lower the volume of my voice, I am almost bellowing at him. The last thing I want right now is for the nurses to walk back in here.

  “I have a gambling problem but I have been going to meetings and I’m trying to get myself straight. But then they found me. The only person who knew I was here is mother.” I can deal with this. At least it’s not drugs or guns. I want to smack him upside the head right now for keeping this from me – the one thing I ask for is honesty. It all clicks, all the times he has disappeared for a couple of hours was to attend these meetings. Shit, I thought he was just hooking up with one of the girls from the village. Not once did I think it was gambling. I suppose I better bring him up to speed on what we plan to do.

  “Look, am not happy that you kept it from me, we are supposed to be family, but we will help you, Alek. We tried to reach your mum but she didn’t answer the phone on the couple of occasions that we tried. But mark my word he will pay. I plan to wipe the Dmitry family from the face of the earth.” His teary face just nods at my statement, the realisation settling in that his mum could possibly be hurt, or worse. Blaming himself, the guilt will set in and begin to start to eat away at him, I think that’s punishment enough.

  I sit with him for another hour or so before I leave, I have to get back home. The plan is forming in my head and I need to tell the boys to saddle up, we are going to Russia.

  It’s time I lived for this life, watching a man be weakened in front of my eyes ready to submit to me. Ever since Faith walked into my life the thrill has dwindled more every day, I don’t relish the idea of going round to a family’s house and threatening them. Don’t think that makes me weak because wherever my family’s safety is concerned I will wipe them out, no questions and no hesitations.

  I don’t think I could navigate us out of this life now if I tried. The fact that my unit is drifting apart is driving me insane because we are supposed to be stronger together. The shit load of trouble that Malc has had to deal with, the loss of his child, Cami’s trauma and the aftermath that followed. My own battles with saving the love of my life, missing my daughter’s birth, and now this having to piece this family back together again because my brother has a huge debt over his head, and he saw no way out other than running. But his running has caused a rippling affect that can only end with a bloodbath.

  I don’t know this Ivan Dmitry but I am willing to go to war and wipe him out because he threatened one of mine. If the shoe was on the other foot and this was one of the people who owed me money I would have just done the same – tracked him down and beat him to within an inch of his life. That is just the way this life is – you can’t have anyone thinking that you’re weak. They feed off your weakness and try to overpower you. This Ivan did not know about me until yesterday but as soon as I get to him I will hunt him down, tear down every branch of his empire. I will make him watch while I kill his men, then he will be saved for last, knowing that he has lost everything because he came after the wrong family. I will take pride in knowing that I have done my job and kept my family safe.

  We have the plans laid out across the table in the office. Anton managed to get the plans to his compound and right now we are looking for our best way in. I am going to take six men over to Russia with me. Malc will be at my side; I don’t think I could wage a war without knowing he had my back.

  “The girls won’t like this plan, Damien,” Malc says to me from across the office.

  “I don’t give a flying fuck. We are doing what needs to be done, you know that,” I retort back to him, my powerful voice booming across the room.

  “I know, I just don’t want to deal with the fucking aftermath. I can’t risk losing her again, Damien. You know that she hates this life, she hates the thought of always looking over her shoulder, waiting for someone else to strike one of us if not all, it cuts her deep every day, man. I thought she could cope but you saw what happened the other night.” That has to be the first time in a long time that Malc has spoken out to me like that and I am fucking fuming. I am his fucking boss so he does as I tell him and when I tell him. I march around the other side of the desk and push him back into the wall, bringing my arm across his throat so I can tell him what is going to happen. So that he manages to get with the fucking program.

  “YOU DO AS I FUCKING TELL YOU. YOU HAVE MY BACK. IF NOT I WILL PUT YOU DOWN MYSELF!” I shout into his face, I have never threatened to end Malc ever, but he has to understand I need him with me on this, I can’t do it without him. I watch as his eyes narrow at mine, it looks like he is going to say something but chooses to turn his head away from me – submission. Fucking great, the one person who I never really wanted it from, the one man who I could always count on to keep me grounded and bring me down a peg or two if needed.

  “I need you on this, Malc,” I say in a calmer tone, dropping my arm from his throat. I step away and walk back to my desk.

