Chapter One
Maksim
From the very beginning, I always knew I was destined to take over the Ivanov Bratva. My father was theahkan,leader of the bratva, for almost twenty years before he got in some stupid shit and brought me in. Ever since I could remember, he had been grilling and teaching me how to do everything is needed.
I have been thepahkanfor ten years now. For ten long years, I have worn the heavy crown and I have built up my own legacy. A legacy that doesn’t attach to my father. My father was a ruthless man who created wars to create wars. He was the TeflonPahkanof our bratva and everyone knew who he was.
I, on the other hand, prefer to stay out of the lime light. I like being the elusivepahkanand not being showy. Yes, it creates a problem in the bratva, but most everyone knows who I am. The other families can suck a dick for all I care. I run my organization how I damn well please.
Sitting in my office, I watch the monitors of last night’s festivities on the docks. Those rat mother fuckers think they can honestly fuck me over?
“Maksim, are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Boris asks me while leaning on the side of my desk.
I down the rest of my Scotch in my tumbler and push it across the desk to signal I want more. This is going to be a long ass night.
Five men are taking the products off the ships on the cameras and they are doing it without caution. They want to be caught. I know exactly why they want to be caught, too. They want a war.
One of my men comes up to them to start asking questions but one of them pulls a gun out and aims.
The anger in me bubbles. “The Markov Bratva has just signed their death warrants,” I mutter under my breath and greedily accept the Scotch refill.
Boris smiles to himself more than me.
“What?” I blurt.
“We have been doing surveillance on them for the last year to see what kind of moves they’ve made. Sergei Markov, theirPahkan,has recently gotten married to a hot little number.”
I want to punch him. I can get girls whenever I want.
“What do you have?” I ask.
I’m rubbing my bottom lip and shut off the rest of the video. I’m already going to kill these fuckers and hit them where it hurts the most.
“What do we have on them?” I question.
My trusted friend smiles as he reaches behind his back to grab a file. He places the file on the desk in front of me and chuckles a little under his breath. “This should be of interest to you.”
In the file, there are photographs of Sergei and a beautiful woman. The woman’s face is controlled in every one of the photos and she doesn’t look happy in any of them. You can tell there is some trouble in paradise.
I start to look closer at the woman and notice her thick black hair, her coal gray eyes and her porcelain skin glimmer in the sun lights and moonlights of the photographs.
Her lips are puckered in the last one as if she is trying to push Sergei away from her. Sergei is a big fucker, but I’m bigger and I’m going to hit him where it hurts.
“I want to know everything there is to know about her.”
Boris nods. “What is your plan?”
The asshole already has mayhem and destruction in his mind. Little does he realize, I’m going a completely different way with this.
“Pick her up.”
