Taken by the Boss

by Brook Wilder

  Lukas glowers at the twins and backs off. I step onto the mat. Andrei and Aleksandr whisper quietly to each other, then break apart. They think they can tag-team me like they did the rest of my men. Dumbasses. Andrei’s knives gleam in the overhead lights. Aleksandr suddenly charges toward my right. I duck at the last second and he stumbles past me into Andrei. He pushes off his twin and slashes at me wildly with the knife.

  “Barely a minute in, and you’re already letting your emotions get the better of you,” I comment.

  “Shut up,” Aleksandr snarls and braces his feet. He glares at Andrei, then they smile.

  I have a second to curse and then Andrei comes at me, both knives moving almost too fast for me to see. They must’ve been practicing without me seeing. I catch his wrists when he overextends to try and run me through. I headbutt him and he falls back in time for Aleksandr to wrap his arms around my back, the knife slashing across my bicep as he does so. I throw my head back into his face and hear him curse. I grab his arm and flip him over my head. He gasps for air as his back slaps the mat.

  Blood drips from the wound he caused me. The men around the mat all shift as if making ready to charge in and defend me. If they do, my brothers will never let me live it down. I hold out my hand, and Lukas moves around the ranks, telling the men to stand down.

  Andrei tosses the knife to his other hand and comes at me a second time. I parry and block each attack as he begins to tire. I hear the rustling behind me but mistime the dodge. Aleksandr takes out my feet and I hit the mat. I roll to the side as Andrei drives his knife down where I was lying a moment earlier. I roll right back and wrap my legs around his neck, cutting off his air. The knife falls from his hand as he scrambles to get free. I snatch it up and throw it away. His face turns bright red as he sputters. Aleksandr rushes in and I throw Andrei into his twin, taking them both down.

  Aleksandr recovers fast and I catch a knee to the face. It throws me off balance and he follows it up with a kick that makes me sprawl to the mat. A knife slashes across my shoulder, but I don’t make a sound. I wait for him to attack again. My back is exposed. I know he’s going to take advantage while I’m down. Any smart fighter would realize this is a ploy. Not him. He cackles darkly over me like he’s won. I push up to my knees and he kicks me in the ribs once, twice, but on the third time, I snag his boot and glare up at him.

  His eyes widen and as he works to yanks his leg free, I twist his ankle and flip him over. He crashes to the mat and I stomp on both hands. He yelps, letting go of those damn knives. I kick them away, then grab him by his shirt. I haul him up and punch him until blood covers his face and my hand. His head lolls to the side and he’s muttering under his breath.

  “What was that?” I ask, pausing long enough for him to try and talk again. Then I deck him hard enough to send him flying.

  Aleksandr lies beside Andrei, both looking like shit. I stalk toward them and crouch down.

  “Challenge me again, and it won’t end so nicely,” I warn. “I suggest you get your asses up and train. Unless, of course, you’re too hurt to go on.”

  “Fuck you,” Aleksandr spits, blood dribbling down his nose and mouth.

  “Is that what you want me to tell Dad?”

  Andrei shakes his head at his brother. “You might’ve won today,” he throws at me as I straighten, “but you best watch your back, brother.”

  “Always do. Clean yourselves up, then get back to training without your precious knives. Not like they do you any good anyway.” I turn to face the rest of the room. No one claps or cheers me on. That’s not this type of environment. They wait for me to give the order for them to get back to training, satisfied to see their leader is not weak. Even while I bleed and want to wince at the pain in my ribs, I can’t show it. Their eyes are hard as they glower at the twins behind me. It’s not the first time I’ve put them in their place, but it is the first time I’ve beaten them so hard for challenging my authority. “Back to work,” I yell. “We have a mission to prepare for.”

  I march away from the mat and toward the office again. I slam the door shut to give myself a minute to get control of my anger. I could’ve easily killed Aleksandr if I’d hit him hard enough. And Andrei, maybe choking him to death would’ve been for the best. I’ll never be able to trust either of them. Why Mikhail thinks they should be part of this mission bothers me more than the stinging wounds inflicted by my brothers.

  Mikhail is up to something, and until I know what, I’ll have to keep a close eye on my brothers.

  Chapter 3

  Danya

  At three on the dot, Mikhail arrives with his two personal guards and, to my confusion, my two uncles, Vlad and Lev, Mikhail’s younger brothers, and my two cousins. They’re also firstborn males in the family. They say nothing but walk straight to the office with the guards remaining outside. I glance toward the twins then head for the room. I’m about to close the door to give us some privacy when Mikhail holds up his hand.

  “Bring your brothers, too,” he says.

  I pause, staring at the Mafia king. The twins look like our mother, but I’m more like my father. We have the same hazel eyes, though his have been hard for as long as I can remember. He’s a bit shorter than me and leaner. The years have been good to him for the most part. His dark brown hair is slowly going white, and he doesn’t have the beard that I do. If he did, it’d be white from the stubble on his jawline. He’s wearing his typical black slacks, shirt, and jacket, but underneath it all, I know his body is covered in tattoos, far more than mine.