  “If you have my back on this I will let you walk,” I say the words that I never thought I would say to my best friend and comrade.

  “FINE. I will always have your back, but after this I am out. I need to fix my family, Damien, and I can’t do that here.” He strides out of the office slamming the door as he goes. Fuck, I think I just lost my best friend. My brother.

  “Well that could have gone
better,” Anton chirps in.

  “I know,” is all I say before sitting back down, drawing up the rest of the plans for this attack. I need to sort out the flight, the cars for when we arrive, but most importantly the ammunition, because we are going to need a lot of that. I plan to level the fucking place. There will be no stone unturned, vengeance will be mine.

  I am ready for bed; this day has been one clusterfuck after another and it’s time to go see my girls. I walk out of the office in search of Faith. Stepping into our bedroom I hear the giggles coming from the bathroom, stepping inside I find Faith bent over the bath. Oh what a sight! That stunning view of her backside, I could just take a bite out of that peach, I would relish every second. Anastasia is in the little bath seat holding a duck, well, more like trying to eat the duck. Faith is trying to wash my little angel. She is splashing the water around Anya’s feet, the sounds of her giggles lift my mood instantly – the switch happens just like that. One look at my girls and I realise why I do this. To keep them safe.

  Malc

  The week passes in a whirlwind. It takes time to organise an arsenal but the day has arrived, and we leave for Russia tonight.

  Camilla took the news better than I thought she would. There was no freak out, no panic that I saw, but most of all she didn’t run.

  We have been at Damien and Faith’s all week because it’s easier to keep everyone up to date with what’s happening if we are all in the same place. She didn’t even bat an eyelid at staying here; she said it would give her more time with Faith and Anya. I am not really sure if it’s a front or if she really has just taken it all in her stride. It might have helped that I told her what Damien had said – not the part where he had me up against the wall. I know my little spitfire, she would have marched into that office and given him a mouthful. To say that it has been tense between Damien and me would be an understatement. We have said very few words to each other, only what relates to the mission. It’s been hard because above all else he is my friend, even if he can be a dick of a boss sometimes.

  I honestly think that reaching out to him right now would be a mistake. I know he already thinks I am doing this so that I can have my way out, but I am not, I will always have his back; even when I leave this life if he needs me I will come. That is the amount of respect I have for him. The way he has made this family grow since he took it from his father is nothing short of brilliant. We have all made copious amounts of money and I know that when I do leave my family will want for nothing and that is all down to Damien. But he is a prick sometimes; he forgets that he is a man like the rest of us and not a god.

  I am packing my bag in the room that is mine when I stay here. The all black combat gear and the handguns need to be checked and extra ammo taken, I’m not under any assumptions that this mission is going to be easy.

  My father flew out a couple of days ago so that he could track their movements and report it back to us. The office has been turned into a briefing room – the white board is covered with all the intel we have been able to gather over the past week, surveillance pictures outlining a rundown of who is who, and the daily routines and habits. You have to give it to the old man, he still has it.

  When he arrived the first thing he did was he went to check on Irina, but with no answer he tried to call again and still nothing. So he busted down the door and found her in the little living room tied to a chair. She was badly beaten up with a bullet hole through her head my dad had said on the phone when he called it in. Alekzander had been released so he was listening in on the call, he dropped to the floor, his worst nightmare confirmed because of him his mother was killed, but what we didn’t expect was the calling card that was pinned to her body with a knife. Ivan clearly didn’t care who knew what he had done to a poor defenseless woman. We don’t know how long she had been dead; my father said that he couldn’t stand looking at the body of someone who he had known for all these years. He said that he couldn’t look at her like a case where he held no attachment. She was a person who he had known, who at one point he had cared about, so he called it in and would hack the system of the morgue to get the information that we needed.

  All packed and ready to go, the private plane leaves at 10pm tonight to get us to Russia. I need to go spend the next couple of hours with my family. Camilla needs to understand that I might not come back. I am prepared for that but she won’t entertain the idea, that is the only time she has had a panic attack is when I mentioned that little detail. I told her it was a possibility and no amount of planning can prepare you for the unexpected. She needs to have a plan of what she would do and where she would go if I didn’t return, I may be prepared to die protecting Damien, but I don’t want to die, I want to live out the rest of my days with her and Charlie. If I want to get that chance I have to do this one last job, even if it scares the shit out of me. I am not a man that shows much emotion to anyone. I am not scared of death, what I am scared of is leaving Camilla.

  She stirred something deep and primal the second I first laid eyes on her but I put it down to just wanting to get her into my bed and seeing the challenge that she would present because she was as stubborn as hell. We fought like cat and dog and the only inclination she gave me that I had any affect on her was the slight blush that would creep up her neck when I would whisper what I was going to do to her when I got her into my bed. Not if but when. But the teasing stopped the second I saw her lying on the floor in that filthy room, she was passed out, laying limp with blood pooling between her legs. Bruises covered her little body and stab wounds and slash marks coated her beautiful skin. I dropped my gun and rushed over to her. I lifted her body into my arms and cried and that is the first time in all my twenty-nine years that I cried. My heart broke and I swore I would be there for her through thick and thin – I would protect her, cherish her, and love her, and I have never looked back since. That love will never die because no matter what may happen, she is the only keeper of my heart. No matter what she may choose to do with it, I will always love her.

  Lilly pulls me from my thoughts, she is standing in front of me in the hallway, looking distraught.

  “Are you ok, Lilly?” I ask her in a gentle tone. Lilly is a great lady; she has been there for me since I was a kid. She never treated me different and always made sure I was looked after when my dad and Damien’s would be away with work. She never left me out in the cold or unwanted so to see her have a look of pain on her face, hurts me more than it should. It’s the same look she had when she found out about Bella and I wonder if she is just scared in case Damien doesn’t return. I suppose it would make you upset at the thought of losing both of your children to this life. With what they did to get to Alekzander it’s a huge possibility.

  “I need you to give your father a message for me, Malc, as soon as you see him. It’s important,” she says to me, her arm resting on my forearm. I must look confused for a moment. Why can’t she just ring him and tell him? Ok, I will do as she asks; she has never asked anything of me before.

  “Of course I will. What do you need me to tell him?” I will tell him whatever she needs me to if she thinks it’s a message better to be said in person, that’s what I will do.

  “It’s time, it has to come out.” Her cryptic words leave me a little confused. I was expecting her to say, ‘look after Damien, make sure he comes home’, or ‘I love you, Anton’, you know, just in case he doesn’t come back. But that little snippet was a real corker.

  “No problem, Lilly. I will tell him as soon as I see him,” I reassure her that I will do as she has asked.

  “Stay safe out there, Malc, I want you all home safe.” Her tone is hurting, I can tell that much, so I say what I can to reassure her.

  “I will bring him home, Lilly.” With that I walk away, heading into the kitchen to spend some time with Camilla.

  “Hey beautiful,” I say bending down to kiss the top of her head. She is sat at the table with Faith; both of the children are sat in highchairs.

  “
Hey, is that you all packed?” she asks, her tone is light, like it’s a normal thing to ask.

  “Yeah,” I deadpan, still a little thrown by her tone.

  “Are you ok, you seem quiet, Malc?” Is she fucking kidding me right now? I’m about to leave her to go to a foreign country, I might not come back and she asks me if I’m ok, seriously?

  “Yeah I’m fine. Just wanted to spend some time with both of you before we leave.” Her eyes dart to mine looking for the meaning behind my words but she smiles, as if seeing whatever it was that she needed to see.

  “Ok let me grab Charlie and we can head to our room and watch a movie or something?” I like the idea of ‘or something’. Let me have ten minutes with the little man, I can put him to bed and then I can have my wicked way with her before I leave. I love that idea.

  “Lead the way, babe,” I say with a hint of wickedness to my voice.

  “Right, I will catch up with you later, Faith, I’m off to sort this little one out,” she says with a sly wink to Faith. God, she is amazing when she is carefree like this and I just hope it’s all worth it in the end. Faith giggles at her words because she knows full well what I intend to do once Charlie is asleep. Hell, she will probably be going to be doing the same thing to Damien. Camilla gets up from the table, but I beat her to the highchair lifting Charlie into my arms so that I can carry him towards our room.

  “How are you not freaking out about this? And I’m sorry if that’s the totally wrong thing to say.” I look at her to gauge her reaction and I am surprised again – she isn’t getting angry or upset, she just looks like my Cami.