  “Why?” I ask, and he immediately raises his brow.

  “Because I’m telling you to,” he replies. “Now, Danya, we don’t have all day.”

  I grit my teeth but obey the order. “Andrei, Aleksandr!” I shout.

  My brothers stop their sparring with Hogan and James and hustle toward the office. They brush past me, and I shut the door. Mikhail glances from them to me, then back.

  “I trust your training is going well?” he says.

  “Getting better,” I reply as I cross my arms and lean against the far wall. Mikhail takes the chair behind the desk. “This about our new target and why you didn’t say anything earlier about him?”

  Mikhail waves his hand at me. “We’re moving up our time frame, so don’t take that tone with me, boy.”

  I bristle, but let it go. No use arguing with him in front of the rest of my family.

  “Once you carry out your mission and kill Francesco De Luca, we will step in and reorganize the families as we should have done years ago. We’ve waited far too long to take control. It’s time we put them in their place,” Mikhail explains. “There are plenty of powerful families in the neighboring areas that will support us once the De Lucas are subdued. It will give us a chance to expand.”

  “You might want to wait to make these plans,” I say quietly.

  The chair creaks as Mikhail leans back. “Speak up, boy. What did you say?”

  Every set of eyes turns to look at me. “We haven’t come up with a way to get inside the De Luca mansion yet,” I tell him. “It’s heavily guarded, almost like they’re expecting an attack. Getting to him won’t be easy.”

  “Are you saying you can’t do it?” Mikhail pushes.

  “I never said that, but there is a chance if we rush this … if the wrong people are involved,” I say with an intense stare to the twins, “we will fail, and De Luca will know we’re gunning for him.”

  “Then I suggest you not fail. You never have before, but if you feel you’re not up to this task, tell me now, Danya. I will find another to lead the team.” I keep my mouth shut, breathing heavily out my nose as my anger spikes. My father taps his fingers on the desktop as the seconds stretch on. “Now, with the issue settled, we need to discuss plans moving forward.”

  As Mikhail and my uncles begin running through which families will most likely side with us and which ones will need to be chased out of town or eliminated completely, I keep a close eye on the twins.
This is the first time I can remember Mikhail allowing them to be privy to such sensitive information. He and our mother have spoiled the twins since they were born. Neither has done anything useful for the family. Andrei is usually found doing drugs and drinking to excess while Aleksandr spends his time finding helpless victims to torture and usually kill. I’ve stopped counting the number of times Mikhail has called me in to clean up their mess, dispose of any witnesses, and ensure Aleksandr can’t be linked to the crime. My brothers are parasites simply biding their time.

  Family always comes first unless it involves those two. Mikhail never wasted time training them as fiercely as he did me. It’s the burden of being the eldest son. My hands are stained with blood that will never wash away. Every day is a struggle not to succumb to what this life is doing to me. Becoming a second Mikhail is what everyone expects, but being like him is the last thing I want.

  After an hour and a plan for restructuring the families is mostly in place, Mikhail holds up his hand. “That is all for today. If you would excuse us, I need to have a word with Danya alone.”

  The others take their leave without question, the twins already whispering with their heads close together. They’re plotting. I’ll have Lukas put extra eyes on them from now on.

  “Danya, have a seat,” my father says once we’re alone.

  “Is this about me kicking the twins’ asses?” I say as I sit. “Or why the hell you think they’re ready for this type of mission? You can’t trust them.”

  “I have other worries at the moment.” He clasps his hands behind his back and slowly walks around the office. “I understand how difficult your brothers can be, but you are going to have to find a way to make them respect you.”

  “Why? They’re not my problem.”

  “They’re about to be,” he says loudly, and the change in tone makes me frown. “Danya, I’m dying. Have been for the last six months.”

  At first, I think he’s being overdramatic, but when he doesn’t waver, doesn’t even blink, I straighten. “From what? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

  “You think I want anyone finding out this information?”

  “No, but I have a right to know.”

  “And now you do. My point is I will not be around as long as I thought. Taking care of the family business is going to fall on your shoulders. If you are to assume total control and keep it, you must get your brothers to heel, and you must marry. Now.”

  I clench my jaw so hard it hurts.

  “I understand this might seem rushed, but I’m doing this for the sake of your future and that of the family. You must show a strong front to our enemies when the time comes, or they will eat you alive.”

  “And who the hell am I supposed to marry?” I snap. “Not like I’m seeing anyone, and you’ve just plotted to take out half the families in the city once De Luca is dead.”

  “Lucky for you, I have already made arrangements. We’re meeting with her and her father at five. Be at your mansion, and be presentable.”

  “Who is she?”

  Mikhail hesitates. I stiffen, never having seen him do that before. “Stella Russo.”

  I blink at him, not sure I heard him right. The name echoes through my mind and I curl my hands around the arm of the chair like it’s the only thing holding me together. A red-hot spike of rage shoots through my chest as I find my feet. “No.”

  “It’s too late. The arrangement with her father has already been made.”

  I kick the chair away from me as my anger takes hold. “I said no, dammit. I’m not marrying her. It’s not happening. Find someone else, anyone else.”

  Mikhail sighs. “Stop being so dramatic. This is for the good of the family, and you will do it. With us making a move on the De Lucas, they are one of the few families that might pose a threat, as small as it is. I would like to take care of them before they become a thorn in your side.”

  “They’re on the decline. Why does it matter?”

  “It matters because I do not leave loose ends,” Mikhail says quietly, but it’s like he’s yelling. The shift in his voice says he’s close to losing his temper. It’s legendary, but over the years he’s learned to control his outbursts. I haven’t. “Her father has always been jealous of Francesco’s success and blames him for the Russo’s downfall. I have told him that once Francesco is dead, he will gain more power. That is, of course, not the case. The man is useless. He’s the reason the Russo family has fallen so far.”

  I pace around the room as he keeps talking, running a hand madly through my hair. Why does it have to be Stella? “Then why do this at all if he’s so useless?”

  “Once you two are wed, we will eliminate Joseph and, through your marriage to Stella, assume control of what little power the family has remaining.”

  “Why not just kill him and get it over with?”

  “Because you need a wife if you are to take my place. I might not trust Joseph, but his daughter has promise. It’s no secret she despises the man. I’m certain with the right motivation we can mold her to what we need.”

  I shake my head, not about to go through with this wedding. “I won’t do it.”

  “If you don’t, I’ll have no choice but to eliminate them all.”

  My heart plummets. “What did you say?”

  “If you do not marry Stella, when the time comes to kill her father, Stella and her mother will die along with the rest of their line. Is that what you want? Her blood staining your hands?”

  I charge forward as if to punch him but stop myself short. His brow arches and his lips twitch as if he’s amused by my anger. “You made me leave her all those years ago,” I seethe. “You made me break her heart, and now you expect her to marry me? You expect her to help our family after what you made me do?”

  “I expect her to know her place,” he replies. “Five o’clock. Be on time so we can discuss terms and get this wedding done and over with. I’ll not die while my son is still a bachelor.”

  I work my jaw as he steps around me for the door. There are so many things I want to shout at him, but once he’s made up his mind, there’s no changing it. The door slams shut behind him and I’m left alone to stew in my rage. My hands curl and uncurl at my sides as I imagine the slaughter that will happen if I don’t go through with the wedding. Stella, my Stella, dead on the floor. I see her eyes staring open, frozen in horror as she’s killed by my family.

  Who am I kidding? Mikhail would send me to do it.

  I storm out of the office and shout for everyone to get out. The men give me a confused look, but I yell again, and Lukas urges them all to leave. He looks ready to stay behind, but I shake my head. I’m too pissed off to see straight. If he tries to talk to me about what just happened, I might take it out on him. He can take a beating, but with the state I’m in, I might go too far.

  Once the facility is empty, I walk to the punching bag and attack it with a vengeance. Each time my fists make contact, I picture beating in Mikhail’s face. I might have the loyalty of the men here, but if I kill my father, I’ll have a price on my head. He has too many on his side. I hit the bag over and over, shouting my rage to the empty room.

  Stella and I grew up together. We went from being childhood friends to so much more over the years we were together. Then came the night that ruined everything. I knew then I’d found the only woman I would ever love. I told her as much. Told her somehow I’d make our lives better than they were back then. Promised her I’d find us a way out.

  Then I went and stabbed her right through the heart.

  Remembering the pain and betrayal in her eyes as I turned away from her stabs at me again. I hit the bag hard enough to snap it from the chain, and it thuds to the floor.

  Back then, walking away was the only way to keep her safe. Now, marrying her is the only way to save her life, but then what kind of life am I bringing her into? Being the most powerful family means we have enemies everywhere. The second I marry, they’ll try to use her against me. I promised her a w
ay out of this life back then, and now, I’m condemning her to a lifetime of danger.

  I hold up my bloodied knuckles. It will take me a bit to get cleaned up, then head to the Brighton mansion. My anger is raw, but I’ll have to tamp it down before the meeting this evening. There’s no going against Mikhail. Not that I want Joseph Russo to live another day. He’s a brutal man, worse than my father. He lacks strategy and is more of a bully. Stella hates the man. She might not be able to love me again, but at least with our marriage, she’ll never have to worry about her father. I laugh bitterly as I make for the door. Nothing like presenting a dead parent as a post-wedding present to my new wife.

  Chapter 4

  Stella

  I climb out of the Mustang and stare up at the whitewashed mansion at the edge of Brighton Beach in Brooklyn. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before, but it’s the address Dad texted me an hour ago as I was getting ready. Two men in black suits stand outside the door. I might not be able to see the guns, but I know they’re armed.